Technology

Plenty of horror films have moments that stay with you, but there aren't many with final images as disturbing as Starve Acre's.

The entire last act of Daniel Kokotajlo's movie — based on Andrew Michael Hurley's novel of the same name — is intense, so much so that you may be struggling to make sense of what in the rabbit-nurturing heck you just witnessed.

To try and help piece together the final happenings of this '70s Yorkshire-set horror, we've broken down all the key questions below, from the legend of Dandelion Jack to what really happened to that poor little boy.

SEE ALSO: The 13 best horror movies of 2023, and where to watch them What's Starve Acre about?

After their young son Owen (Arthur Shaw) dies from an asthma attack, Richard (Matt Smith) and Juliette (Morfydd Clark) both experience strange happenings while struggling to deal with their overwhelming grief. On a sabbatical from the university where he teaches, Richard digs in a nearby field to try and uncover the remaining roots of a legendary tree written about in his abusive father's diaries.

While digging Richard discovers the skeleton of a hare, which he boxes up and takes home — only to find that the creature seems to be slowly regenerating itself whenever he looks at its remains alone.

Juliette, meanwhile, is haunted by depression, guilt, and visions of her son, leading her to be open to a visit from local medium Mrs. Forde (Melanie Kilburn).

A troubled family. Credit: BFI What happens at the end of Starve Acre?

The remains of the hare completely regenerate, and the now-living creature comes back to the house after Richard and Juliette try to release it into the wild. Juliette becomes obsessed with it, believing it to be the manifestation of a Pagan spirit the locals called Dandelion Jack.

Richard, meanwhile, uncovers the remains of the perfectly preserved "Whistling Tree" that his father was obsessed with. His colleague Steven (Robert Emms) comes to help him dig, but Juliette has a vision that Steven has come to take the hare away from her. She takes a knife and murders Steven, before persuading Richard that Dandelion Jack has come to give them a second chance after their son's death.

In the final moments of the film, Richard kills Juliette's visiting sister Harrie (Erin Richards), providing Dandelion Jack with the third sacrifice needed to complete the legend and cross over from the spirit world.

What's the local legend about Dandelion Jack?

Hang on a minute — who's Dandelion Jack? And what exactly is this local legend? We get glimpses of the story in the writings of Richard's father Neil, but the most concise explanation comes from Richard himself when he tells his colleague what the Whistling Tree is meant to be.

"The womb of nature," says Richard. "The pagan's entrance to the spirit world."

One of these spirits is Dandelion Jack. The legend goes that three human sacrifices are needed to open the doorway and let him in: a child, a woman, and a man. In this case Owen is the first sacrifice, then Steven, and then finally Harrie.

What really happened to their son, Owen?

Before he dies, Owen speaks about Dandelion Jack, using the spirit's other name, Jack Grey. He says Jack Grey has been "whistling" to him. The implication is that Dandelion Jack's spirit is able to influence and communicate with members of Richard's family in an attempt to free himself from the spirit world, first telling Owen to do bad things and then causing his mother not to intervene while he's having an asthma attack.

"When Owen had the asthma attack, I didn't freeze up," Juliette tells Richard towards the end of the film. "I had a moment of clarity that we'd be better off without him. And that was thanks to Jack."

It seems as though Dandelion Jack's spirit was pulling the strings all along, with the goal being to make Owen his first sacrifice.

Juliette treats the hare like a new child. Credit: BFI What's the deal with the hare?

The hare seems to be a physical manifestation of Dandelion Jack. Richard discovers the remains while digging near the buried Whistling Tree (the doorway to Jack's spirit world), and the hare regenerates after Owen — the first sacrifice — has been made.

Whether the hare is Jack's final form is unclear. The film ends at the moment when all three sacrifices have been made, and Juliette has just begun to "nurture" (ick) the hare like a child.

Maybe it's for the best that we don't stick around to find out what happens next.

Starve Acre is now streaming on Shudder.

UPDATE: Mar. 5, 2025, 3:29 p.m. EST This was first published on Sept. 6, 2024 It has been updated to reflect streaming options.

TL;DR: A wide range of online courses from Harvard University are available to take for free on edX.

edX is the best place to find online courses from some of the top educational institutions in the world. And this list of famous schools includes Harvard University. It doesn't get much better than that.

You can find online courses from Harvard University on popular topics like AI, cybersecurity, game development, public speaking, and so much more. And better yet, these online courses are available to take for free. Yes, that's right. You could become a student of Harvard University without spending anything. And without stepping foot outside the comfort of your home.

We have checked out everything on offer and lined up a standout selection of online courses to get you started. These are the best free online courses from Harvard University this month:

• American Government: Constitutional Foundations

• Ancient Masterpieces of World Literature

• Applications of TinyML

• Building Personal Resilience: Managing Anxiety and Mental Health

• Calculus Applied

• Cell Biology: Mitochondria

• Child Protection: Children's Rights in Theory and Practice

• CitiesX: The Past, Present and Future of Urban Life

• Contract Law: From Trust to Promise to Contract

• CS50's Computer Science for Business Professionals

• CS50's Computer Science for Lawyers

• CS50's Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python

• CS50's Introduction to Computer Science

• CS50's Introduction to Cybersecurity

• CS50's Introduction to Game Development

• CS50's Introduction to Programming with Python

• CS50's Introduction to Programming with R

• CS50's Introduction to Programming with Scratch

• CS50's Understanding Technology

• CS50's Web Programming with Python and JavaScript

• Data Science: Capstone

• Data Science: Inference and Modelling

• Data Science: Machine Learning

• Data Science: Probability

• Data Science: Productivity Tools

• Data Science: R Basics

• Data Science: Visualization

• Deploying TinyML

• Early Childhood Development: Global Strategies for Implementation

• Electrochemistry

• Energy and Thermodynamics

• Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies

• Exercising Leadership: Foundational Principles

• Fat Chance: Probability from the Ground Up

• Fundamentals of Neuroscience Part 1

• Fundamentals of TinyML

• High-Dimensional Data Analysis

• Human Anatomy: Musculoskeletal Cases

• Humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster

• Improving Your Business Through a Culture of Health

• Introduction to Data Science with Python

• Introduction to Digital Humanities

• Introduction to Probability

• Islam Through Its Scriptures

• Justice

• Justice Today: Money, Markets, and Morals

• Leadership: Creating Public Value

• Leaders of Learning

• Machine Learning and AI with Python

• Managing Happiness

• Masterpieces of World Literature

• MLOps for Scaling TinyML

• Modern Masterpieces of World Literature

• PredictionX: Lost Without Longitude

• Principles of Biochemistry

• Pyramids of Giza: Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology

• Remote Work Revolution for Everyone

• Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking

• Shakespeare's Life and Work

• Statistics and R

• Structure and Function of Argument: Introduction to Critical Thinking

• Super-Earths and Life

• Technology Entrepreneurship: Lab to Market

• The Architectural Imagination

• The Path to Happiness: What Chinese Philosophy Teaches us about the Good Life

• Using Python for Research

The catch with these free courses is that they don't include certificate of completion or graded assignments and exams. But you can still enroll at any time and start learning at your own pace, so what's stopping you from enrolling right now? There's nothing. Nothing at all.

Find the best free online courses from Harvard University with edX.

Opens in a new window Credit: Harvard University Harvard University Courses Free at edX Learn More

With President Donald Trump back in the White House, all kinds of media and art will feel like it's commenting on him and his supporters. Some of it will be subtle; Bong Joon Ho's Mickey 17 is not. 

The celebrated director of the scathing satire Parasite returns with a parable set in a future where Earth is a man-made global disaster. There, a failed politician, who has a penchant for pursing his lips when he makes proclamations, launches a spaceship, stocked with many of his devoted followers. They don red baseball caps embroidered with his motto and hope to create a "pure planet" in the stars. 

It's blunt. And honestly, the similarities to America under Trump might hurt any hope for escapism. But notably, Mickey 17 isn't named for the narcissistic billionaire that is its villain. This heart-wrenching and inventive adventure is named for the average Joe who dumb-lucked himself onto a spaceship and into a massive change of fate. 

Robert Pattinson brings Jackass appeal to Mickey 17.  Robert Pattinson is a human printing in "Mickey 17." Credit: Warner Bros.

The backdrop to Mickey 17 is one of global politics, economic inequality, and fearmongering as a recruiting tool. But the core of the story is a good-hearted doofus named Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson). Fleeing a merciless loan shark, Mickey takes any job he can to get off-planet, signing up to be an "expendable" without reading the fine print on his contract. What he's consented to is to become the space colony's one-man crash test dummy. He'll be killed over and over in the name of science, only to be printed out again, with all his memories (of life and death) intact. 

Despite dying being a pretty common part of his routine, Mickey builds a life with the live-wire soldier Nasha (Blink Twice's Naomi Ackie). But after a mission gone weird, he returns to their bed to find not just his lover but another him. Mickey 18 (also played by Pattinson) was printed because the crew assumed Mickey 17 was dead. More bad news: "Multiples" have a bad reputation, which means their simultaneous existence could lead to them both being killed for good, with no more human printings. 

Like Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow (aka Live Die Repeat), Pattinson plays the clown in a daffy death montage, softening the blow of his repeated demise with a mix of physical comedy and a playful score of plinking piano and swooning strings. But where Cruise's army PR man was a cocky son-of-a-bitch, Pattinson's Mickey 17 is a real Jackass. 

In an interview with Empire, Pattison said that he'd attempted to mimic Jackass star Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville in his dual roles of Mickeys 17 and 18, but Bong shot the idea down. Still, fans of the stunts-and-shenanigans franchise might well still hear Steve-O in Pattison's raspy but open-hearted tone. And it's a smart allusion, subtly calling Generation X and millennials to remember the lovable goofball who'd risk his own neck (or nutsack) to please others. It's not that Mickey thinks of himself as noble in his human guinea-pigging. He's just happy to be of use, having little thought he's good for much else. By contrast, Mickey 18 is abrasive and volatile, less inclined to bend a knee to the powers that be. To survive, they must either join forces or turn on each other. And their decisions causes an electrifying upheaval in their space colony.

Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette give Trump with a hint of Okja.  Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette play Kenneth Marshall and his wife Ylfa in "Mickey 17." Credit: Warner Bros.

The two critically acclaimed performers are smartly paired as the braggadocious Kenneth Marshall and his right-hand wife Ylfa. Where the spaceship's inhabitants eat rationed gray sludge and wear uniforms to match, these two relish their lofty status and obscene wealth, dressing in flashy suits bedecked with shiny rivets or dresses so snug and violently colored they're a visual ambush. Like he did in the sci-fi thriller Snowpiercer and the fantasy caper Okja, Bong draws a dramatic contrast between the haughty haves, who feel their desires are exactly what they are owed no matter the human cost, and the gruff but lovable have-nots, who are expected to endure on sludge and scraps. 

Ruffalo embraces the buffoonery of this political performance, wearing distractingly white veneers as he mimics Trump's signature sneer and mercurial nature. Collette's Ylfa is less obviously tied to contemporary American politics. However, her fixation on luxuries — like ornate furnishings and exotic sauces — reflects the consumeristic colonialism that Bong openly condemns across his work. There's a willful lunacy in these heightened portrayals, where the caustic couple urges each other to grisly acts of violence in the name of their planetary conquest. And yet, for as far-flung in the future as Mickey 17 is set, it doesn't feel that far away.

Mickey 17 isn't a playbook of resistance but a parable of hope.  Robert Pattinson and Naomi Ackie play lovers in "Mickey 17." Credit: Warner Bros.

When cultures clash in Bong's movies, they often do so with dark humor and some juicy genre spectacle, a kind of candy-coating to make the medicine go down more easily. Mickey 17 himself is a sugary-sweet hero, whose softness is outright derided by more cynical members of the crew. Yet, this cavalcade of clashing crew mates — including Ackie, Steven Yeun, and Patsy Ferran — bring their own tasty charms through scenes involving kinky sex, party drugs, and animal noises. Then all this is folded into an alien world, where the natives are a compelling cross between pill bugs and elephants, soft and scurrying yet potentially powerful. Unexpectedly, they become a clever mirror of Mickey 17, underestimated but ultimately extraordinary. And in that is the lesson.

Mickey 17 is not hard or smart or even particularly special. He's an average dope who has been snookered by one bad deal after another. But in Mickey 17, he is the hero, thrown into an extraordinary circumstance that challenges him to adapt or die. But adapting doesn't demand becoming hard like 18. And in that Bong offers a ray of hope for those opposing a brutal authority.

The journey Mickey goes on is winding and wild, bucking the conventional flow of a sci-fi action movie, by being only gently sci-fi and barely action. Instead, Mickey 17 plays as a political comedy with cross-genre flare, ultimately urging the audience to see the similarities, and perhaps find our own inner Mickey 17. 

Mickey 17 premieres only in theaters on March 7, 2025.

Now that Lady Gaga has finished sing-narrating the lives of her SNL colleagues, it's time to prepare for Saturday's show with a series of the usual promo skits.

In the video above she joins Bowen Yang for some jokes about everything from Timothée Chalamet to Coachella, ending with a bit where Yang shows her his "Alejandro" tattoo — the Alejandro in question being Alejandro Mayorkas, "the seventh United States secretary of Homeland Security."

"Keep up," says Yang.

SAVE $90: As of March 7, the Apple iPad (10th Generation, 64GB, Wi-Fi) is available for $259.99 at Amazon. That’s 26% off its usual price of $349.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPad (10th Gen, 64GB) $259.99 at Amazon
$349 Save $89.01 Get Deal

Fancy a brand new iPad without the Apple tax? According to the listing, the 10th-generation iPad has dropped to $259.99 at Amazon, its lowest price in 30 days. The usual price is $349, so this deal knocks it to something much easier to justify. If your current tablet is lagging, cracked, or outdated, this could be the upgrade you've been waiting for.

The 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display makes everything look sharp and colorful. Watching videos, scrolling through social media, or attempting to get some work done? The screen keeps things crisp. True Tone automatically adjusts brightness based on your surroundings, so you won't get blinded by a too-bright display when checking an email at night.

SEE ALSO: The roborock Qrevo Edge robot vacuum is down to its lowest-ever price

Performance is powered by the A14 Bionic chip, the same one used in the iPhone 12. It's not the latest processor, but it handles day-to-day tasks without a problem. Browsing, streaming, note-taking, and even some light gaming all run smoothly. It's not meant to replace a laptop, but it does the job well for casual use.

This model supports the first-generation Apple Pencil, making it a good choice for students, casual artists, or anyone who prefers handwritten notes. It also works with the Magic Keyboard Folio, which adds a detachable keyboard and a protective back panel. Of course, both accessories are sold separately because Apple loves to keep things interesting.

• Price: $259.99 $349

• Retailer: Amazon

• Display: 10.9-inch Liquid Retina

• Processor: A14 Bionic chip

• Storage: 64GB

• Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 6

• Battery Life: All-day battery

• Security: Touch ID

• Pencil Support: Apple Pencil (1st Gen)

• Keyboard Support: Magic Keyboard Folio (sold separately)

WiFi 6 speeds up browsing and streaming, while Touch ID keeps things secure. The battery lasts all day, though that depends on how you use it. A mix of web browsing, video calls, and social media should get you through without needing to charge. A long binge-watch session might be a different story.

At $259.99, this is a great price for a reliable iPad that can handle everyday tasks. These discounts don't always stick around, so now's a good time to grab one if you've been thinking about it.

FREE LEGO: On March 9, build a Lego Steering Wheel model at participating stores and take it home with you for free. Find participating stores here.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lego Lego: Free Steering Wheel Learn More

Lego has been particularly generous lately. On Feb. 9, customers had the opportunity to build a Lego Valentine's Day Heart and then take it home with them for free. We made a lot of noise about that free giveaway, mainly because it seemed like the sort of thing that wouldn't happen again for a long time.

How wrong we were.

On March 9 from 12-2 p.m., Lego is running a Steering Wheel make-and-take event intended for participants aged 6+ years. The Lego Steering Wheel model (Formula 1 Collection) will be available on a first come first serve basis at participating locations in the U.S. and Canada, and only while supplies last. Participants are limited to one build each, which seems fair. You can't just turn up early and load up on hundreds of freebies before anyone else.

SEE ALSO: 'Piece By Piece' review: Pharrell Williams finds his happy place in Legoland biopic

What makes this free giveaway extra special is that the Steering Wheel model is not available for purchase. So by taking part, you're getting your hands on an exclusive item for free. That sounds like a pretty good deal to us, particularly for the Formula 1 fans out there.

Build and take home an exclusive Lego Steering Wheel for free on March 9.

Ever since her introduction in Severance's Season 2 premiere, new Lumon hire Miss Huang (Sarah Bock) has been bombarded by a storm of fan theories. Is she a robot? A clone? Why else would a child be on the Severed Floor unless something truly dastardly was going on?

SEE ALSO: 'Severance' Season 2, episode 8 drops a game-changing twist about Ms. Cobel

Now, viewers can put their theories to rest, because "Sweet Vitriol," the eighth episode of Severance Season 2, finally confirms why Miss Huang works at Lumon. And while the answer isn't as sci-fi-heavy as robots or clones, it's still fairly sinister.

Miss Huang is basically a Lumon intern, just like Harmony Cobel once was. Sarah Bock in "Severance." Credit: Apple TV+

"Sweet Vitriol" focuses on Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette), so we actually don't see Miss Huang at all in this episode. However, we do hear a phrase that links the two. On Jan. 22, the Lumon LinkedIn page congratulated Miss Huang for being "this quarter's Wintertide Fellow." Those words pop up again in episode 6, "Attila," when Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) tells Miss Huang, "You cannot graduate from this fellowship until I have deemed you Wintertide material."

Based on the word "fellowship," the exchange with Milchick implies Miss Huang is some kind of intern at Lumon, while "Wintertide" is the standard she must aspire to. But Severance leaves the specifics of Lumon's fellowship up in the air until episode 8.

SEE ALSO: 'Severance' creator Dan Erickson breaks down Gemma's 'nightmarish' experience at Lumon

In "Sweet Vitriol," Cobel's Aunt Sissy (Jane Alexander) mentions Cobel's own Wintertide Fellowship as a badge of honor bestowed by Jame Eagan (Michael Siberry) himself. Later, as Cobel looks through her yearbook for the Myrtle Eagan School for Girls, she finds a photo of her accepting the Wintertide Fellowship from Jame. The text below the image states, "Harmony Cobel's outstanding dedication to the Nine Core Values has earned her the distinguished honor of being selected as the Year of Wiles Wintertide Fellow."

So there you have it. When it comes to Miss Huang, there are no clones or robots at play. Just a highly prestigious Lumon internship for people who have been brought up within the cult of Eagan and Lumon, like Cobel was.

That reality is disturbing in and of itself, though. If Miss Huang's upbringing was anything like Cobel's was before she landed the Wintertide Fellowship, she would have essentially been raised by Lumon, molded to fit their standards. Plus, there's the constant reminder that this is "child fucking labor," as Cobel's old flame Hampton (James Le Gros) so aptly describes his and Cobel's time in the ether factory.

SEE ALSO: Can consent exist in 'Severance'?

(The ether mill is also where Kier Eagan and his twin Dieter worked as children according to the story told in "Woe's Hollow," meaning child labor is just another messed-up pillar of Lumon Industries.)

Seeing the way Lumon manipulates children with systems like the Eagan schools and the Wintertide Fellowship serves as a stark reminder of its insidious reach throughout the world. The company isn't content just controlling adults: It has to get its hooks in future generations too. With Miss Huang, we could be seeing a future Cobel — but look at Cobel's life now. Look at how Lumon chewed her up and spat her out. Please, someone break Miss Huang out of Lumon's grasp so she doesn't end up the same way. Let her go play her theremin in peace!

Severance Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+, with a new episode every Friday.

After a revelatory episode 7, Severance Season 2 takes a frigid turn in episode 8, "Sweet Vitriol." The episode focuses solely on Harmony Cobel's (Patricia Arquette) icy homecoming to the town of Salt's Neck. Once home to a Lumon ether factory, the town has since deteriorated after the company drained it dry.

SEE ALSO: 'Severance' creator Dan Erickson breaks down Gemma's 'nightmarish' experience at Lumon

The Salt's Neck factory is just one of the many puzzle pieces that make up Cobel's history, which we learn about in greater depth throughout all of "Sweet Vitriol." The episode dives into her family life, introducing her fanatical Kier-worshipping Aunt Sissy (Jane Alexander) and touching on her late mother Charlotte, who never bought into the cult of Kier. "Sweet Vitriol" also reveals that Cobel took part in the prestigious Wintertide Fellowship, the very same fellowship Miss Huang (Sarah Bock) is completing at Lumon.

Most importantly, though, Severance drops a major bomb: Cobel is the true inventor of the severance procedure.

Harmony Cobel is the real inventor of severance. Britt Lower and Patricia Arquette in "Severance." Credit: Apple TV+

In the final scenes of "Sweet Vitriol," Cobel retrieves the very thing she came to Salt's Neck to find: an old notebook. Its pages contain graphs of brain waves — including "standard pre-severed brain waves" — as well as sketches of the severance chip. 

"Mine! My designs!" Cobel yells at Sissy as she leafs through the book. "Circuit blueprint, base code, Overtime Contingency, Glasgow Block. All of it."

SEE ALSO: 'Severance' Season 2, episode 8 finally confirms Miss Huang's whole deal

With that, it's clear: Jame Eagan (Michael Siberry) isn't actually the inventor of severance, as Lumon would have the world believe. Instead, it was none other than Cobel, who may have even started work on the concept of severance in her days as a Wintertide fellow. Yet the cult of Kier forbade her from taking ownership of the invention.

"It was told Kier's knowledge is for all," she tells Sissy. "If I sought credit, I would be banished."

So not only does Lumon torture its employees, it also plagiarizes children! What new lows will the company stoop to next?

Cobel inventing severance explains why she was so obsessed with Mark and Gemma. Patricia Arquette in "Severance." Credit: Apple TV+

"Sweet Vitriol" sets up a fascinating arc for Cobel going forward. Not only does she seem to be willing to help Mark (Adam Scott) and Devon (Jen Tullock) with Mark's reintegration, she also has left Salt's Neck with her old notes. Could she be trying to claim the credit she's owed, decades down the line?

But even more fascinating is how the severance invention reveal re-contextualizes Cobel's earlier obsession with Mark and Gemma/Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman). Throughout Season 1, she found ways to push them together, like having Ms. Casey observe the MDR workers. Cobel was clearly trying to study if either remembered the other from their Outie lives. As a married couple, they were the perfect test subjects to see whether emotions or relationships could bleed through the severance barrier. Her adopted persona, Mrs. Selvig, was another opportunity to see whether Outie Mark's life had changed since his Innie reconnected with another version of Gemma.

SEE ALSO: Can consent exist in 'Severance'?

Cobel could have just been carrying out this strange experiment in the grander service of Lumon, but knowing that she created the severance procedure itself adds a deeper personal stake to it. She was really trying to see if her invention could hold up under the most rigorous tests, if the procedure she created — and can't take credit for — has limits, or if she's created something impenetrable to even love and grief. Has she played god, or is she fallible?

That reasoning is also why reintegration scares her so much. Reintegration risks spilling Lumon secrets, but more than that, it risks undermining her life's work.

Severance Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+, with a new episode every Friday.

Episode 8 of Severance Season 2 takes us away from the Lumon factory for a fairly grim trip down memory lane, with Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) heading back to her childhood home to retrieve something important.

The house itself is cold, barren, and unwelcoming, but it does contain a few props and details that help shed more light on why Cobel is the way she is.

From Lumon plaques to old school annuals, we've rounded up some of the things you may have missed.

What clues are there in Harmony Cobel's childhood home?

The first thing we see as Harmony rushes upstairs is a Lumon plaque on the wall. This reads:

Quarterly Striver
4th quarter
Year of Vision

Youth Apprentice Matron
Celestine "Sissy" Cobel

"Sissy" Cobel is presumably Harmony's elderly relative — possibly an aunt? — who's less than happy about her sudden arrival. The wider implication is that Harmony has very much grown up in a Lumon family. The company has always been a part of her life, because it's been part of the lives of the generation above her.

This is emphasized even more in the next room Harmony searches, which contains a shrine to Kier Eagan similar to the one we saw her sitting in front of in Season 1. At the top of the shrine are four statue heads representing the four tempers: woe, frolic, dread, and malice. There's also a news cutting titled "Jame Eagan Assumes Role as Lumon CEO," a poster titled "Work-Life Balance," and cards showing "Lumon's Core Principles." Behind the image of Kier, meanwhile, is a card that reads "YOU MUST BE CUT TO HEAL." All of these things act as a reminder that Lumon is every bit as much of a religious cult as it is a company.

SEE ALSO: 'Severance' finally reveals what Lumon is doing to Gemma. It's terrifying.

Finally, when Harmony goes outside to the store, she finds a book titled Annual Reminiscences. The logo at the top is "ME," which apparently stands for the "Myrtle Eagan School for Girls." Inside are photos of a teenage Harmony Cobel with a hockey team, a photo of her as class valedictorian, and finally a picture of her above the heading "Jame Eagan Wintertide Fellowship."

Are any of these small details going to be the key to unlocking Severance's deeper mysteries? Probably not. But they go some way to showing just how deep Lumon's roots go, and how much of an impact the company has had on local communities and the families within them. Episode 8 gives a clear insight into why Harmony is the way she is; she's essentially been groomed by Lumon from a very young age, with the company dominating everything from her education and working life to her religion and home life.

Severance Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+, with a new episode every Friday.

MAX BUNDLES: Max is offering a few different bundle deals so you can stream from its library without making a massive dent in your wallet.

The best Max deals and bundles in March 2025: Best Bundle Deal Disney+, Hulu, Max Bundle $16.99/month with ads, $29.99/month ad-free Get Deal Best Student Discount Max Student Discount Students save 50% on Max Basic With Ads plan Get Deal Best Bundle with Hulu Hulu with Max Add Max to your Hulu base plan from $9.99 per month Get Deal

Some of the most prestigious shows and films live on Max's streaming service. From Game of Thrones to Dune: Part Two and so much more, Max is worth the investment for those looking to dive into the most talked about pieces of entertainment. And with highly-anticipated upcoming shows like the second season of The Last of Us on the horizon, there's no better time than now to start looking at plans and bundles.

The good news is that Max has a few different bundles available at the moment that are worth checking out, including the big bundle with Disney+ and Hulu. With streaming prices on the rise, a bundle like this can be a great way to save some cash while getting access to your favorite services.

SEE ALSO: The best Hulu deals and bundles in March 2025

Alongside that deal and a couple more, we've also broken down Max's standard plans in case you're just interested in its service on its own.

Best Bundle Deal Opens in a new window Credit: Max Disney+, Hulu, Max Bundle $16.99/month with ads, $29.99/month ad-free Get Deal Why we like it

The Max, Disney+, and Hulu bundle is a top-tier choice for those looking to have access to some of the biggest streaming services around. Starting at $16.99 per month, this bundle grants you access to Hulu, Disney+, and Max's streaming services for a much lower price than what you'd pay for them on their own. If you've already got Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions, this bundle is worth every cent. If you're interested, there are two plan options to choose from:

• Disney+, Hulu, Max Bundle (with ads) — $16.99 per month (save 43%)

• Disney+, Hulu, Max Bundle (no ads) — $29.99 per month (save 42%)

Max Student Discount Opens in a new window Credit: Max Max Student Discount Students save 50% on Max Basic With Ads plan Get Deal Why we like it

It's always nice when streaming services have a deal for students, and Max's offer is definitely worth taking advantage of. Students who can verify their status with UNiDAYS are eligible to get the Max Basic With Ads plan for just $4.99 per month. That's a 50% discount off its usual price of $9.99 per month. After verifying your status, you'll receive a unique code that can be used to redeem the discounted plan on Max.

• Max Student Discount — $4.99 per month (save 50%)

Best Bundle with Hulu Opens in a new window Credit: Hulu Hulu with Max Add Max to your Hulu base plan from $9.99 per month Get Deal Why we like it

If you're not interested in the Disney+, Hulu, and Max mega bundle, you can just get Hulu and Max together if you already have a Hulu base plan, which starts at $9.99 per month. Max (With Ads) can be added onto your plan for $9.99 per month, or you can splash out on the Max (No Ads) plan for $16.99 per month.

• Hulu with Max add-on — from $9.99 per month

Max's monthly plans

Max offers a few different subscription plans. If you don't mind having to sit through ads, Max's Basic With Ads plan starts at $9.99 per month or you can get the annual plan for $99.99 per year, which ultimately saves you $19. If you can't stand ads and don't mind throwing down a bit more cash, the Standard plan will cost you $16.99 per month or $169.99 per year, which saves you $33. If you really want to go big on a Max plan, you can spring for the fancy Premium plan, which costs $20.99 per month or $209.99 per year.

Below we've broken down what comes with each of these plans, per Max's website, so you can know a bit more before you buy.

Basic With Ads — $9.99 per month, $99.99 per year (save $19)

• Stream on two devices at once

• Full HD 1080p resolution

Standard (Ad-free) — $16.99 per month, $169.99 per year (save $33)

• Stream on two devices at once

• Full HD 1080p resolution

• 30 downloads to watch on the go

Premium (Ad-free) — $20.99 per month, $209.99 per year (save $41)

• Stream on four devices at once

• 4K Ultra HD video quality (as available)

• Dolby Atmos immersive audio (as available)

• 100 downloads to watch on the go

If you're wondering where to start once you've set yourself up with a Max subscription, we've got an excellent selection of recommendations to point you in the right direction. Looking for a great TV show to kickstart your next binge-watching session? Have a look through our roundup of the 20 best TV shows streaming on Max. Or if you prefer movies, we narrowed down the 25 best movies on Max to make your next movie night a spectacular one.

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

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Thursday, March 6, 2025:

AcrossWhat "OOO" can mean

• The answer is Hugs.

"You've Really Got ___ on Me" (1962 hit)

• The answer is Ahold.

Indian currency

• The answer is Rupee.

What "III" can mean

• The answer is Three.

Call of Duty: Black ___ (video game series)

• The answer is Ops.

DownRoxie ___, lead character in "Chicago"

• The answer is Hart.

"Nope"

• The answer is Uhuh.

Camera attached to a ski helmet, perhaps

• The answer is GoPro.

What "ZZZ" can mean

• The answer is Sleep.

The middle of "middle"

• The answer is Dees.

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.

As a [weather](https://www.noaa.gov/) and [Home Assistant](https://www.home-assistant.io/) enthusiast, I've been looking for a way to integrate my [Davis Vantage Vue](https://www.davisinstruments.com/pages/vantage-vue) weather station with Home Assistant. After some research and purchasing the [Davis WeatherLink Live](https://amzn.to/4iy0OYr) radio receiver, I've come up with a custom integration that...

Poorna Jagannathan, who plays crime boss 'Lucky' in the new Hulu series, Deli Boys, may have just carved out a new corner of the crime boss trope. She and the cast chat to contributing reporter Sucharita Tyagi about how this immediately iconic character came to life.

Deli Boys is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.

If you've ever engaged with the "cyberpunk" genre in books, movies, and video games, you might have run into the fictional concept of a "cyberdeck", but there's a subculture of geeks who just can't live in a world where cyberdecks aren't real, so they're making them a reality.

A 15-foot-tall spacecraft had an imperfect landing on the moon.

The NASA-funded mission to the moon, operated by the Houston space exploration company Intuitive Machines, touched down on March 6, but engineers are still uncertain about its orientation and overall condition. Is the spacecraft, for example, lying on its side?

Though the robotic craft, called Athena, performed excellently on its flight to and around the moon, this landing mishap comes a year after Intuitive Machines' first government-supported attempt resulted in the spacecraft landing hard, breaking a leg, and settling on its side.

"I think we can agree, particularly today, that landing on the moon is extremely hard," Nicola Fox, who leads NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said at an agency news conference on March 6. 

SEE ALSO: Why landing a spaceship on the moon is still so challenging

Athena fired thrusters to brake at speeds of some 4,000 mph during its final descent. Intuitive Machines is confident the craft landed on the towering Mons Mouton, a lunar mountain near the moon's south pole rising 20,000 feet above the surrounding terrain. It's unclear, however, how far Athena may be from its intended landing site within Mons Mouton. This southern region is rich in water ice, and is relatively close to where NASA intends to bring astronauts in mid-2027.

Athena is currently charging on the lunar surface — meaning some sunlight is reaching the craft. It's communicating with Intuitive Machine's engineers, too. But much of the mission now remains in limbo. 

"We think we've been very successful to this point," Steve Altemus, the chief executive officer of Intuitive Machines, said at the press conference. "But we don't think we're in the correct attitude on the surface of the moon again."

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. An artist's conception of an Intuitive Machines' spacecraft landing upright on the moon. Credit: Intuitive Machines

Crucially, the lander is equipped with a NASA drill, called PRIME-1, to investigate south pole resources in anticipation of astronauts returning to the moon. The instrument is designed to drill some three feet below the lunar surface, and another instrument, called a spectrometer, looks for water and other materials. It remains unknown if the drill will be able to function in a non-optimal orientation, but NASA and Intuitive Machines will discern that capability in the coming weeks. 

The drill is important. Harvesting water ice, the space agency has emphasized, is crucial for making drinkable water, oxygen, and fuel for rockets. Over eons, comets and meteors striking the moon could have transported bounties of water to the moon's surface. Other sources could be water vapor that naturally seeped out of the lunar underground, or chemical reactions between oxygen in the lunar soil and the relentless solar wind.

But without finding and mining this ice, the U.S. cannot establish a permanent presence on the moon, a pivotal part of its Artemis program.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

In a sign of burgeoning commerical space exploration in the 21st century, Athena (however impaired) joins the Blue Ghost lander, built by Texas-based Firefly Aerospace, which successfully touched down on the moon's near side on March 2. That craft is also part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which consists of robotic technical and science endeavors that support looming crewed lunar missions.

"The risk will always be there."

Landing on the moon remains daunting, largely because it's a world with virtually no atmosphere to slow spacecraft down. A craft must plummet to the surface perfectly, as thrusters fire to slow its descent onto a surface teeming with pits and craters. Although Chinese and Indian craft have had recent landing successes, the Intuitive Machines' spacecraft Odysseus sustained damage while landing awkwardly in 2024. The same year, a Japanese craft landed upside down, on its head.

Athena also carried both a small rover and hopper, designed to test moon exploration technologies in a crater-blanketed world. We'll soon find out if these machines can depart Athena, and bound over the lunar surface.

Such robotic landing missions are high-risk and high-reward endeavors, NASA's Fox emphasized.

"The risk will always be there," she said.

Over the years, I've collected a large bundle of items that accompany me every time I head out stargazing. Starting with astronomy-specific tools and finishing with items that will keep you comfortable, here's a checklist of essentials that will help you optimize your stellar experience.

NVIDIA's RTX 5000 launch hasn't been its best. Amid issues with the company overpromising on its GPUs' performance, it also turns out a whole lot of graphics cards are defective. NVIDIA wants to assure you that this is not the case for its laptop GPUs, though.

SAVE 25%: The Ninja Woodfire 8-in-1 Outdoor Oven is on sale for $299.99, down from the usual price of $399.99. That's a savings of $100.

Opens in a new window Credit: Ninja Ninja Woodfire 8-in-1 Outdoor Oven $299.99 at Ninja
$399.99 Save $100 Get Deal

We're just days away from pushing the clocks ahead an hour. While that means we'll all lose an hour of sleep, it also means we're in for later sunsets. With that comes the allure of evenings spent in the backyard and soon summer barbecues. If your outdoor cooking setup could use an upgrade, check out this sweet deal.

As of March 6, the Ninja Woodfire 8-in-1 Outdoor Oven is on sale for $299.99, marked down from the standard price of $399.99. That's a 25% discount and a savings of $100.

Instead of heating up the kitchen this summer by turning on the oven, take your cooking outside thanks to the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Oven. This model comes with extra versatility thanks to the eight cooking functions that include bake, broil, warm, dehydrate, pizza, max roast, specialty roast, and smoker.

SEE ALSO: Snag a refurbished Ninja Slushi machine for $240 and stay cool all summer

Overall, the oven temperature can range from 105 to 700 degrees Fahrenheit, which you can control manually with the temperature dial. The high temperatures are designed to replicate what you'd get from a brick oven, like a great char, caramelization, and blistering on pizza crust.

The capacity of the Ninja Woodfire is perfect for summer hangs, and the brand mentions this model can hold a 12 pound turkey, a 12 pound rib-eye with vegetables, or a nine-pound pork shoulder.

With a special pizza setting and an included pizza stone, this can be the summer of perfect patio pizzas. The pizza setting gets even more precise since it offers you the option of Neapolitan, thin crust, pan pizza, New York, and frozen. Some of these bake up the perfect pizza in just three minutes.

The Woodfire is also capable of smoking meats, thanks to its woodfire technology. With just half a cup of pellets, the outdoor oven will perfectly cook meats low and slow while infusing with that perfect smoked flavor. Keep in mind the power source is electric which means this model won't require heaps of pellets. Ninja says the oven can smoke two racks of ribs at once or an eight pound chicken.

Get a head start on summer cooking and grab the Ninja Woodfire 8-in-1 Outdoor Oven on sale for just $299.99. Not only will you be keeping your home cooler by not turning on the oven, this model is perfect for those who aren't allowed to have charcoal-fueled barbecues in their apartment or condo complex.

Excel's AVERAGEIF and AVERAGEIF functions let you find the average of a set of data. However, where they differ from the more straightforward AVERAGE function is in their ability to include or discount certain values within the calculation.

Like it or not, Google is doubling down on AI-generated search.

On Wednesday, the tech giant announced that it's expanding AI overviews to more Google Search queries, starting with advanced math, coding, and multimodal searches. That's made possible due to Google's more advanced model, Gemini 2.0,, which now powers AI overviews.

AI Overviews is also expanding access to more users outside of the U.S. by allowing people who aren't logged in to see the AI-generated summaries, including teens. 

Last but not least, Google is experimenting with a dedicated AI search chatbot, akin to ChatGPT search mode and Perplexity. It's like Gemini but combines Google's real-time search capabilities for the most up-to-date responses. The new feature, AI Mode, is currently available in Google's testing ground called Labs. But it's an indication that Google Search might soon have only AI-generated search results. 

AI Mode is an experiment that uses Gemini for AI-generated search results. Credit: Google

Recommendations to put glue on pizza and eat rocks be damned, Google has signaled that injecting AI into all of its apps and services is the driving force of its business strategy. In the announcement, Google's VP of Search Robby Stein said, "People are using Google Search more than ever as they get help with new and more complex questions." But that obscures the fact that AI Overviews can't be turned off and it doesn't address the hallucinations that still plague the model and might never go away. 

Former Mashable editor Mike Pearl did an audit on the first six months of AI Overviews and found that while it's fine for simple queries, it still hallucinates on more "uncommon queries" by misinterpreting what's found on the web. It also erroneously builds on faulty queries like using baking soda to thicken soup (which you definitely shouldn't do.) 

"If the basis for a search is wrong or flawed, and the AI Overview doesn't catch the problem, then it stands to reason the user won't notice it either," said Pearl. That's to say, at best, it could weaken Google's reliability as a search engine, and at worst, it could reinforce misinformation. 

Despite persistent inaccuracies that have become something of a running joke (seriously, just Google "Google AI search fails"), the company is barreling ahead with new experiments. 

we should give this $100 trillion more dollars!

[image or embed]

— Themperor Kennedy🐸🏳️‍🌈 (@kennedytcooper.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 1:32 PM

AI Mode is clearly an effort to compete with AI-powered search engines like Perplexity and ChatGPT search mode. These tools have capitalized on users leaning more into chatbots as a source of information, which threatens Google's core product. 

In Labs, screenshots display AI Mode as a tab at the top of the Google Search app next to prominent filters like All, Places, Maps, and Images. According to the description page, the underlying model is Gemini 2.0, which has reasoning capabilities, meaning it breaks down queries into step-by-step instructions to search and verify. 

This approach purportedly reduces hallucinations since it allows the model to check its work rather than spewing out the probabilistic next word. 

Google One AI Premium subscribers who pay $20 a month get access first, and those enrolled in Labs can sign up for the waitlist.