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There's actor/director pairings so strong that they come to define the core of both's filmographies: Alfred Hitchcock and Cary Grant, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, and now Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos. 

Sure, the Greek director was on the rise before collaborating with Stone, having earned international critical acclaim for 2009's Dogtooth, and his first Oscar nomination (for Best Screenplay) for the Colin Farrell-fronted The Lobster. But it was when Lanthimos teamed up with Emma Stone for The Favourite that something changed. That bawdy sapphic comedy not only earned 10 Oscar nominations but also a win for leading lady Olivia Colman. Stone and Lanthimos' follow-up, Poor Things, did even better while getting much wilder, combining the racy humor of The Favourite with the gut-churning science fiction of Frankenstein. Critical praise led to box office success, as well as 11 Oscar nominations and four wins, including Best Actress and Best Picture. 

Despite its sex, violence, dark humor, and gore (or perhaps because of it), Poor Things became the pair's most popular movie to date. Props to them for challenging their audience with what would come next. Kinds of Kindness offered a collection of uncomfortable and unconventional vignettes, involving a husband suspicious of his wife, a peculiar sex cult, and an unusual business arrangement. Critics were mixed and audiences didn't turn out. So what's next for this daring duo? 

Bugonia, a remake of Jang Joon-hwan's 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet! On its surface, it seems the kind of class conflict scenario that would play well to Stone and Lanthimos' shared cinematic interest. However, while screenwriter Will Tracy (The Menu, The Regime) makes some stark changes from Jang's script, the resulting film feels strangely safe, even as it's drenched in buzzwords and taboos. 

Bugonia explores the manosphere, conspiracy theories, and class conflict.  Credit: Atsushi Nishijima / Focus Features

Jesse Plemons, who co-starred with Stone in Kinds of Kindness, stars as a beekeeper and conspiracy theorist named Teddy who's on a self-assigned mission to save his mother and the planet Earth. Living in a rotting family home that he shares with his impressionable cousin, Don (Aidan Delbis), Teddy is convinced that everything from the declining bee populations to his mother's comatose state are signs that extraterrestrial invaders are already here, plotting to destroy mankind. 

Having identified pharmaceuticals CEO Michelle Fuller (Stone) as one of these aliens, Teddy convinces Don to assist him in a kidnapping plot that he hopes will put them in contact with the leader of the invaders for negotiation. 

Credit: Atsushi Nishijima / Focus Features

In Save the Green Planet!, the kidnapped CEO was a man. The gender swap of the abductee puts Teddy not only in the conspiracy theory discourse but also in the American manosphere, where empowered women are often seen as a societal ill. Thus, Michelle could be seen as a threat to Teddy's masculinity and identity, even if she's not the nefarious alien he believes her to be. 

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Afflicted with nightmares about his ailing mother (Alicia Silverstone), Teddy resents Michelle for her power, wealth, and the breezy calm she exudes even when discussing horrific news. His ability to use chloroform to knock her out and brute force to steal her from her home, shave her head (so her hair can't call for help to the mothership), and dress her in his mother's clothes are all victories for his mission. Not only has he succeeded in ousting this alien threat from her safe space, but he is also reclaiming the power he lost in failing to save his mother, recaptured by torturing the woman he blames for his mother's current predicament. 

But hey, you don't cast two-time Academy Award winner Emma Stone (La La Land) to play a damsel in distress.

Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone square off in Bugonia.  Credit: Atsushi Nishijima / Focus Features

Far from being cowed by Teddy and Don's ambush or the many monologues about aliens and righteousness she's forced to listen to while in captivity, Michelle is cool and collected. She exudes calm and frustration, but not fear as she explains as if talking to a child that she is not an alien. 

The battle of wills that follows is the core of Bugonia. Plemons, a profoundly skilled actor who can play sweethearts and scumbags with aplomb, plunges into Teddy with an ego-free abandon. Where Michelle is introduced as impeccably dressed in tailored business attire, clean girl makeup, and carefully coiffed hair, Teddy's mane is untamed, including a scruffy beard. And when Teddy wears a suit — to attempt to impress upon her his seriousness and status — it's battered and ill-fitting. Visually, he is a downtrodden buffoon. So, when he monologues, his appearance suggests he can't be taken seriously as he pontificates about the dangers of these high-and-mighty aliens, who don't care about the people of Earth because their power can always allow them to move on to another planet. 

As Michelle, Stone plays patience for self-preservation, a deeply relatable survival tactic. But as Teddy becomes more threatening, Stone morphs into various manipulations, ranging from cajoling to threatening. 

As in Kinds of Kindness, it's exciting to see these two scorching performers face off in a battle of wits, words, and wills. But frankly, it gets old. It likely didn't help my experience watching Bugonia that I'd seen Save the Green Planet!, so I had a strong idea of where the final act would go. Tracy and Lanthimos weave in bloody, wild new turns to the conclusion, but it doesn't make it fun or more profound. Instead, despite the star power, the dark sense of humor, the political commentary, and cat-and-mouse psychology between captive and captor, Bugonia becomes bogged down by sadness, or even hopelessness. 

Bugonia is a bummer. Credit: Atsushi Nishijima / Focus Features

The production design, presenting the contrast of rot and gloss, swiftly sets up the conflict between Teddy and Michelle. The color palette and its suffocating yellow cast suggest festering, potentially of Teddy's sanity or the world, and soon consumes even Michelle's once flawless appearance. But the buildup to the final act lacks momentum.

The scenes between Stone and Plemons don't so much build as they feel cyclical, until the wheels fall off, causing calamity. Maybe that's the point. Perhaps Bugonia is warning of the tedious runaround we as humans do day in and day out, arguing over who's right and who's wicked, the world and its people suffering all the while. Sure, the trailers for Bugonia set up the expectation for a thriller, focusing on the capture and the manhunt sure to follow for a "high-profile female executive." But mostly the movie is about who you're more comfortable believing. And within that, the political messaging gets muddy. 

You might revisit The Favourite for the wickedly sharp barbs or the crazy chemistry between Colman, Stone, and Rachel Weisz. A Poor Things rewatch is an enthralling plunge into the compelling collision of beauty and ugliness, love and loss, luxury and poverty. Kinds of Kindness might still feel like an enigma we have not cracked. But Bugonia, despite having a sensational cast and clear vision for its world, lacks profundity in its smorgasbord of hot topics. Environmentalism, oligarchy, the manosphere, healthcare for profit — all of these make for a dizzying brew from which Teddy and Michelle arise on opposing sides. But what their battle ultimately means feels oddly remote after all the blood, sweat, tears, and chloroform. I was left feeling neither amused, elated, confounded or enraged, but just uncomfortably numb.

Bugonia opens in select theaters on Oct. 24 before going nationwide Oct. 31.

Richard Linklater is having a very busy 2025.

The Boyhood and Before Sunrise director has not one but two projects on the film festival circuit. Both are playing the New York Film Festival, and both pay tribute to real-life artists of song and screen.

Blue Moon, the first of the pair to hit theaters, is a biopic of American lyricist Lorenz Hart, the former creative partner of Richard Rodgers. Linklater's second film of the year, Nouvelle Vague, follows suit, paying loving tribute to the French New Wave movement and to Jean-Luc Godard's debut feature, Breathless (À bout de souffle).

Linklater's reverence for Breathless and the entire French New Wave are evident in each frame. But can that love sometimes get in Nouvelle Vague's own way?

What is Nouvelle Vague about? Guillaume Marbeck and Aubry Dullin in "Nouvelle Vague." Credit: Jean-Louis Fernandez / Courtesy of Netflix

The year is 1959, the place is Paris, and the French New Wave movement is in full swing. Cahiers du Cinéma film critics like François Truffaut (Adrien Rouyard) and Claude Chabrol (Antoine Besson) have made their directorial debuts, focusing on auteur-driven movies above all else. One of their fellow critics, Jean-Luc Godard (Guillaume Marbeck), is champing at the bit to make his first feature film. After all, in his own words, the only way to critique a movie is to make one yourself.

Godard finally gets the chance with Breathless, the story of criminal Michel Poiccard and Patricia, the American woman he loves. While the film became one of the French New Wave's most influential works, its production was fairly chaotic. Working on a low budget, and filming over just 23 days (Nouvelle Vague cuts that number to 20), Godard basically improvised the film as he went, much to the consternation of producer Georges de Beauregard (Bruno Dreyfürst) and American star Jean Seberg (Zoey Deutch). Linklater reimagines that chaos in its entirety, charting the film's journey from development to post-production.

Nouvelle Vague formally pays tribute to the French New Wave, but isn't an outright copy. Matthieu Penchinat, Guillaume Marbeck, Aubry Dullin, and Zoey Deutch in "Nouvelle Vague." Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

In order to submerge audiences in the world of the French New Wave, Linklater adopts some elements of its style. Told almost entirely in French, Nouvelle Vague is shot in black and white with a 4:3 ratio, complete with film grain to give it an older feel.

However, Linklater doesn't totally ape the filmmaking techniques Godard pioneered during the making of Breathless, such as jump cuts. Instead, he focuses more on clueing the audience into how Godard came to these techniques. For the guerilla-style shooting on the streets of Paris, Linklater introduces the false mail cart that hid Breathless' handheld camera, along with cinematographer Raoul Coutard (Matthieu Penchinat). For Breathless' long walk-and-talk sequences, Linklater dutifully follows stars Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubry Dullin) as they stroll the Champs-Élysées. His prime focus here isn't Godard's filming, but rather his plan to dub over whatever Seberg and Belmondo are saying in post. Instead of speaking in character, the two actors wonder aloud just what the rest of the shoot has in store for them.

SEE ALSO: 'Blue Moon' review: Andrew Scott burns, Ethan Hawke clowns in grating biopic

The focus on process propels Nouvelle Vague, offering up a loving look at the ups and downs of the film's production. But the film's true strengths lie not in Linklater's take on Godard's style, but rather in Linklater's own strength as the master of the hangout movie. Yes, watching Godard choreograph a scene in real time is compelling. But if you've seen Breathless, you've already seen these scenes. You know how they play out!

Instead, what's more compelling is the downtime between filming: the crew hanging out in a café, Seberg teaching Belmondo American dance moves, Godard playing pinball. These scenes allow us to understand the characters better as people, as opposed to the pillars of the French New Wave they'd become.

Marbeck's Godard is the standout here. Eyes perpetually hidden behind sunglasses and a lit cigarette always at his lips, Marbeck plays Godard as part genius, part petulant child. As a result, Nouvelle Vague seems both reverent of and humored by Godard's many, many, many philosophical tirades on the subject of filmmaking. The mix lets Linklater bring a lightness to Nouvelle Vague's numerous production scenes, while also paying respect to the man who made Breathless possible.

At times, Linklater's reverence can overpower Nouvelle Vague. Aubry Dullin and Zoey Deutch in "Nouvelle Vague." Credit: Jean-Louis Fernandez / Courtesy of Netflix

Occasionally, though, the reverence for Breathless can take over Nouvelle Vague, for the worse. Linklater and screenwriters Holly Gent and Vincent Palmo, whose script Michèle Halberstadt and Laetitia Masson adapted into French, dutifully catalog the entire 20-day Breathless shoot. They hit major beats quickly. Here's how Godard filmed Michel's shootout with a policeman! Here's how he got the shot of the Paris streetlamps turning on behind Michel!

Yet after a while, these brief vignettes can begin to seem like Nouvelle Vague going through the motions, as if Linklater has a checklist of every piece of Breathless behind-the-scenes trivia he needs to account for. At these points, Nouvelle Vague loses the improvisational sense of play that its own muse strove so hard for while shooting Breathless.

Overall, though, Nouvelle Vague proves a sweet tribute to an influential film movement, one that doesn't take itself too seriously. If you're a French New Wave fan, come for the Breathless tributes, but stay for the hangout vibes.

Nouvelle Vague was reviewed out of the New York Film Festival. Nouvelle Vague hits select theaters Oct. 31 before coming to Netflix Nov. 14.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: How to play Pips, the newest NYT game

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Friday, Oct. 31, 2025:

AcrossBuffalo hockey player

• The answer is Sabre.

"I'll have the ___" (frequent customer's order)

• The answer is Usual.

Contents of a volcano

• The answer is Magma.

Adjust to a new environment

• The answer is Adapt.

With 10-Across, last car on a train

• The answer is CA.

See 9-Across

• The answer is SE.

Down"Poison" shrub

• The answer is Sumac.

Carne ___

• The answer is Asada.

Imaginary cause of fear

• The answer is Buga.

Accessible alternatives to staircases

• The answer is Ramps.

Make extremely happy

• The answer is Elate.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to the latest Mini Crossword.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition is simple if you understand basketball.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Baseball locations

• Green: Same grouping

• Blue: Related to one player

• Purple: Same first word

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Places in the ballpark

• Green: Big East Teams

• Blue: Associated with Babe Ruth

• Purple: Angel ____

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #403 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Places in the ballpark - BULLPEN, DUGOUT, MOUND, PLATE

• Big East Teams - BLUEJAYS, HOYAS, MUSKETEERS, RED STORM

• Associated with Babe Ruth - 3, CURSE, RED SOX, YANKEES

• Angel ___ - CITY, MCCOUGHTRY, REESE, STADIUM

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, the Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move onto the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity for how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for October 31, 2025

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible – and common – for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for October 31, 2025 Easy difficulty hints, answers for Oct. 31 Pips

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 2-6, placed horizontally; 6-6, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add to 3. The answer is 3-5, placed vertically.

Number (1): Everything in this space must add to 1. The answer is 1-5, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Oct. 31 Pips

Number (3): Everything in this space must add to 3. The answer is 3-4, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 3-4, placed vertically; 4-4, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this space must add to 4. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally.

Not Equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically; 3-6, placed horizontally; 0-5, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this space must add to 6. The answer is 3-6, placed horizontally.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add to 5. The answer is 0-5, placed vertically.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Oct. 31 Pips

Number (16): Everything in this space must add to 16. The answer is 5-5, placed horizontally; 1-5, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (1): Everything in this space must be greater than 1. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally.

Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 2-0, placed horizontally.

Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 2-6, placed horizontally; 6-6, placed horizontally; 6-4, placed horizontally; 6-1, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 6-4, placed horizontally; 4-4, placed vertically.

Greater Than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 1-4, placed vertically.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

The premiere of IT: Welcome to Derry was not only jaw-dropping and stomach-churning in its gore and horror, but also in the sheer number of characters it was willing to axe right out the gate. Truly, Game of Thrones walked so that IT: Welcome to Derry could run like those kids from Weapons — fast, furious, and towards hellish fates. 

SEE ALSO: A warning for 'IT: Welcome to Derry' — with no spoilers

That shocking ending from the first episode set a clear warning to fans: Don't get too attached. Pennywise is coming for the kids of Derry, our attachments be damned. 

Sorry to all those who suspected Teddy (Mikkal Karim-Fidler), Phil (Jack Molloy Legault), and little sister Susie (Matilda Legault) would be the start of a Losers Club for the series. We’d just warmed up to their comically chaotic chemistry, but by the end of episode one, all that was left of them were blood stains in the movie theater and a tiny dismembered arm, with big ol' bite marks at the elbow. 

But hey, episode two introduces new kids for Lilly (Clara Stack) and Ronnie (Amanda Christine) to befriend in their fight against Pennywise. However, one of this group may already be doomed by a clue from the IT movies. 

Spoilers ahead for IT: Welcome to Derry, episode 2. 

Ronnie is our favorite, but she might well be doomed to die. Credit: Brooke Palmer / HBO

From the cold open of IT: Welcome to Derry, Ronnie's been a good egg. At the movie theater, she saw Matty (Miles Ekhardt) hiding from the overearnest usher who chased him out of The Music Man. She did him a good deed by turning the usher in the wrong direction. However, after Matty goes missing, Ronnie's dad, who works as a projectionist at the theater, is implicated in his disappearance because of anti-Black racism. By episode 2, she's fearful (to the point of a truly harrowing mother-daughter scene) that her dad will be framed not only for Matty's presumed death, but for those of Teddy, Phil, and Susie as well

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But let's talk about her nightmare mom. Where the other kids cower when confronted with their worst fears made all too real by Pennywise's powers, Ronnie battles back. She tears her way out of that suffocating womb. She doesn't flee the twisted version of her mother that declares her a bringer of death. She fights. When that womb tries to reclaim her with Pennywise-like teeth, she uses her own teeth to tear through a ropey umbilical cord to break free. 

Ronnie is a warrior, for herself and her father. She pushes Lilly to talk to the police about that night in the theater, so Lilly can clear her father's name. Well, that goes horrendously awry. And Ronnie's not going to let that lie. She storms to Lilly's house, pounds on that door, and shouts at Lilly's mother before calling her out, "WHAT DID YOU DO, LILLY BAINBRIDGE?" 

Ronnie is facing not only the carnivorous clown, but also fair-weather friends, and the systemic racism that would gladly sacrifice her only living parent so that the white folks of Derry can continue to look the other way. Rightfully and righteously, she rages against all of it, calling "bullshit" and winning our hearts. But here's the part where I warn you: She's marked to die by Pennywise's hand. 

The clue to Ronnie's fate lies in the movie IT.  Credit: Brooke Palmer / HBO

Okay, look. The whole thing with IT is that Pennywise the Dancing Clown terrorizes kids, then gobbles them up like popcorn. IT: Welcome to Derry being a prequel suggests that Lilly, Ronnie, and their new friends won't succeed in defeating Pennywise for good — if only because both IT and IT: Chapter Two and Welcome to Derry are canonically linked through continuity, Easter eggs, and filmmakers Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti. But that Pennywise will rise again doesn't mean all of these kids will die. So why am I so convinced Ronnie will? One single word in IT: Veronica. 

Think back on the bathroom scene in IT, in which Beverly hears voices down the sink drain before an eruption of hair and blood assaults her. Three voices call her name. "We all want to meet you, Beverly. We all float down here," they say in a creepy sing-song voice. Naturally, Beverly asks "Who are you?" 

The voices answer. One says she's Betty Ripsom, the little girl from the missing posters plastered on telephone polls. Another says Patrick Hockstetter, the friend of bully Henry Bowers who got picked off by Pennywise by this point in the film. And then the third voice says simply, "Veronica." 

This is the only time the name "Veronica" is spoken in IT. So while she might be another kid from that cycle, she might also be Ronnie, whose full name is spoken by her father in episode 2: Veronica Grogan. 

Now, Pennywise is a liar. He mimics all kinds of people and things, living and dead. So maybe it means nothing.  But as for me, I'm more worried about Ronnie's chances than I was at the end of episode one. 

The second episode of IT: Welcome to Derry will premiere Friday, Oct. 31 at 3 a.m. ET on HBO Max.

New episodes of IT: Welcome to Derry premiere Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max,

If you thought it was tough to eat during IT: Welcome to Derry's gory first episode, the show's second installment says, "Hold my pickle jar."

That's because episode 2, titled "The Thing in the Dark," continues IT: Welcome to Derry's scare parade with a sequence that does for pickles what Stephen King's IT did for clowns. Namely, it ruins them entirely.

SEE ALSO: 'IT: Welcome to Derry's shocking episode 1 ending, explained IT: Welcome to Derry turns pickles into nightmares. Clara Stack in "IT: Welcome to Derry." Credit: Brooke Palmer / HBO

The series laid the groundwork for its pickle-centric scare back in episode 1, when Lilly (Clara Stack) revealed her traumatic backstory to Matty (Miles Ekhardt). Her father died in a freak accident at the pickle plant he worked at, climbing into the factory's machinery in order to retrieve Lilly's lost mood ring. Turns out, the machinery was still on, putting a grisly end to his life.

Lilly's father's death sparked an urban legend that his body parts have turned up in pickle jars all around Maine. It also haunts Lilly at school, where bullies leave jars of pickles in her locker. The potent combination of family tragedy and psychological torment at school makes Lilly's relationship with pickles the perfect kind of fear for Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) to exploit. And boy, does he ever.

"The Thing in the Dark" sees Lilly's routine grocery turn into a waking nightmare. The aisles shift around her, trapping her in a maze of creepy customers and whispers that she's crazy. Later, the announcements on the loud speaker directly call her out for having "lost [her] marbles," and she sees her dead friends from episode 1 plastered on cereal boxes as mascots.

SEE ALSO: The most WTF scares from 'IT: Welcome to Derry' episode 1, ranked

That buildup is unsettling enough as it is, but it all culminates in something far worse for Lilly: a trip to the pickle aisle. Boxed in by shelves of pickles, Lilly sees parts of her father within the jars. His head, sliced into thirds, taunts her, while his fingers almost blend in with the pickles. When the jars all burst off the shelves, her father's body parts coalesce into a tentacled pickle monster, slick with brine. It's as if the Kraken decided to become a pickle mascot. You think you can do better than the Vlasic stork? You can't! Back to the ocean with you!

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Now, the logical bit of my brain knows that there are no corpses in pickle jars. But the rest of my brain, the part that watched IT: Welcome to Derry and kept yelling "Why?" during this scene, is now hesitant to even think of pickles. After all, the scene elicited the kind of reaction about pickles that I had after just seeing Pennywise for the first time: a resounding "absolutely not." You really think I'm going to willingly bite into a whole pickle when I just saw swollen fingers and toes floating around in brine? No way!

Is IT: Welcome to Derry's pickle scene in Stephen King's book?

No! While IT: Welcome to Derry is inspired by Mike Hanlon's historical interludes in Stephen King's IT, much of it has been made up whole cloth. Think of it as IT fan fiction.

Lilly is one of the show-only elements of IT: Welcome to Derry, which means that we don't actually have King to blame for the pickle Kraken from hell. Instead, that's all on series developers Andy and Barbara Muschietti, showrunners Jason Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane, and episode writer Austin Guzman. Thanks for the nightmares, team. As punishment, I hope you can never chomp down on a pickle again!

IT: Welcome to Derry airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO (with episode 2 airing at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT on Friday, Oct. 31 for Halloween). The show is available to stream on HBO Max.

Warning: Contains possible spoilers from Stephen King's IT novel.

Another episode into IT: Welcome to Derry, and the Stephen King crossovers are quickly stacking up.

Along with the clue-filled opening credits and the numerous IT references in the first episode, episode 2 widens the scope, introducing a character best known from a different Stephen King novel entirely.

So who is it, and where do we know them from? We've broken it down below.

SEE ALSO: Every single Stephen King movie adaptation, ranked Who is introduced in episode 2?

In episode 1, Major Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) joins the air base at Derry and encounters an unnamed soldier who keeps casting seemingly significant glances at him. In episode 2, we finally learn who this man is: Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk), the same man who works as a chef at The Overlook Hotel in The Shining and helps Danny Torrance understand his psychic gift.

Hallorann, it turns out, is currently working on the air base alongside Major Hanlon as part of a top-secret project.

But what exactly is he doing there, and is he also a character in King's IT?

What's Dick Hallorann doing in Derry?

Shortly after we learn Dick Hallorann's identity, we get an idea of what he's doing in Derry — and why his psychic gifts are of particular use on the Army base there.

Taking Major Hanlon into the base's restricted area, General Shaw (James Remar) explains that his lack of fear makes him uniquely qualified to help them in their search for a "weapon" buried in Derry "a long time ago."

"This weapon, it generates debilitating fear in anyone who comes near it," General Shaw explains. "In theory, it could scare a man badly enough to kill him where he stands." He's talking, of course, about IT.

The general goes on to say that there are "beacons" surrounding the weapon that will help them pinpoint its exact location. Dick Hallorann, using his psychic powers, is helping the Army locate these beacons.

Does Dick Hallorann appear in Stephen King's IT novel?

The following details from King's book could reveal spoilers for IT: Welcome to Derry, if it adheres to the IT novel. So proceed with caution.

The short answer is yes: Hallorann is in one of the historical sections written by Mike Hanlon, upon which IT: Welcome to Derry is based. In the book, Hallorann is involved in the fire at the Black Spot, the tragedy that ends Pennywise's 1930s killing cycle.

The Black Spot is the name of a club where mostly Black soldiers from the nearby base go to drink and socialise. In the novel, it's burned down by a local racist group, and Dick Hallorann (who is working in the kitchen at the time) is one of few people who manages to make it out alive.

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IT: Welcome to Derry airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO (with episode 2 airing at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT on Friday, Oct. 31 for Halloween). The show is available to stream on HBO Max.

IT: Welcome to Derry is only a couple of episodes in, but we're already awash with Stephen King Easter eggs — and the show's opening credits are no exception.

Set to Patience and Prudence's discordantly cheery 1956 song "A Smile and a Ribbon", the opening theme is made up of a series of retro cartoon images that veer between wholesome and terrifying.

Of these scenes, there are certain moments and places that may look familiar. We've broken them down below.

SEE ALSO: Every single Stephen King movie adaptation, ranked The statue of Paul Bunyan

In episode 1, Derry is still trying to approve a statue of Paul Bunyan, despite the protests of residents. This statue appears in both the book and the movies, coming to life and chasing Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard/Bill Hader) in a memorable scare sequence.

The storm drain

One image in the opening credits shows a little girl bending down to look into the dark mouth of a storm drain. There's no clown waiting inside, but the moment is eerily reminiscent of the infamous scene with Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) and Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) that opens both the book and the first IT movie.

Juniper Hill Asylum

In the opening credits we see a shot of doctors getting ready to operate on a screaming child in the upstairs room of an asylum. As the camera zooms away, this is revealed to be Juniper Hill Asylum; it's a place that pops up in a couple of Stephen King stories, but in IT it's where adult Henry Bowers (Teach Grant) is locked up before escaping with the help of Pennywise.

Featured Video For You Cooper Hoffman and 'The Long Walk' cast compete for ultimate Stephen King film knowledge The house on Neibolt Street

We see a family getting their picture taken in front of a very haunted-looking house, the little boy peering over his shoulder at a shadow in the window. If this ramshackle building looks familiar, it's because it's a key IT location: The house on Neibolt Street, which serves as the entrance to Pennywise's sewer lair in both the book and the movies.

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The shooting of the Bradley gang

We know that IT: Welcome to Derry will be largely based on the interlude chapters from the novel penned by Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs/Isaiah Mustafa), which delves into the town's dark history and the bloody events that mark the start and end of the creature's killing cycles. In the book, the 1930s cycle starts with the massacre of the Bradley gang — a shooting in one of the town's main streets in which some gangsters are gunned down. This scene is depicted in the opening credits, as is another scene from the cycle before that one...

The explosion at the Kitchener Ironworks

This is the event that ends the cycle in the early 1900s — an explosion at the Ironworks that takes place during an Easter egg hunt (hence the giant rabbit we see in the opening credits), and which results in the death of 88 children in the novel. Presumably these events will be recreated at some point in the show.

IT: Welcome to Derry debuts on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO, and will be available to stream on HBO Max. New episodes air weekly.

TL;DR: Live stream FC Augsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Can any team keep pace with Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga standings? That job usually falls at the feet of Borussia Dortmund, but they're a little off the pace after eight games. Borussia Dortmund find themselves in fourth position going into a crucial Friday night fixture with FC Augsburg.

If you want to watch FC Augsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is FC Augsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund?

FC Augsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga kicks off at 7:30 p.m. GMT on Oct. 31. This fixture takes place at the Augsburg Arena.

How to watch FC Augsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund for free

FC Augsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer.

BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world.

Live stream FC Augsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit BBC iPlayer

5. Live stream FC Augsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch FC Augsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to live stream select fixtures from the Bundesliga before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on BBC iPlayer, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $139 and includes an extra four months for free — 61% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.95 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream FC Augsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga for free with ExpressVPN.

Wondering what's happening with the moon tonight? Wonder no more, we have all the information about tonight's place in the lunar cycle, just keep reading.

What is today’s moon phase?

As of Friday, Oct. 31, the moon phase is Waxing Gibbous. There will be 69% of the moon lit up tonight, according to NASA's Daily Moon Observation.

Without any visual aids, there's lots for you to see tonight, including the Mare Vaporum, the Mare Imbrium, and the Mare Serenitatis. With some binoculars too, you'll see the Endymion Crater, Posidonius Crater, and the Mare Nectaris. Not enough for you? Telescope owners will also get to see the Rima Ariadaeus and the Apollo 14 and 15 landing spots.

When is the next full moon?

The next full moon will be on Nov. 5.

What are moon phases?

According to NASA, the moon moves through its phases as it completes a 29.5-day orbit around Earth. The phases we see are caused by the changing angles between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. From Earth, the moon can appear full, partly lit, or seem to disappear entirely, but it’s always the same side facing us. What changes is how much sunlight reflects off its surface, depending on where it is in orbit. This pattern is known as the lunar cycle.

The eight main moon phases are:

New Moon - The moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter - Half of the moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-moon.

Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

Full Moon - The whole face of the moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous - The moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) - Another half-moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

The internet sometimes feels like a dangerous place, but with so many options to protect your data, your anonymity, and your privacy, how do you know which tool to use and when? Here is what you need to know about proxies, VPNs, and Tor.

Emma Stone's Bugonia character may be a high-powered CEO with more wealth than most people could ever dream of, but she does have one super relatable quality: She lip-syncs the hell out of Chappell Roan's "Good Luck, Babe!" in her car.

In a junket interview with Mashable, Stone said that using the song "just felt so right."

SEE ALSO: 'Bugonia's bizarro ending, explained

"She — or her team — was amazing and approved this song within 24 hours of us asking, which was really great, because we needed to shoot the scene, like, two days later," Stone continued. "That was just good luck, babe."

But Roan's 2024 smash hit isn't the only major needle drop in Bugonia. Jesse Plemons' conspiracy theorist Teddy also jams out to Green Day's "Basket Case" during a pivotal scene, a choice that came about through on-set discussions.

"We were just thinking about all the music that Teddy would be listening to," Stone said.

"I remember you mentioning Green Day, then," Plemons recalled.

However, Stone also had another idea for Teddy's big song: "Pepper" by Butthole Surfers.

"I'm really obsessed with Butthole Surfers," Stone said. "I really think that Teddy would listen to Butthole Surfers."

Stone and Plemons also dug into one of Bugonia's richest scenes: a dinner stand-off between Michelle and Teddy, where Teddy's cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) proves to be a comedic wild card.

"The only thing we didn't factor in [while preparing to shoot the scene] was Aidan's incredible improv," Stone said. "Aidan kept going, 'Can I go to the bathroom?' and Yorgos [Lanthimos] was like, 'This is incredible,' and kept it in the movie.'"

Watch the full interview above for more from Stone and Plemons about the music and madness of Bugonia.

Bugonia is now in theaters.

Zen 5 chips have been out for a while, but the next big thing is already in development, as you might have been able to tell by the countless leaks and rumors. We know some things already, but nothing official. That is, at least, until now.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Yale Smart Lock 2   Get Deal

The cold of winter is finally about to set in. You'll probably be spending a lot more time indoors when the holidays arrive, and that means you'll want to feel safe in your space. A smart lock is a great way to achieve that. With Black Friday on the way, would it be possible to see a new record-low price on one of the best and most simple to install smart locks out there?

Why we love the Yale Smart Lock 2

There are plenty of reasons to love the Yale Smart Lock 2, but most of them stem from its convenience and ease of use. From unboxing to installation, it only takes minutes to get up and running. It offers keyless access to your home, but it also allows you to use the same key you already use to unlock your door. It adds options to use a voice assistant, keypad, and auto-unlocking via app, so you can do what you're most comfortable with. If you forget your key, as long as you've got your phone, you're good to go.

That means you don't have to hire a locksmith to get you into your home or spend on having new keys made. And if you forget to check if you locked the door before you leave your house, a quick glance at the app will tell you its status. You can send a push for it to lock on its own, or have the peace of mind that it's locked securely. Plus, you can even set it to auto-unlock as you approach with your phone.

One thing that makes it perfect for renters, however, is how temporary it can be if you want it. There's nothing permanent to install and no one can see that you're using it from the outside. So if your rental agreement prevents any modification to your lock or outside of your unit or apartment, it's invisible to the eye but works just as well as if you'd installed a new lock.

Black Friday deal we hope to see on the Yale Smart Lock 2

While any price drop for this smart lock would be great, seeing it head under its sale price of $120, its current lowest price ever, would be a win for Black Friday. It's seen several price drops over the past year, but usually doesn't drop past the mid $160s or $170s, with its lowest price happening on Nov. 21, 2023 and not returning for some time.

It has a list price of $259.99, with a current discount of 8%, so seeing a significant price drop for Black Friday, when we'll likely also see serious savings on smart home equipment, would be a fantastic score for the biggest sale event of the year. We'll be keeping our eyes and ears (but not our doors) open.

TL;DR: Save on a Sterling Stock Picker lifetime subscription with code SAVE20 at checkout, dropping the usual deal price from $68.99 to $55.19 through Nov. 2 (MSRP $486).

Opens in a new window Credit: Sterling Stock Picker Sterling Stock Picker: Lifetime Subscription $55.19
$486 Save $430.81   Get Deal

Starting your stock market journey shouldn’t feel like gambling, but it’s the fear of loss that keeps many of us on the sidelines. All you really need is a simple tool that helps you easily navigate through the complex jargon and minimize the risk involved in some investments.

Sterling Stock Picker is designed to help you do exactly that. It gives you straightforward, data-driven insights about when to buy, sell, hold, or avoid a stock. Investing in Sterling Stock Picker is pretty easy right now. Instead of costing $486 for a lifetime subscription, it’s only $55.19 with code SAVE20, but that won’t last much longer.

SEE ALSO: OpenAI bets big on AMD with massive investment

Sterling Stock Picker’s North Star technology simplifies complex market data so you don’t need to be an expert to understand what to do next. You also get support from Finley, an AI-powered financial coach built with OpenAI’s technology. Finley helps you make sense of stock trends, delivers personalized recommendations, and keeps you updated with real-time market analysis.

If you’re not sure how to build your portfolio, Sterling makes that easy, too. The Done-For-You Portfolio Builder factors in your goals and risk tolerance, then creates a balanced portfolio tailored to you. From there, you’ll receive ongoing suggestions and insights to help keep everything aligned with your investment strategy.

Whether you’re new to investing or want a more efficient way to manage your portfolio, Sterling Stock Picker offers a practical, intelligent solution.

Use code SAVE20 to get a Sterling Stock Picker lifetime subscription on sale for $55.19. Deal ends Nov. 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: Hulu Hulu with ads $11.99 per month Shop Now

Streaming services tend to go hard when it comes to Black Friday deals. It's the best time to sign up for most streamers, hands down, as you can typically score some serious savings on monthly membership fees.

But here's the thing: the prices of nearly every streaming service rise dramatically every year (it's honestly getting out of hand). And this year is no different. We've seen Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+, Peacock, Fubo, and YouTube TV all increase their costs in 2025, which makes us skeptical of what sort of streaming deals we'll see this holiday season.

Still, we're holding out hope that our favorite streaming deal of 2023 and 2024 will make a return in 2025: 99-cent Hulu subscriptions.

Will price hikes impact Black Friday streaming deals in 2025?

There's really no direct answer to this question, as in years past we've seen some streamers adjust their Black Friday discounts to coincide with price increases and others revive the same deals in spite of them. For example: In 2022, Peacock offered users an entire year of ad-supported streaming for just $1 per month. In 2023, they upped the price to $1.99 per month for one year. Then last year, after a price hike, they chopped that in half and only offered six months of ad-supported streaming for $1.99 per month.

On the other hand, Hulu upped the cost of its basic plan last year from $7.99 to $9.99 per month, yet it still dropped the best streaming deal for the second year in a row — ad-supported subscriptions for just $0.99 per month for an entire year. This gives us hope that despite the 2025 price hike — from $9.99 to $11.99 per month — the 99-cent deal will once again be resurrected.

The Black Friday deal we're hoping to see on Hulu

If Hulu does the unthinkable and revives the best streaming deal of 2023 and 2024, you could get an entire year of streaming for less than 12 bucks. After the latest price hike, that would mean you'd get an entire year of streaming for less than the price of a single month. Unreal.

Since the streamer kept the same deal alive after a $2 price hike last year, we're hopeful the same thing will happen in 2025. But TBH, even if they inflate the Black Friday deal to $1.99 per month for a year, we'd still be satisfied. That's still less than $24 for a whole year of streaming.

Besides the recent price hike, another thing that might complicate Hulu's Black Friday plans is the expected merge with Disney+. By 2026, Disney plans on folding the Hulu app into Disney+ to create a "fully integrated unified app experience." Users will still be able to sign up for Hulu as a standalone service, but there's no word yet on how the pricing will be effected overall when the full integration unfolds.

Why we love Hulu

Hulu is the streaming home of Mashable's favorite show of 2024, Shōgun, as well as one of our favorites of 2025, Dying for Sex. It's also where you'll find FX originals (like The Bear), episodes of ABC shows the day after they air, Neon movies fresh out of the theaters, and plenty of Hulu Original Series we love — like Only Murders in the Building and Chad Powers. It holds its own as one of the most well-rounded streaming services you can get. At $11.99 per month, it's one of the most expensive ad-supported streamers, which is why we'd love to see the 99-cent Black Friday deal revived.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Kindle (16GB) $109.99 at Amazon
  Shop Now

We're less than a month out from the best deal-shopping time of the year — Cyber Week. Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we tend to see the biggest price drops ever on big ticket items, from laptops and TVs to headphones and e-readers. As far as e-readers go, Kindles are our favorites. And we're hoping to see some record-low prices in time for the holidays.

I actually bought my very first Kindle last year during Amazon's Black Friday sale and have never looked back. The basic Kindle retails for just $109.99, but we saw the price plummet to only $89.99 last Black Friday. Then, during Amazon's Prime Day event in October, it dropped even further to just $84.99. Could we see a new best price ever come Black Friday 2025?

Why we love the basic Kindle My Kindle is basically like a security blanket at this point — I bring it everywhere. Credit: Christina Buff

The Kindle Paperwhite is Mashable's resident e-reader expert's top pick. And while it's certainly a wonderful device, I would go to war for my basic Kindle. It's my pride and joy and I carry it with me everywhere. It's tiny enough to fit in my purse and whip out whenever there's a quiet moment in my day. Plus, it's the cheapest option, which is very important to me in a time when everything is outrageously overpriced. On a normal day, it's just $109.99, while the Paperwhite is $159.99 and the Colorsoft is $249.99. We're not even going to mention the prices of the new Kindle Scribe and Scribe Colorsoft.

The basic Kindle comes with 16GB of storage, which is plenty of room for thousands of books. It's the smallest Kindle in the bunch, which I personally find delightful for one-handed reading and portability (like I mentioned, it slips in my purse easily). It has the same screen resolution as the Paperwhite and the same sort of magic that makes you read at lightning speed. It's only downsides are that it's not waterproof and there's no warm light option. I personally haven't had an issue with the light — my eyes never feel strained from reading on the paper-like screen. As for the waterproof issue, you just have to be extra careful.

The Black Friday deal we hope to see on the basic Kindle

Earlier in October, during Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days event, we saw the basic Kindle drop to $84.99 — a new record-low for the matcha color option and just the second time ever for the black option. I think Black Friday could beat that, at least by a few bucks. Sure, it may be wishful thinking, but I think we might see the budget-friendly e-reader drop to just $79.99 for the first time ever this holiday season. If that's the case, we will certainly let our readers know ASAP.

In any case, if you're in the market for an e-reader and want to follow my lead and grab the best budget Kindle, we recommend waiting until it's at least down to $84.99. Here's hoping for even less.

Opens in a new window Credit: Anker Anker Solix C1000   Get Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Anker Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2   Get Deal

It's time to load up on Halloween candy, and while you're at it, why not start a holiday wish list? Black Friday is just a handful of weeks away and each year it seems retailers start dropping prices earlier and earlier. That means some of our favorite products could start seeing discounts soon. And what am I excited for? Portable power stations, of course. In particular, I'm hoping to see new record-low prices on the Anker Solix C1000 and the Solix C1000 Gen 2.

Why we love the Anker Solix C1000 and C1000 Gen 2

Both models of the Anker Solix C1000 provide a bit over 1,000Wh of capacity and both use long-lasting LiFePO4 battery cells which can last for a decade. Port options on both models of the Solix C1000 are great and give you plenty of AC options, USB-C, and USB-A.

Both models are exceptional options for taking along for a weekend camping trip or for keeping around the house in case of a power outage. You'll be able to keep phones and laptops charged up, but you can also use it for a strand of string lights at the campground or for powering up the coffee maker.

At home during power outages, both models will be able to keep the WiFi router powered up so you can spend the outage streaming your favorite Netflix series, rather than worrying about conserving phone battery.

The original Solix C1000 has the advantage of a built-in lightbar and one additional AC port. The newer Solix C1000 Gen 2 is lightweight, smaller in size, and quicker to recharge.

In addition to using a portable power station while camping or during power outages, I find the Solix C1000 to be useful when I visit my family's house during the holidays. The 1950s home doesn't have plentiful power outlets like modern homes do these days. That means it's hard to come by an outlet in some situations. Instead of plugging my phone in to recharge across the room, I pack the Solix C1000 Gen 2 and use it as my nightstand, powering up my phone. It's also great for pairing with a laptop when working from bed, not that I'd ever do such an ergonomically incorrect thing.

Since the Solix C1000 Gen 2 can recharge back to 100 percent in about 50 minutes, it takes no time at all to recharge.

The Anker Solix C1000 (left) and C1000 Gen 2 (right) would make for the best Christmas present for a camping friend. Credit: Lauren Allain / Mashable Pricing history of the Anker Solix C1000 and C1000 Gen 2

During October's Prime Day event at Amazon, we saw a record-low price on the older (but still awesome) Solix C1000. That sale brought the price down to just $379, for a major savings of $420 compared to the list price of $799.

The newer Solix C1000 Gen 2 was left out of record-low pricing during October Prime Day but not long after the sale ended, we saw a record-low. The current all-time low price for the Solix C1000 Gen 2 sits at $379.99 from Oct. 20.

Black Friday deal we hope to see on the Anker Solix C1000 and Solix C1000 Gen 2

Since both models are great and both have an all-time low price of about $379.99, I'd be thrilled to see them drop down to this price again. Of course, lower would be ideal, but this amount of power and convenience for $380 is well worth the price, if you ask me. If you see either of these models drop below $379.99, I would highly recommend clicking "buy" at a record-quick speed.

Keep in mind this would make an amazing gift for that friend who's always camping or a pal who works in the backyard often and runs massive extension cords across the lawn to power up tools.

Although a VPN encrypts your traffic and hides much of your online activity from your ISP, it’s a common misconception that it makes you completely invisible. Even with a VPN active, your ISP can still see specific details you might assume are hidden. Let’s explore what information they can access.