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

[@Wendigoon]

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[@rightsider]

yes sir 🫡

[@PhonEyStuff]

They sponsor people alot huh

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

❤

[@bigfast5598]

Ok

[@MerchantMarineGuy]

Stop shilling garbage

[@samg.5165]

- Barges into a random church - Accuses an innocent man of pedophilia and bestiality - Leaves as the church turns into a battlefield - Survivors find him in a bar, question him - "My source? I made it the fuck up." Best villain introduction.

[@billysunday7507]

I think he did know but was messing with the crowd afterwards.

[@spinningtornado4543]

"My source ? Takes one to know one."

[@EuGeez]

​@@billysunday7507 then at that point he'd just be taking care of the competition 💀

[@Throwaway-hv2ej]

Quotation marks??

[@Lelouch-Vi-Britannia-]

Source:"trust me bro"

[@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

[@Spaceman-15]

And then he killed another child

[@eisenkrahe7125]

​@@Spaceman-15Got Judge'd

[@xxtL]

@@eisenkrahe7125 a little amount of judging

[@eisenkrahe7125]

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

[@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.

[@WoodbabyCYL]

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

[@pablolacalle6098]

That's so cool. Sick to see a huge youtuber making amazing content that inspires people to read fantastic books.

[@JaCrispy937]

Toad Vine and the kid straight up trying to knife each other to death and then being like “ya know what, you’re alright bud” is the most cowboy thing I can imagine

[@J.F.R.1]

This is how guys make friends irl

[@yoavjacoby8246]

Compared to everything else in the book, their dynamic was genuinely wholesome and cute. Two buddies fighting together (and doing some unspeakable crimes against humanity while they're at i)

[@dundeedolphin]

Glasgow on a Satutday night.

[@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

[@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

[@gagejonkman452]

Interestingly I interpreted The Kid, who later became The Man, killing that 15 year old boy towards the end of the story as The Man killing a version of himself, seeing in this kid his own violent tendencies and snuffing out the flame before it has a chance to catch again, or even perhaps sparing this boy the horrible fate he’s endured. It also reminds me of the scene early in the novel when The Kid meets The Hermit who shows him slave ears from earlier in his life. The Hermit, like The Man, regrets his violent past yet wishes to keep artifacts as proof and warnings of those violent acts. The Hermit also stands over The Kid in the middle of the night, perhaps seeing what The Man sees in the 15 year old boy he kills. This creates for me a very satisfying, yet dark, full circle moment.

[@Samawiki]

I always though the hermit just wanted to rape the kid but you might be right!

[@jbattin3034]

I also feel like it's a mirror moment to the time in the bar when the bartender chooses to not shoot him as a boy only he makes the opposite choice as the man and does shoot this boy.

[@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, Holden deez nuts. EDIT: I found the quote for you guys, I wish I had given it sooner. As they rode out they found a man sitting on a lonesome rock. He was huge and pale, a monstrous creature, though strangely childlike. Howdy, the man said. Howdy, said Glanton, how goes? Mighty fine, friend, just fine. Care to join us? You seem capable, and we could always use an extra rifle in this line of work. Suppose I could. I’m always looking to dance. Whatever you say... What’s your name, mister? They call me the judge. As to my name itself you might say it is Holden. Holden? Holden what? Holden deez nuts. The judge smiled.

[@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.”

[@aleksejsruy]

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]

@@aleksejsruyor 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”

[@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

[@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 😅.

[@Madi-yc8xt]

My favorite part was when the Judge s standing right behind the Kid and the Kid says, “….he’s right behind me… *isn’t he* ?”

[@spenjaminn3846]

And then the Judge says “Kid, you’re gonna wanna see this”

[@average_mouse]

Uh, Toad Vine, you’re gonna wanna see this.

[@samtdl8639]

*slap*

[@samcro9184]

Blood meridian if it was a marvel movie

[@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

[@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

[@its_vintage2601]

"What is bro waffling about" I say as the judge crushes my head like an egg

[@jen-ac]

The best comment

[@Lil-lf5ls]

😂😂😂

[@khaleel_1234]

😭😭😭

[@theslavemotivator3571]

Lmao

[@rustyshackleford5288]

😊😊

[@hunterdipietro2422]

I've interpreted Judge Holden in this story not as the devil at first, but as Cain. Because he killed his brother Able, God cursed him to walk the earth forever. What I took from the story is that the judge is Cain after roaming for thousands of years since creation. This could be how he knows so many languages, why he's been cataloguing everything he sees, and why he cannot die. Is it so ridiculous to think that Cain would not become an instrument of evil after seeing nothing but that across millennia of history?

[@mermaidreverie]

Actually, this is an incredibly interesting interpretation, and I like it.

[@jefferymosdell2490]

I know in the biblical lore that Cain's skin was turned black to signify his killing of Able, but it makes sense that the darkness so readily apparent would gradually blanch from his complexion as he terrorized the people he'd come across. Going from an obvious deformity, in a spiritual sense, to a deeply seated malevolence that few can witness without becoming victim to it. This characters hatred and maleficent behavior for the men and women of the earth is second to none.

[@dantethepunk6932]

​@@jefferymosdell2490The Bible doesn't state explicitly or even implied that his skin was completely turned black. As punishment cain is Marked, but in hebrew the Hebrew word for mark (’ōṯ, אות‎) could mean a sign, an omen, a warning, or a remembrance.[11] The mark of Cain is God's promise to offer Cain divine protection from premature death with the stated purpose of preventing anyone from killing him. The belief that cain was turned black has racial connotations and allegedly starts in american racial beliefs. At some point after the start of the slave trade in the United States, many Protestant denominations began teaching the belief that the mark of Cain was a dark skin tone in an attempt to justify their actions, although early descriptions of Romani as "descendants of Cain" written by Franciscan friar Symon Semeonis suggest that this belief had existed for some time. Protestant preachers wrote exegetical analyses of the curse, with the assumption that it was dark skin. It is not known what the mark was, but it is assumed that the mark was visible. Some have speculated that the mark was a Hebrew or Sumerian letter placed on either the face or the arm. The Septuagint translates the mark as a "sign". Thus, it is speculated that the mark served as a sign to others not to commit the same offense.

[@dantethepunk6932]

Great interpretation. Fits well too and here i was thinking i was a genius for interpreting the judge as the devil😂

[@dantethepunk6932]

​@@jefferymosdell2490 The Bible doesn't state explicitly or even implied that his skin was completely turned black. As punishment cain is Marked, but in hebrew the Hebrew word for mark (’ōṯ, אות‎) could mean a sign, an omen, a warning, or a remembrance.[11] The mark of Cain is God's promise to offer Cain divine protection from premature death with the stated purpose of preventing anyone from killing him. The belief that cain was turned black has racial connotations and allegedly starts in american racial beliefs. At some point after the start of the slave trade in the United States, many Protestant denominations began teaching the belief that the mark of Cain was a dark skin tone in an attempt to justify their actions, although early descriptions of Romani as "descendants of Cain" written by Franciscan friar Symon Semeonis suggest that this belief had existed for some time. Protestant preachers wrote exegetical analyses of the curse, with the assumption that it was dark skin. It is not known what the mark was, but it is assumed that the mark was visible. Some have speculated that the mark was a Hebrew or Sumerian letter placed on either the face or the arm. The Septuagint translates the mark as a "sign". Thus, it is speculated that the mark served as a sign to others not to commit the same offense.

[@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.

[@4r1777]

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

[@JoeKing69]

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

[@AstralBelt]

Yes The kid is never stern in his ways, he simply goes with the situation he finds himself in, being too idle or passive to enact his will on the situation The moment of truth really was at the well, when Tobin begged the kid to kill the judge, and the kid's passive refusal is what caused the game of cat and mouse, the disappearance of Tobin, and ultimately the end to unfold the way they did The kid had the potential to be a true dancer, but he don't much care for dancin

[@seanodonnell9862]

“He says that he will never die”

[@nathanmacyk7642]

In the end he couldn’t commit himself to any one thing even himself he just sleep walked through his own nightmare of a life. But the judge is confident and sure of who he is he’s fully committed to his lifestyle and his beliefs and in the end the kid is consumed by him in body in spirit in mind everything. As all he desires was punishment as he failed to find redemption. He had no desire to dance even in his death he is reactive and not proactive. he just wanders around aimlessly for decades until he finally runs into the judge by happen stance on the John. He made no attempt to find him nor avoid him he did nothing to fight him off or to welcome it at that town. He just wandered around until he stumbled upon him and let it happen. The kid grown into the man had fully succumbed to fate and just walked his fated path till death came to him

[@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

[@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"

[@KaythatsGorey0666]

The fact tobin knew this was the only chance for the judge to die was if the kid shot him right there is even more scary considering years later, the judge found the kid and slaughtered him

[@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

[@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!

[@IVibratorz]

#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 ❤ :)

[@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

[@vidmastereon]

My favorite aspect of the judge's character is despite being a genius polymath, does not use any of his many talents for contructive purposes but disregards them for senseless nihilistic violence

[@Dionaea_floridensis]

The fact that The Judge seemingly didn't age at all despite being middle aged at the beginning is definitely suspect, either of The Man's perception of The Judge, or the true nature of The Judge himself

[@charlie1234500]

Well, his entire appearance is just abnormal. And to be honest, some people are like that. They age slower than others. This man is described to have a child-like face. I picture him almost looking like an infant. A 7 foot tall infant.

[@Hevvvyyy]

​@@charlie1234500now that's just fucked up, imagine that irl

[@Teethmafia]

Emperor palpatine type beat

[@casketman14]

That’s because evil is ageless

[@mario167100]

He’s the devil

[@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.

[@MonolithicCyanTsunami]

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]

@@MonolithicCyanTsunamihe was just holden around

[@woodlefoof2]

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

[@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.

[@Giltznn]

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

[@noahadams7784]

Wendigoon: **talks about a novel so grotesquely disturbing that it can’t be put to film for 5 hours** World of Tanks: *I can monetize you*

[@Chilipotamus]

"I can change him/her" energy in a big way

[@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.

[@nr1NPC]

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]

@@nr1NPC hey someone had the balls to make the road into a movie, so anything is possible

[@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

[@K767-o1t]

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.

[@dogwelderyt]

⁠@@K767-o1ttrue there’s multiple ways to interpret this ending anyways

[@vassalofthenight9945]

The Judge wouldn't wait. He knows what lurks in the hearts of men. He waited for the Man because he understood him, his true nature. He knew the Man didn't have it in him to dance. That's why he waited. If the Man danced, if he did not have the kindness in him, Holden would've known about it as well and acted accordingly.

[@Zorro_inArkham]

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.

[@clemfandango2930]

The part near the end of the book that I think is significant when the man kills that young boy. When his friends come to collect his body there’s a quick mention about the dead boys past “his grandaddy was killed by a lunatic and buried in the woods like a dog” a callback to the judges story about the traveler.

[@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

[@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

[@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!

[@FedoraProductions]

In a way, Blood Meridian is the literary equivalent to Come and See. Both are considered the most disturbing shits ever, both tackle the depravity of humanity, both reject myths of heroism (Blood Meridian rejects the frontier myth, while Come and See rejects the myth that there's honour in war) and both tackle how horrible atrocities done to people by people can and have been forgotten by history. But, while Come and See tackles its themes through the pov of the victims of the atrocities and depravity of humanity, Blood Meridian tackles its through the pov of the aggressors. In conclusion: go read Blood Meridian and go watch Come and See. Bask in the glory of art.

[@renandronico4235]

Never would have thought of that but I completely agree! Surprising really since Come and See is one of my favorite films.

[@bror1645]

they also both came out in 1985 funnily enough

[@FedoraProductions]

@@bror1645 Oh wow they did

[@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.

[@GiraffeFlavored]

@@RobExNihilo This is very well worded and well said

[@RobExNihilo]

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

[@K767-o1t]

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.

[@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.

[@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.."

[@dtowns]

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.

[@mohammadomar1430]

This happened to my buddy Eric

[@ThatOneFunniDude]

How is eric doing right now?

[@WhiteNoBeard471]

This happened to my mate, Paul, too

[@Altuser-w6b]

@@WhiteNoBeard471bruh I get it lol

[@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

[@zach1135]

Wendigoon, your explaination of “Telling this story properly is worth embarrassing myself over” is probably one of the more casual yet all encompassing explanations of the meaning of storytelling, and you couldn’t be more correct. There is no place for ego, it’s not about the storyteller. It’s about the characters. And whatever is required to bring the characters to life is therefore required from the storyteller. Just a great nugget you left in there. Love your videos as always my dude

[@zanenevada7327]

I think hes the type of fan all artists want deep down. Those who can talk of their work with passion and bring others to their art.

[@Daniel_Lancelin]

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

[@vassalofthenight9945]

Any butterfly that exists without my knowledge, exists without my consent. The freedom of butterflies is an insult to me.

[@CrammyCram]

@@vassalofthenight9945The butterfly is dancing, dancing, dancing. It says that it will never die.

[@NyanCatHerder]

It's really the most menacing thing that he ever does, considering his likely role as a personification of violence and war. He must understand and use everything for his purposes, and control all that exists. If you think about where that's gone...neutrons seem so harmless, so much smaller than even butterflies that they seem like nothing compared to dust, but in them is the truth of fire and the force of apocalypse. War turns all things to its purposes, from the innocence of children to the divine beauty of the numinous. War is a game of all things against all things, the archangel Samael mixed with the devil lord Beelzebub, truth and fiction so intertwined that truth is nothing and fiction is nothing. In the words of Tim O' Brien, in a true war story, nothing is absolutely true. Even if what you've been told is factually accurate, there is no truth if you feel uplifted *or* if you see war as solely an evil. There is joy, agony, ecstasy, and mourning, or you have been lied to. Even if those things are all present, the simulacrum is never the reality. What is real cannot be really conveyed. This stands true, in a different sense (because all senses are different, and too personal for accurate transmission), for pain or trauma of any kind. Not even I can reexperience the fear of being chased with a knife by another child, of being threatened with a shotgun by an adult, of harboring a fugitive meth cook as a minor, or of seeing my grandmother beg for drugs in the depths of withdrawal while my father screamed at her in a tone I can't even remember, because the past is lost even as it exists eternally in an incomprehensible geometry that makes the Moon circle the Earth in its endless chariot course. All of my pain came indirectly through the gates of a B-29 as it dropped bomb after bomb on the city where my grandfather would see hell and bring it home to his wife, their children, and their grandchildren. I'm a drunk guy with BPD. Idk what the fuck I'm even saying rn. My spirit animal is the bones of the beautiful feathered tyrant. One of my oldest known ancestors was a slave catcher, and another was a slave. Evil that can run itself a thousand years. Yutyrannus huali swag. I love birds, even if their freedom makes me jealous. It is love that see them in cages, not jealousy alone but jealousy as a part of the composite.

[@Herobeans]

@@NyanCatHerder Damn... To think this quality of writing is hidden under a random comment on a random video, forever obscure and unknown

[@NyanCatHerder]

@@Herobeans Yeah, I'm still genuinely not sure what I was even going for there. I think I just took an idea and rolled with it.

[@Gamecreator2002]

I like to imagine that The Judge looks like Resident Evil's Mr.X, super tall and menacing just waiting around every corner

[@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.

[@Misskraehe]

@@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

[@Seryx7]

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

[@user18787]

epic gamer moment

[@raaaaaaaaaam496]

It’s the world of tanks sponsor

[@matthew-mp8ss]

Can confirm, just checked the gaming tag.

[@Libertarianneoconfederate]

Wild

[@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?

[@average_mouse]

4:51:23 the ending is very similar to No Country For Old Men, the “hero” dies and the “killer” continues into oblivion.

[@thientuongnguyen2564]

But you know hitmen, they don't get to live to retirement.

[@High-Overlord-Pugula]

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]

@@Armintanzarian1 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

[@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

[@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"

[@TheBlueGrinchofSurgery]

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?

[@yoavjacoby8246]

Toadvine is by far my favourite character. In the context of the greater evils of the story, the dynamic between him and the kid is really wholesome. Two buddies commiting unspeakable crimes against humanity together, ya know.

[@Eleutzin]

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

[@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

[@JoeKing69]

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

[@Rabbleroust]

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

[@ShakeZuula]

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

[@Vox_Popul1]

What a bunch of malarkey!

[@doctormoisturizer8321]

I had a feeling

[@alessando63249]

Do I have your consent in making a Blood Meridian game, Judge? Men are born for games. Nothing else. Every child knows that play is nobler than work. He knows too that the worth or merit of a game is not inherent in the game itself but rather in the value of that which is put at hazard. Games of chance require a wager to have meaning at all. Games of sport involve the skill and strength of the opponents and the humiliation of defeat and the pride of victory are in themselves sufficient stake because they inhere in the worth of the principles and define them.

[@mickbuns]

@@alessando63249 can judge holden make it queef in the books?

[@alessando63249]

@@mickbuns The judge stood over the fallen, his immense form blotting out the sun. He smiled a crooked smile, his eyes gleaming with a perverse light. With a flick of his wrist, he gestured to the earth beneath him, and with an unnatural force, the ground itself seemed to convulse, emitting a sound that could only be described as a queef. The men around him recoiled, their horror compounded by the judge's dark laughter echoing through the desolate landscape.

[@WrottJackson]

I like how the Judge shoots Tobin rather than using his bare hands, almost like he really is the Devil and can’t touch the crucifix.

[@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.

[@JVD_MMA]

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

[@hereshashy2605]

And then everyone clapped

[@ravioli6394]

Dude I’m not sure if anyone’s told you but damn you’re a good storyteller. You should should start a KZbin channel

[@gabrielciambelli6861]

I can't tell if that last part is a joke or not.

[@sebastiandewane493]

@@gabrielciambelli6861 it’s obviously a joke

[@vampsirski4843]

@@sebastiandewane493they might mean a separate channel specifically for it. Like mccreepypasta or something like that.

[@owensks]

@@vampsirski4843 this entire Chanel is telling stories

[@cyqur1436]

​@@gabrielciambelli6861 it's a meme where you go onto someone's KZbin channel or whatever and say they're rlly good at [main thing their channel does] and that they should start a KZbin channel (or whatever social media platform it is)

[@dane1808]

My dad, an old cowboy in his 70s, had this in his reading basket by the recliner. I grabbed it one day for something to read while I was visiting them and it shocked the hell out of me once I got into it lmfao Love it, but can't really talk about this kinda stuff with him anymore bc of his dementia, it gives him anxiety, but seeing one of my favorite nerdtube people cover it was a nice surprise. Thanks for giving me this reminder.

[@mihailmilev9909]

Woah 23hr ago...

[@mihailmilev9909]

Nice. Sorry about ur dad bro. Or mam. I liked gender neutral bro for a while. I'm glad u could get some solace and/or enjoyment from this video.

[@BlackMoonHowls]

Makes sense, it's and "Adult" book. Gotta remember even before that back in the 1950's, XXX rated films were not smut, they were like attributed to war films and adult movies of that nature. Alls Quiet on The Home Front, and some of the older war movies had the actors cussing like real military men back then, racism and all. It brings a tear to my goddamned eye when I see old old school movies in full uncensored. Adult has different meanings.

[@jacobjones8448]

Forgot I’m bald and looked in the mirror and thought the judge was behind me. Ready to get me in the Jakes

[@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?

[@GiraffeFlavored]

@@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.

[@cwalk1066]

i think one minor detail that wasn't mentioned is that when the Judge is berating the Man/Kid, he mentions how the Kid abandoned Shelby and Tate, which he had absolutely no way of knowing normally. That alone makes me think that the Judge is supernatural, and is some sort of personification of the devil.

[@PattyWinters123]

I think he's a personification of war not the devil.

[@FarsonArson]

Playing devil's advocate, the judge may have taken a guess by the fact that the kid was no longer with them. He didn't know what happened to them but knew enough

[@ACA400]

they're the same person my dudes.

[@cwalk1066]

@@ACA400 The Judge and the Kid?

[@mbstar_35]

The Judge was literally based off of Satin from Paradise Lost.

[@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]

😊

[@Queenfan999]

Yoo Judge talking about how the Kid didn't heed him in the desert sounds an awful lot like the Temptation of the Christ

[@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

[@craydev5894]

judge seems so fearless and without doubt or worry in the story but that may be a secret nod to a sign of actual human weakness in him, wether guilt or something else

[@thatlittlevoice6354]

I loved when he accused dude of wanting to lock up his political opponents and then tried to lock up his political opponent.

[@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

[@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

[@heathclark318]

The pronunciation of Nacogdoches is HILARIOUS. Never in my life head it pronounced that way. Love it.

[@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.

[@podermon4845]

One moment i wished you had included is in the backstory of the judge that tobin is telling. When they are all waiting for the gunpowder to dry as the apache are closing in, and a single cloud is making its way to block the sun, and the judge just briefly looks up from is notes. Stares at the cloud, and the cloud just passes by the sun without giving any shade. That whole story is so ominous but the judge seemingly commanding nature for a brief moment really takes the cake for me atleast

[@Rallysoldier]

I wish he'd talked about the explanation of who the judge is the judge of. I... really didn't get it.

[@gino2868]

@@Rallysoldier the author mentions it in a very convoluted way near the end of the book as the kid is on the operation table being delirious. Page 323. He's the judge of humanity's capacity for evil cruelty and corruption, and he's in this world to make sure that we continue acting out the worst side of ourselves. If he judges us autonomous, he'll do what he can to make sure we understand why he thinks he's right. This is why he was so infatuated with the kid.

[@robertlogan5354]

that is easily my favorite chapter of the book.

[@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

[@Rylee_DJ]

What exactly does the last line mean?

[@thedarkgenious7967]

Essentially, there's still time to remedy the prior statement. Kid is 15, hasn't been shot. Other guy got shot first time at 15. He's still 15, he's got time to get shot and follow the trend the other man set before he turns 16.

[@Rylee_DJ]

@@thedarkgenious7967 and that was the man (the kid) saying that to the other kid? (Who he kills?)

[@thedarkgenious7967]

I'm pretty sure there's at least 1 more member of that conversation. 2 guys are talking, kid buts in, guy snaps back at kid. I can't even remember if the older man actually killed the kid, it's been so long since I watched this video.

[@sgg3586]

I read a theory (which I agree with in my own interpretation) that the ending to the story is metaphorical and not literal. That "The Man" didn't actually meet the Judge and get killed by him, but rather that he finally understood and/or embraced the Judge's philosophy/evil in the end, and that the missing girl is the one they found in the outhouse. With "The Man" finding the old woman in the desert too late as representing him being too late to do good deeds, the shooting of the teenager representing not having the chance to actually change his ways, and finally meeting the judge again as him becoming just like "The Judge".

[@killerbouquet3220]

That's something I wondered about listening to this video, and never reading the book. At first I thought it was the girl they found in the outhouse... But what about the scene where the judge grapples the man and pulls him into the outhouse?

[@sgg3586]

@killerbouquet3220 I think the judge grappling him into the outhouse is part of the metaphor. Like he had finally fallen so far into the point of no return that it basically symbolizes his soul being corrupted (grabbed by the Judge) that he loses the fight against reisting evil and basically becomes just like the Judge after he...ya'know...leaves the body in the outhouse. He went out there still as The Man, but left as The Judge.

[@killerbouquet3220]

@@sgg3586 THAT'S a super cool take on it actually! I like that interpretation a lot. I guess we'll never really know huh? That's the beauty of Blood Meridian

[@IcarusMundi]

“Whatever exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.” Is probably the most delusional and dangerous quote in all of fiction.

[@sevei1351]

Finally someone says it, the amount of praise this quote and the judge receives in this comment section as if he isn’t just another delusional power hungry man fumbling for meaning in this world like every other person

[@grandarkfang_1482]

​@@sevei1351Congratulations, you figured out why people like the quote so much.

[@deekthedarth6675]

@sevei1351 I don't think anyone was praising it in a way to look up to a man like that.. I'm pretty sure we all understand fully well who and what he is, and the only "praising" you'll find is of the undeniably interesting things he does say at times.

[@Copemaxer]

@@sevei1351he was not fumbling, you can critique him all you want and you should but unsure he was not.

[@Copemaxer]

Oh and this quote is infinitely inspiring to conquer the world in terms of knowledge and experience. If you do not learn nor experience you have not existed.

[@emmabesleeping]

In case anyone was wondering, Glanton’s card was likely The Chariot, reversed. The Spanish word for cart/ferry can also mean hearse. The Chariot, when reversed, represents obstacles, aggression, and powerlessness.

[@bubullibooooo9928]

Thank you 💕

[@andrewphilos]

Not the Six of Swords? That one also depicts a ferry.

[@catcher0]

@@andrewphilos sure, it could be. the 6 of swords refers to harmony in action, but it’s also about the small everyday events. the major arcana refers to his overarching role in life, much more profound. the chariot brings certainty to his relationship with death, as it does all of us. it is deliverance

[@exotic1405]

He also got a massive tears up but lost his movement for half a minute-ish

[@xxdvicioxx2117]

​@@exotic1405love a binding of isaac reference

[@A1eafFa11s_Turtles]

The kid is different because he is the only member of the group who holds some mutinous sense of agency. His choices aren’t important because they’re good or bad, but because they’re his. This is why the Judge and the kid share an animosity that exited before the kid was even born. The Judge will not allow anything exist without his consent, but the kid’s decisions do.

[@anv0rgu3sa2]

dam, that's a good one

[@SoupSpot]

I imagined his intestines strewn about like the scalps strung up, and his body pale and drained of blood, scalped, him looking like the thing he feared most in the end. The judge.

[@MacAkers]

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

[@tomcruise8578]

I had a substitute teacher for my biology class, sophomore year of high school. The two of us got along famously, and I really looked up to him; he, an Iraq war vet, imparted quite a lot of wisdom to me that I know I wouldn't have learned otherwise. He knew I was quite an avid reader and I tended toward tough reads, I'd read The Road, which I borrowed from my older brother, and he recommended to me that I read Blood Meridian, first cautioning me that a lot of it would stick with me. I agreed to read it, and he bought a copy of it on the internet for me, on the spot. The next day he came up to me in class and handed me his worn out, well loved, 1992 copy of the book, told me to read it. I remember feeling like I should cry, I realized he intended to pass on his copy of the book to me, and I knew it really meant something to him, I thanked him, and in his typical humor replied "Shut up, it's just a book, read it." I got home that day and started reading it, I discovered that he'd written me a letter on the first blank page, as well as highlighted every historical reference and quotable or profound passage. I still remember flipping to that first page: "See The Child" colored in yellow highlighter. Book means a lot to me, still go back and read passages, all these years later.

[@sayerslayer1854]

I think he just wanted the cleaner copy for himself

[@tomcruise8578]

@@sayerslayer1854 entirely possible, he was the sort of guy to get a laugh out of that kinda thing, either way it meant the world to me.

[@bayani6302]

Aww this is so heartfelt. Thanks for sharing

[@MyNameIsGhost]

You should definitely pass this story on back to him if u still have contact with him im sure he'd really appreciate this!

[@kaminsod4077]

I didn't know i could get this hype about a 5 hour video. You're a special creator on this platform.

[@p-__]

My farts are better than Wendigoon's farts

[@ThePaintballer1994]

It do be like that

[@Wicked061]

​@@p-__prove it

[@Chillingat300kmh]

@@p-__ i need to smell it or it’s not true

[@RootbeerCrusader]

real

[@anap1680]

The kid had three chances given by God to strike down the judge The first one was at the well The second was when he was hiding in the brush from the judge And the third was in the desert Both times he had a chance to finally end that great evil, and because of fear, he let it pass on by Faith without works resulted in his end.

[@Willhelm2004]

That ending is literally bone chilling. The Judge is one of the most terrifying villains ever written. Just thinking of the image of a naked giant with red eyes sitting in the darkness. And the repetition of the final few lines with the intensity at which Wendi read it, literally sitting in my room terrified of the darkness around me. Great video man!

[@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.

[@sujinahjina4238]

The guy with the name "Not Shane kid"

[@dingokingo]

underrated comment

[@IamArock22]

Personally, I'm a fan of when Evil Eb comes after Not Shane Kid for killing his brother

[@marioismagic]

I honestly love how multiple times in this video, wendigoon pauses before he refers to the judge as a “man”

[@Armameteus]

He is a man. Technically.

[@daviddawson3744]

Couldn't help but love that myself.

[@NakedHillbilly]

Tbh the book would make a better game than a film, imagine the horrible scenes of violence as you play as the kid, and just like in the book whether the kid participates or not is up to you the player.

[@Spaceman-15]

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.

[@mtsr555]

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.

[@LunarySSF2]

one thing I'd like to point out is that despite the brutal depictions of violence, filth, death and blood, sexual abuse is NEVER described, only vaguely implied.

[@liberpolo5540]

Honestly as someone with a huge trigger for SA in particular but loves disturbing content ... kudos to the author.

[@thefactanonverba]

Thanks for this! It helped me decide to go ahead and read it.

[@Itiswhatitisbruh]

But all of us can agree that it happens even if not said directly.

[@FlyForAWhiteTy]

As opposed to Bastard Out Of Carolina which I read at....16. As a survivor. My UW lit teacher was so ignorant to the possibilities of triggers being a bad thing for people.

[@quagmoe7879]

@@FlyForAWhiteTy triggered

[@zhugh9737]

Just starting this and it’s giving the vibe of that guy at the hangout that’s like “oh you never heard of this book? I bring it everywhere” and proceeds to explain it for the next few hours until everyone is sober and I love it.

[@RockyGems]

My sister and I did that to my little cousin once, regarding Pride and Prejudice. Poor kid.

[@TKHarris1967]

I love the part where the judge goes down to Georgia with his fiddle and challenges some kid named Johnny to a fiddle off and looses

[@yalldumb2387]

I think the Judge is exactly who we're told he is at the start of the book, the priest that he interrupts and accuses calls the Judge the devil himself, saying that the devil stands before them, plus the fiddle being a part of his character along with the dancing, both things related to the devil

[@animeuploader4992]

Yeah luckier was a musician in heaven

[@pkmntrainerred4247]

​@@animeuploader4992Lucifer*

[@GriffithFromBerk]

@@pkmntrainerred4247lucky Lucy

[@damiantirado9616]

Nah he wasn’t the devil. Sounds more like god to me

[@JackTheripper911]

​@@damiantirado9616don't cut yourself on all that edge kiddo.

[@jacklee1258]

“No man can walk out on his own story.” -Rango. The ending of Blood Meridian reminds me of this quote. Those who are afraid to dance will miss the stage and what life has in store for them.

[@thatlittlevoice6354]

Rango Unchained was awesome!

[@Waltarwhiet]

@@thatlittlevoice6354 He's talking about Rango the animated western, which is actually incredible!

[@willevensen7130]

@@thatlittlevoice6354kek

[@elenabarbieri1286]

The people who made Rango surely had this book on the forefront of their minds while making the film. Granted, it's a kids movie (though I found it very "adult" in some aspects), but it has an ever so subtle vein of Blood Meridian-ism coursing through it

[@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.

[@chrishughes472]

What if it was Freak Holden and The Freak. And they freaked with intense passion in that outhouse instead.

[@stevealan6113]

Bro got that terrorist rizz

[@dumb3484]

I mean knowing the Judge he would have freaked with or without the man’s consent .

[@TheAether666]

Judge: "Everything under the firmament belongs to me and me alone." Wendigoon: "His outlook is almost selfish."

[@annabananna77]

Just almost

[@Aresofthevoid]

*Almost*

[@toofargonemcoc]

earth is flat

[@tmoney1487]

@@toofargonemcoc The earth is a dinner plate and youre my meal now spread those cheeks baby

[@reginaldcampos5762]

​@@toofargonemcocyouve been playing too much minecraft

[@NickIbitz]

I think that the fate of The Man in the outhouse not being describe is what makes the end so terrifying. The entire novel we have read of countless acts of intense violence and gore, written in vivid detail almost poetically. And in the end we get no description of what The Judge did to The Man. I think leaving it without a detailed description just makes you think of an even worse fate than could have been written.

[@RealElongatedMuskrat]

I couldn't agree more. Part of me wants, I don't know, to almost be "reassured" by an actual description so that we at least know how bad it is, but that's what makes the ending so perfect. Especially in a tale that choreographs terrible, chilling evils like they're items on a grocery list, we're left with a scene perhaps too unfathomable in its horror to even attempt a description. To not know is the worst, because the not knowing let's your mind fill up that space with all the ugliness and terrors that you can imagine and leave room for just a little more. It's an excellent choice to leave that final ambiguity - we can't pin it down, and that feels so much worse. Ooooo its so good, my bones be rattlin.

[@Danny2113182]

Especially when we've been following him his whole life from being The Kid to being The Man

[@gasparifreak]

The man became the judge

[@kathrineici9811]

I think he was raped to death and his intestines pulled out through his butthole

[@TheMasochistKnight]

I’m not sure if the judge did anything to the man… Or maybe the man and the judge did some thing together, something awful to the missing, little girl. The way the judge is described as embracing the man, seems almost as if it’s trying to explain that he changed him to a version of himself. Fully corrupted him. Maybe instead of the body of the man, they found the girl in a horrible state

[@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

[@huminahumina3923]

THE EXPLOSION AT THE BEGINNING SCARED THE FART OUT OF ME. I HAD AIRPODS IN BOTH EARS AND WITH NOISE CANCELLATION ON AND THE VOLUME WAS ALL THE WAY UP😭😭😭

[@mr.barber6602]

Dude, this timing is insane. I JUST finished the audiobook and I desperately needed a breakdown of this story. Holy shit, this book really makes you look at the shitty part of humanity.

[@Bingsolomon]

I also just finished when I saw a 5 hour video

[@jer2dabear]

The audiobook is so well read!

[@narkenstein5303]

Spoopy

[@donseavey3704]

Dead baby tree

[@CrungleFunk]

You guys doing the audible thing or the one on KZbin? The one on here is text to speech and the monotone voice makes it a little hard to follow for me.

[@prettyspectrum6371]

Even if Wendigoon said he finally realized the Judge's intention with kids later on. The moment he read that the kid they brought with them was jumping on his lap, playing, I went cold and already knew what was happening. Even more when one man looked at it, spat and went away. It's sad, and worse that an educated and polished man like the Judge was anything but a monster

[@marhawkman303]

But that's the dark reality. "Educated people" are not just those that put on airs and act posh. People who put on airs.... aren't doing so BECAUSE they're educated. It's more likely that they're doing it because they're evil.

[@ellie-anne173]

Yeah, when he took the child just to "keep" for a couple of days I knew

[@CommissarChaotic]

Dammit man, I just heard of this video and book and I want to start watching to see what's it all about but all this is making my blood boil, let me shoot and burn the Judge. On the other hand, I might just opt to seeing no evil and hearing no evil, my heart's about to burst from the negativity...

[@CodeeXD]

​@@CommissarChaoticif this comment is making your blood boil you should probably just move on you're too soft to handle this book apparently

[@CommissarChaotic]

@@CodeeXD Nah, I'm over it now. I just get into a phase sometimes. I was real pissed off earlier because my grandma tends to do things that are too inconsistent for my standards like why tf would she get whiney over certain types of food for being "unhealthy" and then buy canned food?? Like Vaas insanity type stuff. I just figured to put reason above my emotions and just stop, it wasnt really doing me any favours to watch something negative while already seemingly about to murder someone. I mean from what I've heard and sort of extrapolated from the comments, judgeman is evil yeah? and then theres some part where a kid? gets told to shoot the guy by a priest or something and maybe he didnt do it or something. I wouldve just shot the guy still with a clear head this time. Like why let animals loose yknow.

[@MrRickstopher]

Blood Meridian is as close to a modern Dante’s Inferno as you can get. You get to a point where the violence genuinely just becomes another aspect to the story. It’s amazing how much a person can adjust to it, honestly.

[@whoroborous]

About half-way in I was struck by the same thought! 🙃 I don't know why, but it reminded me of 'The Book of Nights' by Sylvie Germain, as well. Maybe the relentless violence book-ended with beautiful sky n nature prose. And oh, y'know, the genocide of it all. /shrug

[@CorrosiveColin]

It reminds me of American Psycho in many respects. The violence and neurosis initially is appalling... but by the end it's as common needing glass of water when thirsty.

[@sinnesloeschen]

i feel 100% like this is one of the main takeaways of all mccarthy's work tbh -- the banality of evil and the acclimatization of horrific violence is just another tuesday

[@jadefox33445]

It's better than Dante though since Blood Meridian isnt Christian fanfiction

[@MrRickstopher]

“…and they rode up out with the flames lighting all the grounds about and the shadowshapes of the desert brush reeling on the sands and the riders treading their thin and flaring shadows until they had crossed altogether into the darkness which so well became them.” Pg 169 Goddamn, I love this book!