Midjourney V8.1 Review & Reactions + Wen Edit Model?

Midjourney finally dropped v8.1, so Drew and Rory did what any responsible adults would do: generated way too many images, argued with style codes, stress-tested text, and immediately started asking whether the edit model is the part that actually matters.In episode 66 of Midjourney Fast Hours, the boys dig into why Midjourney v8.1 feels way better than v8, where it still falls short, and why this release feels less like a victory lap and more like Midjourney finally arriving at the version v8 probably should’ve been in the first place. They get into faster generations, native 2K output, mood boards, prompt depth, describe, personalization profiles, text rendering, image weight, --exp behavior, old v6 style-code weirdness, and the growing sense that the real make-or-break feature is still the edit model.They also get into how Midjourney stacks up against tools like Nano Banana, Grok, Reve, and Luma, why image generation still feels fragmented across platforms, and whether Midjourney should even bother chasing video or just go all-in on images, editing, and control.Then, because this is still Midjourney Fast Hours, the episode somehow ends with a deeply important discussion about custom Mac folder icons.If you care about Midjourney v8.1, prompting strategy, style references, AI image workflows, generative art tools, or where Midjourney is actually headed next, this one’s got the goods.---⏱️ Fast Hour00:00 Intro and v8.1 arrives01:05 Is v8.1 actually better than v8?04:09 The edit model is the real test06:22 Should Midjourney even chase video?10:07 v8.1 needs more prompt depth12:07 Mood boards feel usable again14:28 Testing the new describe tool21:00 Personalization profile matters most22:09 Text tests and object recognition23:57 “Photo” vs art and stylize tests29:54 Why v8.1 feels a bit like v630:43 Old style codes hit differently now42:08 --sv7 issue and style-code confusion45:47 Missing parameters and what still works47:26 Hidden text tests and image weight49:57 --exp tests and behavior shifts52:35 Grid view and the alpha site54:50 Office Hours, 8.2, and edit timing01:03:27 Custom Mac folder icon detour01:09:01 Wrap-up and parting nonsense