This week, Dan and Adrian limp across the finish line on approximately one functioning brain cell and somehow end up having one of their most honest conversations yet. What starts as tech issues, Bluetooth confusion, and convention-road exhaustion spirals into a surprisingly thoughtful discussion about toxic fandoms, gatekeeping, nostalgia, reboots, and why people get so weirdly territorial about the things they love.

From Star Wars and Star Trek to Battlestar Galactica, Critical Role, Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, and even the infamous 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie, the guys unpack the strange cultural cycle of fandom outrage, ragebait grifters, “lazy writing” discourse, and studios weaponizing criticism against audiences. Along the way, they explore the difference between healthy critique and toxic gatekeeping — including Dan confessing to accidentally gatekeeping Star Wars from his own kid in a Disney gift shop over a Bespin Cloud Car toy.

Also included:

• Hayden Christensen redemption arc discourse
• Why the Acolyte conversation got poisoned from every direction
• The political correctness panic around Star Trek: Voyager
• Peter Pan reboot fatigue
• Why toxic fans and corporate media deserve each other sometimes
• And the eternal truth:

This week on The Con Men Show, Dan and Adrian somehow begin with tabletop roleplaying games, detour through cosplay discourse, spiral into Moulin Rouge appreciation, take an unexpected international food tour, and eventually land on the question: what terrible movie ideas somehow became billion-dollar franchises? Along the way: D&D nostalgia, Robotech memories, Shadowrun chummers, Paris travel stories, and the realization that the LEGO Movie absolutely should not have worked as well as it did.

The guys break down cinematic long shots like Pirates of the Caribbean, Clue, Phone Booth, The Purge, Fast & Furious, and Roadhouse while trying to invent the perfect “bad” movie concept that Hollywood would still greenlight immediately. There’s also a heartfelt defense of Mission: Impossible, a discussion about why Paris feels uniquely Paris, and an important public service announcement about not flying overseas just to eat at McDonald’s.

Also in this episode:

* Slug Killer Leia

* Fast food convention pitches

* Why Tim Curry makes everything better

* Why cars absolutely cannot run in space

* Why “family” apparently can

* And one deeply concerning ogre roleplaying story involving roadside bandits and cannibalism

This week, The Con Men Show opens where all serious cultural criticism should begin: with action figures, shelf math, and the adult collector’s sacred distinction between “playing with toys” and “building dioramas.” From GI Joe displays to Star Wars figures, from still-carded Star Trek toys to one wounded LEGO Shuttle Discovery, Dan and Adrian stumble directly into the real topic hiding in plain sight: nostalgia. Because comic cons, collectibles, celebrity guests, autographs, and the stories we keep carrying around are all part of the same weird little emotional ecosystem.

From there, the guys dig into the big question: is nostalgia saving pop culture, or slowly eating it from the inside like a very sentimental xenomorph? Star Trek, Star Wars, Picard Season 3, The Matrix sequels, Mortal Kombat, He-Man, Power Rangers, Disney live-action remakes, and the endless parade of reboots all get pulled into the conversation. Sometimes nostalgia gives us exactly what we wanted. Sometimes it gives us almost what we wanted. And sometimes it hands us a thing we used to love and says, “Here, now be disappointed in HD.”

Nostalgia can flatten originality, sure — but it is also the warm blanket we reach for when new stuff asks us to pay attention with our whole tired adult brains. The guys land somewhere between “please make new things” and “yes, obviously we’re still watching the He-Man movie,” which may be the most honest answer available. Nostalgia might be choking the industry, but by golly, it’s still got a comfy grip.