#382 2025 Year in Review + Upcoming in 2026

December 26, 2025·1 hr 3 min·5 clips

Stephen and the Fantology crew reveal their 2025 reading highs and lows, from Stormlight to secret storage units.

The opener is mostly sponsor business. Once the conversation settles, the panel is already doing the Fantology thing: taking a familiar genre complaint and checking it against the story underneath. Shock value gets a fair hearing. One host argues that gruesome early deaths only feel empty if they stop mattering after the scene ends. That distinction carries the conversation. The group treats violence less like a moral checkbox and more like a craft problem: what does it set in motion, who changes because of it, and does the payoff land? Stephen King works as a quick reference point. It is not a formal debate, but it shows how easily the show uses genre names as shared shorthand. One Apple TV show gets framed as a clear highlight. The panel sounds relieved that the second season held onto a strong vision after a long wait and some behind-the-scenes concern. The praise still comes with caveats. They love the show, but they also wonder if three or four seasons might be enough. That feels very Fantology. Something can be an all-time favorite and still be at risk of getting stretched past its best shape. Pluribus sits near that same lane. The hosts connect it through careful pacing, a heady mood, and that eerie Apple TV feel. They are not fully caught up, which keeps the conversation loose, with a possible review left hanging after the finale lands. The ending turns toward the community. They mention the Discord reaching 300 members, joke about success, and count their way into another year of Fantology. It lands softly. The final note is less about ranking the year or previewing the next one than noticing that the group itself has become the thing that lasts.

As heard by us

An informal year-end fantasy roundup that weighs patience, payoff, and how much shock value matters.

Fantology ends the year with an informal, conversational wrap-up rather than a rigid ranking. The discussion ranges from a strong follow-up season for Severn to other deliberately paced, heady genre TV, and the appeal lies in how the hosts balance patience, payoff, and the risk…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play for a laid-back year-end Fantology wrap-up that sorts the year's fantasy highlights and TV chatter.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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