The Greatest, Terrible Book Ever Made - The Story too Disturbing to be a Movie: Blood Meridian

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[@Wendigoon]

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[@rightsider]

yes sir 🫡

[@PhonEyStuff]

They sponsor people alot huh

[@____-__-_--_--__-__--_--_]

❤

[@bigfast5598]

Ok

[@MerchantMarineGuy]

Stop shilling garbage

[@SeabraPaulo]

The absolute worst thing about the Judge is that scene where Glanton asks him his name and he says, It's Judge Holden, and Glanton asks, Holden what?, and the Judge simply replies, Hold'n deez nuts.

[@georgeofhamilton]

I thought the part right after that was even worse-when the Kid asked, “Aren’t you Shane Holden?” and the Judge said, “My name’s not Shane, Kid.”

[@aleksejHALOclips]

You're both wrong. The worst part was the scene when the Judge, in a perversion of the Man's own words, asks the Man his name. Before he can respond, the Judge says: "Ah, I remember you now. You're the Man with No Name."

[@billblaski9523]

What the hell are you bell ends on about?!?!

[@The.Orange.Wizard]

@@georgeofhamiltonNow THAT’S a good reference.

[@itsquodo131]

@@aleksejHALOclipsor what about when The Judge tried to antagonise the kid, now man, and did so by reducing him down to his most basic appearance traits, saying “Blondie”

[@lampoest]

“nah i dont feel like watching a movie rn thats too much” proceeds to watch a 5 hour long wendigoon video

[@Syzio_Bruh]

Honestly? Yeah

[@zachbode9789]

Bro just like me fr.

[@samdouglas9759]

Yeah same, it’s because these videos “talk at” you instead of you having to follow events

[@lampoest]

@@samdouglas9759 ohhh true

[@thehermitthetower1126]

For real, lol

[@dudeup1]

My favorite part is when The Kid says “I’m just Kidding” at the end

[@nokiohascontent]

my favorite part was when the man said "i'm just manning"

[@Afton_Robotics_1987]

but then the Judge said "I'll be the judge of that" and judged him

[@dripsonice413]

I thought the entire quote was " I'm just kidding don't judge me"

[@xtrasmall4357]

Man, now I got to watch the whole video to get the reference

[@thatkidwiththehoodie]

Like Jason?

[@thomashettinga7374]

I love when judge Holden says “This blood, its meridian” then proceeds to violate every child ever.

[@JuliusKapp]

Sounds about right

[@srbrant5391]

Trigger Warning: *All of them*

[@skelee1401]

This comment is too good to have so little likes

[@shangsty]

@@skelee1401no it must stay at 420

[@theenderdestruction2362]

trigger warning: *yes*

[@liltubbs_x-x6665]

Cringe

[@liltubbs_x-x6665]

@@theenderdestruction2362cringy

[@moss5356]

I like the part where the Judge says “I’ll be the judge of that” and judges all over the place

[@litlustre]

Truly a masterpiece

[@jjspittel327]

And then he killed another child

[@eisenkrahe7125]

​@@jjspittel327Got Judge'd

[@xxtL]

@@eisenkrahe7125 a little amount of judging

[@eisenkrahe7125]

@@xxtL "We like to judge, we do a little judging"

[@AndJusticeForMe]

You know, I surmise that these Glanton marauders were real jerks.

[@gabehughes1626]

By jove, I think you may be correct

[@DingusToucher]

This Judge Holden fella…. Not my idea of a clown!

[@johnrogers1038]

Are you Norm MacDonald’s ghost?

[@AndJusticeForMe]

@@johnrogers1038 Do you know who else was a real jerk? O.J. Simpson.

[@e.martinez5999]

Serious Norm reference here ^^^

[@kettlefleet829]

When the Judge said "In this moment, I am euphoric. Not because of any phony God's blessing, but because, I am enlightened by my own intelligence" I got straight up chills

[@kekero540]

It’s just so… exact.

[@johnnydollar579]

Sounds familiar.

[@JoshuaTimothyHoward]

The Judge sounds like a real professional quote maker

[@chieftanjojo7737]

I swear I heard that and instantly thought of r/atheism

[@The_Soviet_Onion]

@@chieftanjojo7737it’s from r/atheism lol

[@aceanarchy5554]

Honestly, the scene where the kid kicks a guy in the jaw and then the guy and him both pull out knives and get in a knife fight with each other only to then both get knocked out by a third person, wake up in a hotel and then casually trade back their knives and go commit arson sounds like something from a multiplayer video game

[@allmodesaregremlin]

Third party British word for cigarettes-them waking up probably

[@StationroadRatrods]

Is it not basically the time Arthur Morgan broke Micah Bell out of jail? 😁

[@iameternalsunshine]

i thought they woke up in the mud?

[@Lukecario1216]

That’s just a normal dnd campaign intro tbh.

[@Chadhogan111]

It didn't happen like that, but I like to think this is the moment the kid dies and wakes up in either purgatory or hell

[@Bobert403]

I showed Wendigoon to a coworker, and all he had to say was "I can never trust a man such luscious lips". Just felt like sharing that.

[@JACKRIPPHER7]

That just never happened

[@lucassam4999]

KZbin comments try not to lie challenge (impossible)

[@shadypatriot5947]

Lying? On the internet? Who would do such a thing!?

[@Afrancis16]

This is definitely a confession

[@wilescattington]

OP is projecting lmao

[@Daniel_Lancelin]

I love how the Judge even manages to make _collecting butterflies for a fucking scrapbook_ seem extremely menacing.

[@PinkAndPathetic]

I love the part of the book where the kid goes "Give me a drink bartender" and the bartender slides him a drink that falls off the counter and shatters

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

Bacchus

[@ElHarmonyV]

Why did I immediately remember a town with no name.

[@C-OBrien]

the kid having a bible that he cant read is one of my favourite metaphors in all fiction, to me it's a symbol of him striving for something higher that he cannot achieve due to the circumstances of his life and the choices he ahs made

[@Purpeil]

I like to think it's also a way for him to keep the memory of the ex-priest with him in some way. Same way he kept the necklace of ears.

[@donwanderley7156]

Or the uselessness of religion.

[@una9906]

@@donwanderley7156 hey bud no need to be mean about it

[@iamrightoutsideyourwindowhello]

@@una9906 if u think about it they're spitting facts

[@lucamckenn5932]

​@@donwanderley7156 without religion this channel wouldn't exist.

[@BrokenFingerParadise]

Never been jump scared by a world of tanks sponsor before.

[@mongolhorde5827]

OMG

[@blizzard_the_seal9863]

GOD DUDE I NEARLY JUMPED OUT OF MY SKIN 😭

[@ninokaah1591]

Even though I read this comment beforehand it still got me 😭

[@Zoe_Feuwuer]

There's a first for everything

[@leme3082]

I was trying to squeeze out my last ten minutes of sleep when that happened

[@taltus674]

"we've just the one pistol Holden" said the kid "we? who's we? the console? the wii?" replied Judge

[@cawsomeaolin]

have you had a wee uhh xbox

[@ratman202]

My favorite part of this book was at the end where the kid goes into the outhouse and says "he's behind me isn't he" and then proceeded to appear on an Amber alert

[@topcatchillinbytrash]

Almost as good is when they find his body and the first guy turns and says "you're gonna want to see this" aghh just amazing

[@ratman202]

@@topcatchillinbytrash That was good too but imo the second best part is when the judge says "war is god... uh that sounded better in my head"

[@Rogue_Leader16]

Wendigoon's really pushing that 45 minute mark

[@Fluskar]

just a lil bit

[@FFFr3sHHH]

Teeny tiny bit overboard

[@druidplayz2313]

Just a smidge

[@syntheticreality549]

A wee slight amount

[@doppio9426]

Perhaps a speck more

[@alexreno3989]

wendigoon, if you see this, i want you to know that this video specifically caused a huge spike in book sales for this!! i’m a manager of an independent bookstore and got an email about it from a rep!!! so glad to watch your content

[@user-fy6kr7yr9c]

lol, thats great.

[@louzo5175]

nice!!

[@suicidebylifestyle9267]

that's awesome, also kinda surprising cause it's free on audible, it actualy showed up on my wifes recommended account after I watched this video, gotta love that algorithm.

[@moomo1346]

Holy crap that's amazing

[@WoodbabyCTB]

@@suicidebylifestyle9267 i would rather have a physical copy than a digital one

[@doodlebrain6594]

There’s a pattern of the judge accusing others of the crimes he’s committed. He accused the preacher at the beginning of defiling and killing a little girl, something he did. And then later accused the kid of causing the massacre he orchestrated. It’s interesting

[@Vexarax]

sounds like a typical judge lol

[@KratosisGod]

Nah that's just who he is he'll do whatever it takes to keep dancing

[@samuelsmith5400]

Satan is known as The accuser of the brethren

[@rhiisamirrorball]

It's chilling that when we first meet The Judge he accuses an innocent man of pedophilia. Then just for us to find out all along he himself was a horrific child predator and murderer

[@AdrasAdraki]

You look back to how the kid and the judge looked at each other after that and the judge smiled at the kid, ugh.

[@theawkwardskeleton6608]

Or not realizing that the deeds he accused the priest of doing in the beginning were most likely crimes the Judge himself committed, based on how detailed his telling was and how the crimes matched his own debauchery throughout the story

[@kachucho872]

Almost as if accusing someone of your own crimes is kinda normal. Thank God it doesnt happen nowadays, right??

[@domiepotato]

God damnit I’m only 3 hours in 😢

[@pinkminipuff]

​@@kachucho872 I mean, no one said it doesn't happen nowadays 😅.

[@LifeOfRiley]

Me in 2021: Oh man, this Wendigoon video is an hour, that’s intense. Me in 2023: I finished reading four hundred pages continuous violence and nihilism over the course of several months. Now I can finally watch his five hour video on it!

[@Jackson-il1sn]

400 pages? I thought it would be like 800 or something. Then again it would be a long read cause there just so much you can read about gore without gagging.

[@benjaminhartsock3281]

@@Jackson-il1sn It's just very, very dense. There are several depictions and descriptions that require minutes of unpacking, so if you're a thorough reader, this is chipping through granite.

[@Lasagnabobby]

Several months? I read that book in a week

[@cometojesus6983]

Bloodnmeridian

[@pitchingwedge7546]

​@@Jackson-il1snnot even. It's about 350 tops but with how much the book demands a second reading it may as well be 700

[@electricbaby7315]

the part of this book that stuck out to me the most was the two scenes with the old women. in the first scene, the kid stands back and allows this brutality to occur, no condemnation on his part of the horrific killing and scalping of a woman so ill and old and scared she can barely stand. like what wendigoon said, the kid has no morals, no thoughts or opinions on anything - he's just in it for the money. but by the time we reach the end of the book, the kid is not the kid anymore, he's the man. he has "found himself" so to speak, he has morals and shows care and respect to others. when he comes upon the old woman amongst the massacre, he speaks kindly to her, offers to bring her home, calls her "abuela". but it didn't matter, because she was dead. i think that's the tragic part for me, that despite the fact the kid has shown so much growth by the end of the novel, despite the fact that he has changed and is trying to do something good with his life, he can't escape the death and violence that have been present in his life from the very beginning. i think thats also why (in a narrative sense) he had to be killed by the judge, the poster child of death and violence and destruction. the kid was doomed from the beginning, because even though he changed, his environment and his past did not. his story was never going to end well, even when his idle allowance of murder and torture morphed into kindness and care

[@JohnDoe-lw1si]

What's really interesting about the descriptions of the Comanche's clothing is that its all based on real life examples. The Comanche would wear war trophies like hats/fancy clothing and old Spanish armor was wore by Comanche, including the famous medicine man, Iron Jacket. Iron Jacket is such a dope figure and the guy was believed to be about to literally blow bullets away with his breath

[@peterfazio9306]

You should read a book called "The Empire of the Summer Moon". It's the subject matter of Blood Meridian except it's historical instead of fiction. You could tell the author was heavily influenced by Blood Meridian.

[@thatkidwiththehoodie]

Anyone watched Prey? Prey was dope. I liked Prey. You want Comanche action, go watch Prey. EDIT: oh, I should specify: legitimate, respectful, well-researched, consulted-actual-Comanche-people, badass Comanche action. It’s the real deal.

[@burtreynolds8030]

@@peterfazio9306couldn’t agree more, very good read, brutally honest about what life was like out there

[@amandracobb653]

I just went to Half Price Books and asked about this book and they said that for some reason in the past couple of days Blood Meridian became one of the top three most asked about books.

[@TheBfutgreg]

VIle Eye also did an analysis on the Judge not too long ago as well

[@JillLulamoon]

Lol that's pretty cool. I'm glad this video has blown up and gotten more attention to this book.

[@Rabbonez]

I went to Barnes and Noble for the first time in atleast a decade for this book . I felt very out of place compared to the others in the store, but walked away happy

[@sleepysxb7710]

@@Rabbonez so BNN most likely has this in stock? 👀👀

[@commissaryarrick9670]

The audiobook is on KZbin for free

[@tuckershuff1441]

"Whatever exists without my knowledge exists without my consent." One of the most menacing lines from any villain in literature or otherwise. The Judge is honestly a legendary character. You know you're reading about an evil bastard when he buys a puppy just so he can chuck it off a bridge, and all you can think is, "Honestly I don't know what else I was expecting."

[@p-__]

My farts are better than Wendigoon's farts.

[@jabrokneetoeknee6448]

Might also be the only villain in all of literature to sodomize the protagonist on the final page of the book. Spoilers😛

[@justsomemincedgarlic]

@@p-__ prove it.

[@John-mf1sz]

One of those unforgettable quotes. The Judge is one of the greatest antagonists of all time committed to the page.

[@jusssnow8271]

@@jabrokneetoeknee6448 maybe put spoilers first next time

[@HopeHoller]

I really liked the part when the kid says "im just a kid and life is a nightmare." And simple plan rides in on a tumbleweed

[@dking986]

Judge "you ever danced with the devil under the pale moonlight" holden

[@kevinjin3835]

“Whatever exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.” I don’t know about others but that was so creepy to me because it reveals that even when the Judge is partaking it what seems to be harmless hobbies, it’s still colored by sadism. Everything he does, no matter how innocuous, is colored by his sadistic worldview.

[@Tylerthetiger25]

Is I read this wendigoon started reading it too 😭😭

[@coldworld5]

I wish someone would time stamp this. I’m halfway though and it hasn’t happened yet. I’m on edge.

[@NoveOficial]

@@coldworld5 2:26:40

[@ShaneOfThe6]

That’s what is scary. The echo

[@saco1360]

reading the book, this section made me pause and reread several times

[@doctorrockso4149]

Went into the local Barnes and Noble, asked for Cormac MaCarthy and she pointed to the shelf and said “Blood Meridian is over there”. She went on to explain at the register how popular it’s been lately. Cultural revival with one KZbin video, congrats man.

[@mishmashmedley]

it's because a blood meridian movie was announced. not because of Wendi. although that would be cool 😁

[@virtual_vanitas]

They didn't have it at mine unfortunately

[@Aristochronic]

@@mishmashmedley I mean this video has 3 million views as of this comment, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Wendi was also a big influence

[@thezodiackiller420]

​@@Aristochronic who's wendi?

[@respincycle2582]

@@mishmashmedley I’m pretty sure it was him because this video came out before the movie was announced

[@JaceDanielFilms]

I like the part where The Idiot stands up and says "what are we in, some kind of Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, or An Evening Redness in the West?".

[@_wtdwo_]

😂😂

[@Scotty86doo]

"We can dance if we want to We can leave your friends behind 'Cause your friends don't dance And if they don't dance Well, they're no friends of mine" ~Judge Holden

[@ElonMuskrat-my8jy]

Dance the night away.

[@chumbucket3475]

the Danger Dance

[@gundamwalrus8522]

Dancing in the Moonlight 🕺

[@AdmiralNMR]

One detail that stuck with me is that the bear keeps dancing after getting shot, which implies a lot about how this bear was taught to dance if pain just makes it dance more.

[@ballssex3D]

Jesus Christ, this book really has everything doesn't it lmao

[@DiamorphineDeath]

Didn’t even notice that; I thought the bear just fell, funny how one misses these things.

[@Wrount-rx6uq]

I love dancing bear

[@gino2868]

that scene, that whole chapter for that matter, is haunting. I read it before bed and had nightmares. The last few sentences of the book are so... ugh

[@kibbylol]

lol thats kinda funny

[@mikamayhem]

the way that a 5 hr video of this man discussing a book is trending at #16 in GAMING speaks to how much KZbin loves us some Wendi!

[@asalwak315]

#11 now haha

[@ArDeeMee]

Just goes to show YT don’t know their own sh!t. 🙄 I mean, I don’t use the categories because my interests are too spread across the board, but videos consistently ending up in the wrong ones is something I‘ve read in multiple comment sections… This is more commentary, you could make an argument for politics/history/education.

[@jezebulls]

There’s something to be said in the fact that I’d rather watch a 5 hour Wendigoon video without any preview than a full movie I’m interested in.

[@mikenorman5499]

#8 as of 5:30am est

[@nifynitm]

-couldn’t finish the whole five hour video all the way through last night -ready to finish the video, wake up to this confusion -atleast there’s subcaptions now for the rest of my video watching also as of rn it’s still at number 8 in “gaming” for some reason lol ❤ :)

[@Tripleat117]

Oh god @18:40 that's probably the judge pawning off his own crimes on the pastor.

[@hismajesty6272]

It gets so much worse man

[@arrogantschmuck9593]

I hadn't seen the canonical images of the Judge before this video so based on the tall, wide, and pale descriptions I've been imagining him as Jack Horner from Puss in Boots. Personally I think that visualization just enhances the story.

[@Couchpatator]

Watching Wendigoon slowly transform into a GTA Vice City quest giver is one of the greatest pleasures of my life.

[@rainbowGZUS7]

Quest started out as simple tax evasion, and ends up on the moon

[@exoblivione6086]

“Hmmm nice bike!”

[@Zackaria_sMax]

"Hey, I need you to go pick up Misty from Pole Position and take her to the party on Diego's yacht."

[@Sussy_Bottom_Boys]

He’ll pay you to hunt the cereal elves with him.

[@Gambrielle]

​@Nermac this is the best comment ever!

[@b_delta9725]

I love how David Brown goes on his own sidequest while shit goes down for the main characters

[@Mafetan]

I'd love to hear the whole story from his perspective.

[@izshtar]

David Brown: "What the hll happened here.."

[@dswanny]

Davey out here grinding for XP while his party gets raided. We’ve all been there.

[@d00gz_]

David Brown is a DLC character lmao

[@dreyri2736]

I liked when he saw Toadvine and some other guy I dont remember just staring breathlessly at the ocean, which they've never seen. It's like they realize that there is nowhere to run or that their journey has reached its ultimate end.

[@superstinkybeans]

*Juge in the corner of the party:* "they don't know I will be the last one dancing"

[@Hobofish11]

The Judge was at each moment terrifying and enthralling in everything he said and did. Such a force of intelligence, cunning, and selfish evil.

[@thedarkgenious7967]

I just find that bit at the end hilarious, with the fool kid and the Man talking. "He's 15" "I was first shot at 15" "I ain't been shot!" "You ain't 16 _yet_ ."

[@kriskross_]

And then he proceeds to shoot him

[@FolstrimHori]

So I guess the reason why the Kid never tries to kill the Judge is because he never stopped being wishy-washy with his life and desires. He never fully committed to being an immoral outlaw nor a heroic vigilante, and so died never having lived to his true potential as either.

[@ariyahreuven]

This is definitely part of what the book means to me. Well put.

[@joeking6972]

“There is a flawed place in the fabric of your heart, did you think I could not know?”

[@clocksfinle7]

theres some hilarious stuff in there too..the kid gets enthusiastically recruited into that tough guy sanctimonius patriot military company and they immediately all get killed by natives in the first hint of battle.. lol

[@Th3BigBoy]

Big boy spat.

[@Austin-dd5fw]

My favorite part is when The Judge says "We are the Blood Meridian!" and the book concludes.

[@rumistumi8107]

“Yes judge Holden!” They all say in unison

[@tatedelarosa3307]

and then he judges all over the place

[@user-jf3mw3rf2v]

I liked the part when The judge turns to the camera and said maybe the real blood Meridian was the friends we made along the way

[@andrewrobinson1634]

I judge that we're on the Blood Meridian.

[@yomama629]

I prefer the part where he goes "It's blood Meridian morbin' time"

[@honilock577]

His heart's bigger than his feet

[@possiblybraindammaged]

Made??? nah 🍇 ed😂 I'm sorry

[@zombieattacker5221]

And then he killed another kid while he stomped on a kitten

[@saustin6939]

Toadvine spat Glanton spat The kid spat The priest hissed The judge smiled noticed throughout the whole story the judge never spits

[@johnnylaw2236]

the judge dont got them bars to spit

[@bricktheomniscient2118]

easy explanation, he’s only human on the outside, no salivary glands in that creature

[@mateosananto8594]

Yes! I did notice this. Also that line gives off biblical vibes. “ Jesus wept “

[@KingFluffs]

He's more of a swallower.

[@nairsheasterling9457]

Pretty sure it's because except that other guy who gets decapitated by Black Jackson, the judge is the only character to smoke. "Spitting" is often shorthand for chew-tobacco, which you spit your saliva to avoid getting nauseous.

[@ThunderChad]

So far i feel the theme of this book is "for evil to triumph, good men must simply do nothing." And that is totally exemplified by The Judge. The Judge isnt Death or Old Scratch himself. Hes Evil personified. Evil at its most pungent, most unashamed form. Hes a pedo and doesnt hide it. Hes a murderer and revels in the pain and misery he inflicts on eveything and anything around him. The Kid might be evil, sure. But all he had to do to change that was see The Judge for what he was and END HIM. But he didnt. A man did nothing. And so evil triumphs. Again and again.

[@JTkirk21508]

That's a good take.

[@davidlean1060]

i totally agree about the descriptions of the landscape the characters move across. That's the stuff that won't translate to a movie. We've all seen Westerns and we can all guess what that desert landscape looks like, but that's not what my mind 'sees' when reading the book. No film maker alive could bring that to life the way McCarthy's writing does.

[@JorgeFloydICB]

Love when the kid asks the judge "What are you some kind of Blood Meridian?".

[@YodaOnABender]

⁠​⁠@mute-47290 that’s so interesting because I don’t remember anyone asking

[@zeltech-alpha]

​@YodaOnABender how tf you got 57k subscribers with now vids?

[@YodaOnABender]

@@zeltech-alpha made some videos a while back but deleted them out of embarrassment

[@benhutchinson8020]

@@YodaOnABenderreal

[@coptor4232]

@@YodaOnABenderwhat sort of videos

[@erynz]

i feel like The Judge being a child predator was one of the most obvious (and sinister) aspects of his character. the author had done such a good job painting him as a disgusting vile monster that even a mere mention of a child in his company, abuse immediately comes to mind. since the very very beginning of the story i knew that The Judge was a child predator. they really did nothing to hide it

[@chuckn4851]

Yeah but we have to remember that this was written in the 80s, still a time when mental health care and trauma were very societally taboo to talk about. I don't think McCarthy wrote that aspect of the Judge subtly because of that (I mean it's McCarthy the embodiment of not giving a fuck) but rather it was written subtly for its time.

[@darlingxluxii7977]

@@chuckn4851 yeah it was more expressed to show awareness of predators and their mental state

[@DingaLingu]

Walking around naked kinda sus fr

[@PartTimeGoblinSlayer]

Well I just started the video and now I know it's gonna be a doozy. Sadly I know how it feels to be a victim of such people. I have no mercy or sympathy for them. Thanks for the heads up though so I can mentally prepare. 👍 It's much appreciated.

[@richardkern112]

"The second in command, now left in charge of the camp, was a man of gigantic size who rejoiced in the name of Holden, called Judge Holden of Texas. Who or what he was no one knew, but a cooler-more blooded villain never went unhung. He stood six foot six in his moccasins, had a large, fleshy frame, a dull, tallow-colored face destitute of hair and all expression, always cool and collected. But when a quarrel took place and blood shed, his hog-like eyes would gleam with a sullen ferocity worthy of the countenance of a fiend… Terrible stories were circulated in camp of horrid crimes committed by him when bearing another name in the Cherokee nation in Texas. *And before we left Fronteras, a little girl of ten years was found in the chaparral foully violated and murdered.* The mark of a huge hand on her little throat pointed out him as the ravisher as no other man had such a hand. But though all suspected, no one charged him with the crime. He was by far the best educated man in northern Mexico." -From "My Confession: The Recollections of a Rogue"

[@N0ah8813]

I think the reason the judge likes James (the idiot) so much is because James is not autonomous. The first thing that he does when he is first given freedom and liberty is he goes and almost drowns himself. Not because he wants to die but simply because he doesn't know any better. I think that the judge pulls him out because James is not free to anything, not even his mind. He only is alive because the judge has consented him to live therefore James life belongs solely to the judges which is seen throughout the rest of the book.

[@jays2551]

I mean yeah he even constructs a collar, leash,, and crude umbrella for him, with which he parades about the desert in pursuit of the kid. definitely got "pet" vibes from the whole of his interactions with the idiot. perhaps it piqued some curiosity in him because he (the idiot) is one among a remarkable few who have no choice in their fates, as to whether they dance or not. similar to a pet or chattel or a beast of burden, but human

[@commercialairliner]

When Judge Holden started singing a cover of Bonnie Tyler's "Holden Out for a Hero," I legitimately cried. Truly the blood of all meridians. 🥹

[@user-yg5gf7ks4h]

1:15:31

[@ItsYaBoiV]

I actually had to read this book for a college course. It was brought up as part of the lesson about shock content in media. We had to read the book and then read an edit with heavy censorship, then write a paper explaining if we felt that the censored version was able to convey the same point as the original.

[@Sindrella.]

That actually sounds so cool! A bit of a headache, but a cool concept and assignment! What did you ultimately think? Was the edit better? I can’t imagine Blood Meridian without that detached portrayal of violence

[@thatguyintherain3168]

The fact this is a book review that was trending proves that it's wendigoon's charisma and video quality that keeps this amazing audience

[@trashman11]

**trending in gaming** lol

[@princetchalla2441]

And the nightmare fuel topics, those help too. Reminds us to be thankful for every peaceful, beautiful day we are given.

[@justoverit]

Its definitely the fact that its gory and terrifying and not the fact that its about a book

[@thatguyintherain3168]

@@justoverit every party needs a pooper that's why they invited you.

[@ladyinsect6444]

@@justoverit ummm but it is a 5 hour long book review. It is surprising that it’s as popular as it is. Because.. it’s a book review. There are plenty of reviews on offensive and dark books out there that don’t get this kind of attention soooo

[@melledevries4685]

One thing I noticed is that when a girl goes missing in Tucson, a piece of her clothing is found bloodied at the foot of a wall "that she could only have been thrown over." This is in the same chapter in which the Judge shows off his immense strength throwing that meteor anvil around.

[@InertiaStatus]

Probably used her and threw her away like garbage poor girl

[@imk2007]

​@OMGkawa11Angel that terminology makes my skin crawl. Dear lord

[@bananaowner_real]

Fuck, the judge is a disturbing character

[@Mavenger1845]

@@InertiaStatushe was just holden around

[@woodlefoof2]

@@InertiaStatus he looked at her and said “I’m gonna judge your blood meridian”

[@C4c7u5cry97id]

Maybe the true Blood Meridian was the friends we made along the way

[@koan__23]

Nah, I think that's Saki Sanobashi. I wouldn't want to be no friend of the Judge.

[@silentjackm.d4490]

Something i notice is every time the Judge does his....act, if you know you know. He is usually naked or partially naked and seems in a good mood, singing, dancing, poetry. He revels in the act

[@clarissagabrielle1404]

I feel like the killing of the 15 y/o is really just foreshadowing for the end of the book. “You were never gonna live anyway” is both a telling of The Kid’s fate and an homage to the theme of death always comes for you

[@Shinryakugun]

Foreshadowing and also reflecting, which is cool. In having to kill a new kid, the man is in essence murdering the boy he once was, and with it all the potential he himself had. To me, this is the final indication that his wayward life, and his inability to live either fully in the world of good or evil, is finally sealed to one path, the road that leads back to Texas and back to the judge.

[@TheAdarkerglow]

I took it was a reflection of how fortunate The Kid/The Man had always been, when the Ex-Priest Tobin had said, "Some day God won't love you." as he manages to push the arrow through. The Kid had all the opportunities in the world to die, but was constantly taken away from it. But now, this new Kid, he didn't have that luck. And as a reflection of the man, an indication that the luck was running out and really always had been. "You'll feel it when it's gone."

[@katieklysmxx]

OR - or - a simple admission that if he was dumb enough to sneak up on The Kid and not kill him in his sleep, instead freezing when he woke up, he wasn't gonna make it very long as an outlaw

[@davestrider9900]

maybe death always comes for other people, but thanks to denial i'm immortal

[@cracksnorter69]

vdd linda

[@RoyalSeryx]

5 hour book review is #4 trending for gaming I am so proud of Mr. Wendigoon

[@I_hate_you_8--D]

Trending on gaming? Wtf

[@noonethatyouknow5555]

epic gamer moment

[@Gamerteamguy]

It’s the world of tanks sponsor

[@matthew-mp8ss]

Can confirm, just checked the gaming tag.

[@Libertarianneoconfederate]

Wild

[@JudgeHolden2003]

I always thought Judge Holden has a huge resemblance to Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now in terms of looks, character, actions, and what he represents. Maybe it was the main inspiration for McCarthy when making the character of the Judge

[@TacticalJay62]

I think the main inspiration was based of the real life accounts of “Samuel chamberlains:my confession”

[@JohnnyRocker023]

Even then, at least Kurtz had some amount of sympathy for civilians he interacted with directly. The Judge is just a paragon of pure evil.

[@JudgeHolden2003]

@@JohnnyRocker023 wasn't It stated by Willard that bodies surrounding the Kingdom of Kurtz are also civillains, and not just enemy soldiers?

[@watchmychannelorelse]

ITS THE MAN HIMSELF

[@moosey7165]

wendy said cormac said the main inspiration was the devil from paradise lost

[@michakasprzak6869]

18:45 Judge literally accused a priest or whoever that guy with a Bible was of something he himself most likely did

[@Len124]

Toadvine getting angry at the Judge for killing the child actually makes total sense. A person doesn't usually become desensitized to killing _any_ humans, they become desensitized to killing particular humans through the act of dehumanization. Caring for the child breaks this illusion. Toadvine is no longer able to otherize the boy as easily.

[@B3DH3ADcartoons]

Beautifully said.

[@360truths7]

Word

[@VolokArtyom]

the book plays this for irony as well, i'm not sure it was Toadvine (I think it was Tobin), but one of the officers mentions finding it "unconsciounable" to kill a wolf, as he goes on to describe the slaughter of north american indians, who are, you know, people. It's the guy who gives the detailed account of the Glanton gang meeting the Judge to the Kid, the sulfur from brimstone and such chapter

[@therocketprophet1914]

Exactly what my two brain cells rubbing together were trying to put the words together to say

[@mustardbiscuits9750]

@@VolokArtyom tbf they kinda had to kill those Indians at that point

[@tobeymalone3436]

Just imagining the universe where The Kid decided to dance instead, the Judge just sitting in that outhouse all night like "...aaaaany minute now" just fucking cracks me up

[@angelic_stargaze]

And by investing all that time waiting for The Man, the little judge wouldn’t have “joined the dance” :(

[@manwithnoplan5496]

I think if they had danced it would’ve been a duel then and there but the kid backed out

[@user-bt1cl4ex6d]

But the Kid did choose to dance. He went in the outhouse to participate in a ritual and become what the Judge wanted him to be. The victim in the outhouse wasn't the Kid, it was the little girl who disappeared (no way that's just a coincidence) and who was brought by the Judge as a sacrifice for the Kid's final initiation.

[@redscissorsdude]

⁠@@user-bt1cl4ex6dtrue there’s multiple ways to interpret this ending anyways

[@charlie-rn1mo]

“if you dance with the devil, you may never dance again”

[@vocondus9585]

My favorite part is what he says, “You sir, are a fish”.

[@callmeginga]

"Anything that exists without my knowledge operates without my consent" is one of the most low-key badass lines that have ever been penned to paper.

[@Paul-wj1zg]

I came looking for this comment.

[@blizzard_the_seal9863]

i gotta steal that wtfff that’s so cool

[@faded1887]

Seems like something a gears of war/halo character would say ngl

[@spencegame]

And in context it's horrifying lmao

[@watcher805]

If consent really meant anything, he'd *almost* have a point.

[@randombgamer]

The fact that he’s wearing a suit instead of his usual attire puts a tear on my face, he’s gotten so far

[@katerrinah5442]

But still a funky shirt 😭❤️

[@anarchyneverdies3567]

He actually does dress to match the videos often, but I enjoyed the western wear as well today. I like the character acting (or dressing lol)

[@samuel-fg6wh]

@@anarchyneverdies3567 when did he wear western wear

[@memelord6335]

​@@anarchyneverdies3567 Western? I don't see no cowboy hat, wedigoon is simply dressing in his uniform as a made man of the video essay Mafia lol

[@memelord6335]

​@@samuel-fg6wh that is Western Wear it's just that Western Wear when it comes to Suits happens to be very similar to how 1980s Miami look and how modern-day yakuza wear their suit because western style suits have the popped collar as well but it's the type of shirt that he's wearing and the way his hair is and the material of the suit itself, when wearing a suit it's a lot more complicated compared to simple casual clothing, a lot more goes into it, feel me?

[@Irrelevant402]

I'm shocked the performing family actually got to the place without dying or getting violated. Though only halfwayish through.

[@comeatmebro8120]

My favorite part was when The Kid spat and said “no more kidding around” and then he kidded all over the place

[@Corn-Pop.]

I have to continually remind myself that book isn't that old. For some reason I always want to think of it as something written 100 years ago. The author is still alive in fact, he's old but he's still alive and kicking.

[@Armameteus]

I think it just seems old because of the setting it refers to evoking a sense of "back then" - the Old West - of the accounts of a world that existed over a hundred years ago. The time and place inherently invoke a sense of distance and age that a modern audience can't really fathom anymore, except in fiction. This, coupled with the dense, flowery prose and dialogue calls back to an almost Shakespearean dialectic; a style _many_ hundreds of years old, told somehow in a much more modern age, by a much more modern writer. It feels almost anachronistic, like a story pulled forward through time that would have fit just as neatly (if not more so) in a time back then than it does now.

[@redroofinn7o]

As Windigoon was talking about it I assumed this book was made in the 1800s and then he said it came out in 1985 and I was shocked.

[@redroofinn7o]

@@Armintanzarian1212 my bad

[@Deminogg]

Brother in Christ of course it’s going to feel old. It takes place in a partially true old west. Around 1700-1800s. While the setting of the characters is fictional, what they lived through wasn’t. It’s just taking a setting based off real events and throwing a spin. 1985 was a long time ago, and while it’s barely measured a generation away, what’s happened ever since 1985 can quickly make you realize it was a long time ago. What do I mean by that? The way of thinking has quickly changed ever since. Our technology has drastically changed as well, from pagers to a cellphone without a huge screen but rather a rectangle screen to see what numbers you pressed to a cellphone with a camera to our current smartphones. We have advanced so much the way people behaved 100 years ago might seem primitive to our current standards. So yeah, the book is old even if it was written 30+ years ago because it’s setting takes places in an older civilization

[@absurdum-the-artist]

He literally released to books last year too

[@Samantha-pn4zk]

You did a five hour book summary of a story that came out in 1985 for an audience saturated by viral content that usually demands no more than five minutes of their attention and your video is wildley popular. Your analytical abilities paired with your sincerity and story telling are obviously high quality and well-loved. Congratulations.

[@Reptonious]

Most of his videos are in the hour range. What's his audience?

[@Bigpac007]

@@Reptonious calmm down mans is talking about the internet and you cant argue against him

[@fluentdebreseJg]

Yes

[@RipperJack30141]

@EuphemisticHug Dunno, but I listen primarily for the oddball content he drops, the long vid times (easier to listen to while working), and his sense of humor and candor 🤷‍♂️

[@socialyawkwardandrew7673]

TLDR

[@chocolate_popcorn356]

“Together we are blood meridian” the judge said “judge is right we have to work together!” They all said in union before judging all over them

[@philstankus]

Barely scratched the surface of this video yet- but I wanted to check it out since I had read Blood Meridian for the first time a few months ago. Already I was floored by a detail in chapter 1 that had completely left my mind by the time I had finished the novel- and of course- of COURSE- the very first act of violence (besides the circumstances of his birth) recorded about the kid happens on the way to.... an outhouse.

[@kommandobosssnikrot9283]

Jesus, man... this book

[@aldenfriend9625]

"Glanton who's drunkenly stumbling out of bed, decides to just start a problem." After nearly two and a half hours of constant death and tragedy, and after reading the story myself cover to cover, I'm beginning to become as desensitized as the characters in the story, and I started laughing uncontrollably at this line.

[@willieearles3151]

I had kinda the same problem. The graphic violence actually bored me after a while. But the book was too good to not finish.

[@toolatetothestory]

Yeah. At some point, it's just another Tuesday. @@willieearles3151

[@Nyssine]

he just like me fr

[@CaravanCzar]

I had the same issue with Joe Abercrombie's Wisdom of Crowds. The constant executions and perversion of justice and liberty in his fantasy world's version of the French Revolution made me numb to the violence. I love it when a story can make me feel like the characters - emotionally exhausted in these two cases - rather than just telling me, or even showing me how the characters feel.

[@CH-sl5eq]

@@willieearles3151 What was strange for me was that I also felt the same, desensitized and bored by all the human violence, but when the guy shot the dancing bear and it tried to keep dancing until he killed it I was actually angry, literally angry at a book at something that didn't really happen.

[@Malthusia]

5 hours of Wendigoon. My day has gotten 100% better

[@kaminsod4077]

It's like double Christmas bro.

[@mewingdaspider7818]

You know that you’re never gonna finish this video.

[@Malthusia]

@@mewingdaspider7818 I finished The Nightmare Fighting Tournament in 3 days. I also finished The Left Right Game. Don’t test me bruh.

[@paull4858]

Mine as well my friend

[@finntjomstol9364]

Time to start studying

[@LukeLongboneOfficial]

Bruh, the judge is the kid/man. Everything the judge does is actually what the kid/man did. He couldn’t accept seeing himself as he was, and the judge is how he copes. Judge goes away for a while when the kid becomes a man and lives a good life. But in the end the judge reappears because he was always there within the man’s subconscious. Triggered by the little girl with the bear? Just been gone too long? Who knows but it’s the only way to logically understand the story. The kid/man is the judge. Similarly, in another book by the same author, Anton Chigur is an imaginary person who embodies all of the new and unknown evil in the world as seen by sheriff Ed Tom Bell.

[@thcrimsnfckr9704]

Shit that actually makes sense

[@Sindrella.]

Too much of the story wouldn’t make sense if the judge wasn’t real. Alternatively, though, I don’t think the Kid/Man was raped at the end of the book. Rather, maybe that was where the ideas, the philosophy, whatever makes the Judge - THE JUDGE - was transferred onto the kid. You can read it literally, sure, that those men went to the outhouse and were literally appalled to see a dead man. Or, you can read it as society’s reaction to the horrors that the Man, now the Judge, is inflicting upon others. Remember, in the bar in the final chapter, “… you may need your soul tonight.” The whole nakedness thing could just be metaphorical. But when the Judge steps back into the party it’s the resuming of “the dance.” What is the dance? Well, the Judge told us that the eradication of life is the dance. War gives life value. It is the only thing that can do it. This is the dance. Nobody knows their role until they’ve stepped into the dance. But doesn’t the Judge’s philosophy mirror westerner’s conception in the 19th century of manifest destiny? The Judge says that might is the only justifier. I love the small thematic addition at the end of the people trying to pay money to get the pelt off the dead bear while the girl was just mourning it. It mirrors a lot of the book. People are so greedy and self-interested that they’ll quickly move to profiteer off of tragedy. Think of the scalping. Was that not MOSTLY financially motivated, too? Anyway, The Kid resisted the Judge. He was lost and confused. Years later, he grew up. He tried helping that old lady, but she had been long dead. He had to kill a kid who was the same age he was when he ran away. All around him he sees more death and violence with no person there to guide him. He has been trying to go steady and with the woman he was trying to be kind and offer help. But when he kills that 15 year old, he said “you wouldn’t have lived anyway.” This all to say that the Man finally confronts that none of what he has done has amounted in a life worth living. The novel mentions the Man kept hearing of the Judge on his travels. He probably did seek the Judge out, or at least that final chapter is him MENTALLY wrestling with the ideas the Judge gave him. I believe that ending symbolizes the Man embracing what the Judge wanted. He became the Judge, an instrument of violence

[@SubZero-hs9xc]

Is an interpreatation

[@ShakeZuula]

I’m starting to suspect this judge isn’t really a judge at all 🤨

[@therealtooth5568]

Favorite bit is when Judge says "Kids are cruel, Jack, and I love minors"

[@JillLulamoon]

When the wind is slow And the fire’s hot The vulture waits to see what rots Oh how pretty All the scenery This is nature’s sacrifice When the air blows through With a brisk attack The reptile tail ripped from its back When the sun sets We will not forget the Red sun over paradise No but seriously holy shit Sundowner is totally Judge Holden. Surprised I didn't notice it before.

[@firstnamelastnamethirdname]

Dammit bro you made the whole vile and spoopy experience funny.

[@alfredashford5924]

Holy fuck, did not expect to see a Max0r reference but goddamn do I love it! Thank you.

[@kingcyrusrodan6772]

@@JillLulamoon Yeah holy shit that revelation shocked me as well! You have both of their ideologies reflecting war as the highest good or thing a man can strive to, both of them are very strong and skilled in combat, and both of them have weird shit going on with children. I would not be surprised at all if one inspired the other

[@dohyunlee1439]

@@kingcyrusrodan6772 not to mention both of them have VERY similar physical descriptions, down to the part about being hairless. the more i think about it the more im convinced that there's some kind of connection between the two

[@50PullUps]

1:20:00 Very very true. Consider the Roman excursions into Gaul. History casually mentions 60000 killed here, 100000 killed there. Easy to lose sight of the immense human suffering these people felt.

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

Bellona The Goddess Of War

[@bunathan2485]

The judge was disappointed in the kid because the kid never danced, as in, he never took advantage of those opportunities to escape and chose a different life. Therefore the judge… judged him, and ends him because the kid at that point, the kid was metaphorically dead, neutral. the kid failed himself. He failed to dance, and the judge saw that. Hense his disappointment.

[@iriswinter]

Blood Meridian is now the #1 best seller in American literature on Amazon, no joke. It’s an amazing book, this is an amazing video, and you deserve every bit of influence you have.

[@vipr1142]

I wish someone had the balls to make it a movie or a series

[@PsilocybeJedi]

I'm struggling through it honestly. I've taken a hiatus from 3 years of Stephen King work to try out some of these "best" American Western novels, and honestly the landscape is beautiful and I love the setting, but McCarthy's prose is so hard to follow, I end up missing things and having to reread them over and over. I guess this isn't a good "first McCarthy" book to read.

[@adamtothefuture]

@@PsilocybeJedi one thing that really helps with his run on sentences, is to treat the “and” as periods. They pretty much mark the end of sentences.

[@PsilocybeJedi]

@adamtothefuture the run on sentences don't get me it's mostly the dialogue and lack of quotation marks

[@raptorskilltor4554]

@@vipr1142 hey someone had the balls to make the road into a movie, so anything is possible

[@jjspittel327]

The Glanton gang's violence literally sounds like something you would do after quicksaving. It is so easy and excessive and unbelievable

[@kevinbergesson8772]

Well said 👌🏼😂

[@Chewberto]

My thoughts exactly. I remember multiple times thinking, "I'm pretty sure I did something like this in Mount & Blade/Skyrim" after hearing about the umpteenth massacre and pillaging of a town.

[@Sickhoop]

The descriptions are often directly lifted from reports of US army massacres in Vietnam.

[@coreyford3556]

This is what you’d do in Minecraft when you get bored

[@charlie1234500]

lol You mean the violence or the ability to win so effortlessly at times as if they did it in their first try? Regardless, the Judge is their quick save all throughout.

[@samdal420]

20 minutes in and the Judge is like: I love spreading missinformation >:)

[@HoldenSXE]

The part of the book that I enjoyed was actually the aspect of the gang riding around. Kind of similar to red dead redemption. I feel like everyone hyper fixates on the evil of the judge so much that they miss just a cool western story.

[@CrammyCram]

I love red dead as well

[@alexanderduluoz]

You never read the book.

[@_wtdwo_]

The riding around goes a bit too long. I enjoyed the camps and dialogue, but there was a lot of grogginess in the traveling across the state, especially the short raids and massacre, not really separated.

[@CrammyCram]

@@_wtdwo_ I agree, there’s a lot of descriptions on how they ride around a lot. But it makes sense, that’s what people mainly did at the time, especially people with a job such as theirs. But it did go on for a while. On the other hand, it made the parts of the story that were extremely brutal even more impactful, which is always important. Plus, it was significant because it really told you that what they were doing was long, tedious, and boring, and the judge and other people in the book were willing to go through that just to do some senseless killing, which really showed the true nature of some of the characters. At least, that’s my interpretation of the book.

[@bigbugjpeg]

well theyre riding around to murder so.

[@propanekid686]

The fact that I read this entire book and missed or forgot half the things you talked about really shows how difficult of a read it is.

[@reoni0]

If its that difficult this man really needs to overgo heart of darkness by Joseph Conrad. another really good and important read

[@joeking6972]

Yeah I enjoy his prose and there are several instances that will be burned into my mind forever. However, I did often find myself wondering wtf was going on, and had difficulty generating mental imagery at certain points. I like books where I can cleanly visualize what's happening, and if an author can't communicate that, then I believe that it's a fair criticism to make.

[@chimp4225]

The lack of commas is kind of distracting but also kinda brilliant because sentences have different meanings depending where you place them

[@camruivivar6992]

I completely missed how the judge was assaulting all of these kids in the novel. Didn’t realize what was happening until I started reading cliff notes lol.

[@madmanpecos]

i didn’t find it disturbing at all. i literally just find it impossible to read and understand

[@BDKamerra]

When he said "I would have loved you like a son", my mind first went back to the story the judge had told about the traveler and the saddle maker, both of which had sons. And both the son's outcomes by different means. A son with an evil father becoming evil, and a son with no father and guidance. On a physical level it's a creep attempting to give a young man the squeeze, and on another level it's an allegory for embracing evil.

[@RobExNihilo]

One of the things I appreciate most about his writing is he often and very skillfully writes what appear on the surface to be simple, straight-forward, Hemingway-esque paragraphs, comprised of seemingly simple sentences that turn out to be significantly deeper upon further examination. And I wouldn't even classify it was wordplay. It's rarely a clever but obvious twist of words or double-entendre. It's usually much more subtle than that. I liken it to how you might say _still water runs deep_ about a a quiet/calm person concealing a more passionate/thoughtful inner world. Like that, but applied to prose.

[@GiraffeFlavoredCondoms]

@@RobExNihilo This is very well worded and well said

[@RobExNihilo]

Such high praise from @@GiraffeFlavoredCondoms is the highlight of my day. In fact, it made my hole weak!

[@user-bt1cl4ex6d]

That quote and the Judge embracing him in the outhouse reminded me of the parable of the prodigal son (a twisted version of it). I don't think the Kid is the victim of what happens in the outhouse. I think he's the perpetrator. The little girl disappearing right before a mysterious and violent scene that's never shown is way too big a of a coincidence. The Kid gave in and became a dancer along with the Judge. Whatever he did to the girl was his initiation. The Judge embraced him because even after the disappointment the Kid had been to him, he finally came back to accept his fate as a complete man of war.

[@chaosshaman8720]

When it comes to Toadvine and Brown being hung, I always figured the judge turned law enforcement on them as well. Mainly because Toadvine didn't want to get arrested in California.

[@sojournertaylor6897]

My favorite part of the story is when the guys meet Sundowner and they all pee in a volcano to make bombs

[@GrayMask_Studios]

This truly is the blood meridian

[@2SeizeTheDay]

Cormac McCarthy died today. I literally just finished the book last night and started this video this morning. He shaped me 10 years ago with the Road and reshaped me again 10 years later as a new father on a reread. Now again with Blood Meridian i start a new journey into what it means to be human, and to better myself. Rest in peace. You've touched the lives of more people and in more ways than you could imagine.

[@dantromans7415]

Finnished it yesterday too, first Cormac McCarthy book. rest in peace

[@whallord3585]

Finished the book as of today aswell, I am far from a seasoned reader but even as I didn't understand all of what was written (as well as the subtext within) it still filled me with a sense of fearful admiration. Truly a magnificent writer, rest in peace McCarthy

[@michaeldoyle5238]

I read it last summer, stumbled upon this video moments before I saw the news. Just gutted. He achieved an unparalleled body of work due imo to his unparalleled perspective, his vocabulary, while grandiose, almost always says what he means perfectly.

[@imjustaturtle641]

I JUST finished Blood Meridian two minutes ago and it’s also my first Cormac book. Now this book is just that much more personal, damn. Rest Easy Cormac.

[@bradboland3825]

Wow, I just finished it about 30 minutes ago.

[@Squidhatttt]

The Priest begging the Kid to shoot the judge is some heartbreaking stuff man. They all know they should but even the thought of trying to shoot the judge dead is unreal. Seeing the judge dead to the kid isn’t even a real thought. He could never and it’s the hardest part of the book to just take and not wanna rewrite.

[@BC-yl3qb]

Chapter 20/21 contain some of the most anxiety inducing literature of all time, the knowing of the Judges evil without him even having yet made an attempt on the Kids life, and him later walking through the Kids shots almost with arrogance towards of his own inevitability

[@apollyonnoctis1291]

I made a fan rewrite of the ending where everything goes about the same, and the Judge still rambles on about how he’ll never die, before his words become slurred, and a huge thud is heard as the music and dancing comes to an abrupt halt and people suddenly start screaming. The Judge collapses to the floor, dead, having been shot four times by the Man before the Judge brutally killed him: one in the head, for Tobin who he made go insane, two in both lungs, for Toad whom he caused the hanging of, and one right to his crotch as one last act of spite for how the Judge was planning to violate him after he killed him. The Judge’s supernatural power only gave him just enough strength to basically deliriously wander back onto the dance floor and dance, which ironically only exacerbated his wounds. The gunshot wounds also symbolically make a cross, one last time for the road that religion kills somebody in this book. The last lines are an ironic echo of his ‘legacy’ speech, with everyone now seeing him as the beast he always was and his blood completely ruining the book of drawings that he thought would be his legacy. In the end, no one, not even the devil himself, can run from the eternal slumber nor the consequences of their sins forever. “Be you a beast or a heroic preacher we all one day will have to dance with the reaper.”

[@apokalypthoapokalypsys9573]

@@apollyonnoctis1291 that's some 15-year-old emo kid-tier fanfiction. I understand it would be satisfying to have the book end like that, but it would devaluate the book by a few magnitudes, to say the least. You might as well have ended it with a 4chan greentext switcheroo at this point.

[@CriticalDispatches]

@@apollyonnoctis1291 Fan rewrite? Jesus wept.

[@dulkoski]

😊

[@Psyanigh]

Ever since I found Wendigoon I've gone hard watching the videos in his roster, and I've loved every minute of it. But when I came across this video I watched it and was so intrigued that I went and listened to the entire audiobook, which is the first time I messed with a book at all in years. Now here I am again re-watching this video because I'm so amazed by the writing and characters in the story that I needed a refresher on what Wendigoon shared. Thank you for everything, including putting a spotlight on this story!

[@user-kt9ch4gd6x]

I like the part where The Judge says “There is only room in the stage for one beast… Mr Beast”

[@jokerman9623]

This man is just a walking W. The drip is immaculate, the content is great, hair is perfection. What a legend.

[@ClaytonBigsby93]

Wendigoon is like 25 going on 60. My man just radiates that sage grandfather wisdom. No doubt a dapper gentleman of the highest order. By next year I’d half expect him to start wearing a monocle, get a nice fire-side rocking chair made of the finest rich mahogany, all while taking casual puffs from a tobacco long pipe that would make even Gandalf look like a 15 yr old hitting a vape for the first time

[@Metguy123]

Truly a king

[@bingusenjoyer197]

@@ClaytonBigsby93 i read your comment out in an irish accent bc of the way you typed

[@mfitzburger5137]

He's proof that being "Daddy" has nothing to do with bearing children.

[@gotvidz2222]

You guys are hilarious... But accurate

[@lemardeyoutubegod125]

The line "He could out dance the devil" means so much more with the ending of the book.

[@imperator_88mm92]

I don't quite understand. What do you believe it means?

[@GiraffeFlavoredCondoms]

@@imperator_88mm92 It' foreshadowing to the end of the book, and foreshadowing that The Judge is the embodiment/representative of the devil himself. It seems like a meaningless line, like how Bob Ross will say "beat the devil out of [his brushes]" it's just used as a phrase, not literally referring to the devil. You wouldn't think twice about that line, but reading the second time, the ending of the book Literally being about a man representing the devil himself, dancing and dancing and never dying, and what "dancing" ACTUALLY represents, not literal dancing, that random throwaway line has a lot more deeper meaning.

[@mattalley4330]

@@imperator_88mm92 The book strongly suggests that Judge Holden is some kind of demonic entity, possibly even the Devil himself. His penchant for raping, murdering, and (possibly) partially consuming young children puts him in the category of thoroughly evil. The scene where he leaps over a campfire and the fire rises up for a moment to wrap around him "as if he had a natural affinity for the element" is I believe the book puts it also suggests it. His almost extra-human ability to perform any task he wishes with expert proficiency, his super-human strength, his noticable lack of aging, his ability to strongly influence people such as when he gets out of any consequences for his part of the Glanton gang's activities, his lack of susceptibility to the elements (a giant albino in the middle of the desert who never gets a sunburn), and so on also suggest that he isnt exactly human.

[@isaia8532]

@@imperator_88mm92Tobin was referring to the judge in this quote, and the judge IS the devil

[@willevensen7130]

@@mute-47290or he could be the devil, both interpretations can be valid or he could just be some f’d up dude.

[@fours4930]

the part that stuck with me the most is when the judge gathered the gang and yelled “we are blood meridian!!”

[@strobeeboy]

The meridian was the blood we spilled along the way

[@dwaynetheglockjohnson7691]

Don’t sell yourself short man. While being one of my favorites, this is an exceedingly confusing book. And you did a great job explaining everything in a digestible way!

[@ancient_technique]

weirdo. freak even go outside drink water alien

[@nichellekmalvous6688]

are the books he mentioned in the beginning also wrote in the same way, without punctuation?

[@fau3058]

@@nichellekmalvous6688 i think they are

[@nichellekmalvous6688]

@@fau3058 thanks

[@UrbanJumpMonkeys]

​@@nichellekmalvous6688 No they aren't

[@jonahc2807]

"Did you threaten to injure this man?" "No, I didn't threaten anything. It was a promise. I promised to kill him." Terrifying and oddly badass

[@stubstunner]

I don’t make threats, I make promises.

[@vinchenzo2502]

Badass Davey Brown

[@alexandercope4049]

It's something that can be applied to this day, usually about lower stakes, but I've talked a couple people down with similar language. I'm not a badass by any means, but when something is important, threats don't exist, only statements of fact

[@ethanbaker6264]

The original quote is better "I didn't threaten him I told him I'd whip his ass and that's as good as notarized"

[@vinchenzo2502]

@@ethanbaker6264 Davy Brown is always low-key kind of been my favorite character of the book. The judge is one thing, but there's something so badass about David Brown

[@pimpstallion9767]

Ive recently found you, honestly through Papa Meat, but just wanted to say I loved this a lot and wouldnt mind watching more recaps of your favorite books or explanations of other famous books. Very good format and I enjoyed it thoroughly, keep it up Wendigoon

[@peachdaddy]

9:30 the video starts

[@Tw0Dots]

king