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[gothmog]

I'm up to ep4 now and the funny thing is, despite 2/3rd of the bad guys and ALL of the good guys being women, I still don't think this show passes the Bechdel test As dumb as that test is as an indicator, even here Ezra, Anakin or Jacen come up all the time. Sure, Hera and Ahsoka will talk about Sabine, but one of the three males will inevitably be mentioned in the scene as well.

The bad guys are teslly carrying the show for me. Because they just REFUSE to let the Republic be shown in a good light, it's hard to prefer it over the empire, really. Take away the Emporer himself, was the Empire, with its order, stability, and meritocracy, really that bad for like 99.5% of the population? Is the chaos, pirating, and corruption of the New Republic any better?

So I find myself WANTING Thrawn back. Ahsoka has become just as humdrum as the Jedi she rejected, Hera is the LEAST tactical General ever (clearly a product of a desperate time), and Sabine, the only one with real life in her, well, that way lies the dark side

What I wouldn't give for the wry humor of Obi-Wan ir Solo, the enthusiasm of young Luke or Ezra, ANYONE to match the gravitas of Baylan. The poor robot is carrying the weight of the entire good guy side.

I did like the WW2 fighter plane inspired battle around the hyperspace ship. But they nerfed blasters too much (along with lightsabers, I guess). Ahsokas ship was getting stitched up and down with shots but it didn't even shake. Compare it to the hectic jostling of the Falcon when under attack by TIEs. Almost no dramatic tension.

I'm not sure what they can do at this point. The show has pretty much everything people have begged for around Space battles, Jedi battles, and live action versions of the animated world. I'm enjoying it but it does seem a bit safe.

Thrawn has to come back to wipe all of the sequel era nonsense away. Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra will be locked away in another galaxy until then in order to keep the timeline sane.

 

[jason10mm]

I'm not sure what they can do at this point. The show has pretty much everything people have begged for around Space battles, Jedi battles, and live action versions of the animated world. I'm enjoying it but it does seem a bit safe.

Thrawn has to come back to wipe all of the sequel era nonsense away. Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra will be locked away in another galaxy until then in order to keep the timeline sane.

I think the problem, for me, is that they can't fall back to the simplistic "empire bad, anything NOT empire good" childish morality, that just doesn't hold up under a TV show with so much of the bad guys shown on screen. But MEW and Rosario, as screen accurate as they look, just don't have the acting chops to sell their characters as either plucky adventurers OR serious dramatic heavyweights. So all of their stuff just feels....weightless, I think, in a way Rebels did not because the character dynamic with Kanan, Ezra, and the non-wookie guy in the mix worked much better. Ahsoka just isn't a really interesting character, IMHO, having to wave away her absence in the OT makes her superfluous. Hera COULD be a great character if they focused on her more, her connections as a general (it's clear none of the writers know how a General operates within a military/political structure), and made this HER story. Or even Sabine, though the emotional force wielder being torn between a monastic overly restrictive Jedi and hot headed Sith polar opposites is sooooooo well worn at this point with no real explanation as to why this dynamic really exists, would benefit from more interactions showing her drive to find Ezra.

Anyway, the show at least looks good. The FX teams have NAILED the star wars design aesthetic, at this point its silly things like using a too well known weapon as a prop or the lack of any real "sense of place" to different planets that they gotta work on. Travel is too fast, too convenient, much like Star Trek a sense of distance is required to explain these frontier places.

 

[Trunx81]

Anyway, the show at least looks good. The FX teams have NAILED the star wars design aesthetic, at this point its silly things like using a too well known weapon as a prop or the lack of any real "sense of place" to different planets that they gotta work on. Travel is too fast, too convenient, much like Star Trek a sense of distance is required to explain these frontier places.

The aesthetics was my biggest problem with the Prequels. Especially the Naboo fighters looked so shiny. Yes, they are new, but I loved the worn-down look from the OT and the "stuff" sticking out everywhere on the emperial fighters. They had edges. I like edges. TPM was just .. slick. Glossy.

 

[jason10mm]

The aesthetics was my biggest problem with the Prequels. Especially the Naboo fighters looked so shiny. Yes, they are new, but I loved the worn-down look from the OT and the "stuff" sticking out everywhere on the emperial fighters. They had edges. I like edges. TPM was just .. slick. Glossy.

Yeah, I get the "golden age" they were trying to depict but even the designs themselves didn't gel with mcquarries earlier ideas.

We still haven't really gotten anything to match the x-wing, TIE fighter, AT-AT/ST-AT combo IMHO. Wacky designs that still project a utilitarian "function over form" aesthetic. BB-8 was basically it. The clone wars had lots of walkers, I was hoping to see some new ones in Ahsoka. More evolution in TIEs would be nice as well. The Phantom and the Razorcrest are nice ships, but lack the iconic silhouette of the MF. I want more stuff like Slav......errr, the Firespray

 

[Kraz]

Started rewatching. The startling music and colour of the opening scrawl is enticingly ominous. On the first watch I placed it as muted Hammer horror style like The Devil Rides Out.

Witches of Dathomir!
Having watched up to the current ep the spiritual/physical journey into the unknown connected with the main theme of Disney's The Black Hole is very present.

It must be very exciting to be a new fan to the series and jumping in at this point.

 

[BlackTron]

The highlighting of the endless, endless ‘memberberry fan service stuff, and the reactions of fully grown adults acting like hormonal prepubescents over it, is some of the most depressing shit I’ve ever seen.

Seriously? Is that all it takes for these feckless idiots to claim narrative ‘genius’? This tired fucking shit, centred on the same characters created forty years ago?

Makes you feel like Disney has not only ruined SW, they've gotten away with it. The current formula they have for SW is working for them. And having a solid story/characters is not really that important. Who needs it when you have eye candy, shock value and cameos. And oh, whales.

Bringing Anakin back could/should have been amazing but his "lesson" didn't make any sense. It was just shoehorned in fanservice at the expense of the story. Wait...what story. The story is just "omg look Anakin is on screen, especially his tossled hair". Wow that's the payoff of the slow opening episodes where I kept calling everything out loud right before it happened? Not gonna lie I raised an eyebrow when I saw he was in, but having watched it, it was zero substance all fan service. But the show does seem like "peak Star Wars" if you're used to Obi Wan, Boba Fett and sequel movies. Those were actively destructive while this one is merely banally mediocre.

 

[ManaByte]

THRAWN

 

[DeafTourette]

That episode was GOOD! 2 MORE TO GO!

 

[Toons]

Yea this was great.

At this point if you aren't liking this show and can't find enjoyment out of it im content to say you're probably off the star wars train. This is good star wars. Waaay better than the prequels, much more consistent and less radical than the sequels and respectful of the OT without aping it.

At this point I legit don't know what you want anymore unless you're problems with it are entirely surface level.

But yeah... great stuff. Seeing a live action thrawn, is very cool even as someone who didn't follow the EU much. He looks great, and bringing back mikkelson was a brilliant choice. What this show does well is every character has a clear and defined goal, and there's a lot if players and allegiances but each has their own primary agenda that drives their decisions. Its a classical styled narrative in that way but it makes everyone engaging to watch.

Livedthat little nod with "the first is the best"... hehe. Sure is Dave.

Some will decry the utterance of the classic "a long time ago" but I thought it was magical.

That design for Enoch was cool asf.

This is the best of the d plus projects to date. Theyd have to really eff up the next two to make this not stick.


Oh and this show absolutely passes the Bechtel test... and that test isn't stupid at all. Its necessary to keep writers writing interesting things regardless of their gender.

 

[DeafTourette]

This feels the most like classic Star Wars. And I still don't know what Baylan's plan is. I can't wait for the Heir to the Empire movie!

 

[Toons]

This feels the most like classic Star Wars. And I still don't know what Baylan's plan is. I can't wait for the Heir to the Empire movie!

I think baylan wants to start a new order of force users not jedi nor sith. He seems fascinated in the dathmiri use of the force and wants to unlock further secrets in that way. He seems fond of exploration if what the force can do and what powers can be unlocked with it

 

[BlackTron]

This is the best of the d plus projects to date.

Better than Mandalorian?

 

[Yerd]

Ahsoka has become just as humdrum as the Jedi she rejected,

She likes to flaunt that fact sometimes, but she really does not deter from the jedi way.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

 

[Toons]

Better than Mandalorian?

Im willing to say that at this point and I've loved Mando. This one has a lot of the mysticism I like from star wars though so that could be it

 

[FunkMiller]

How long will it take for people to realise that they could have had an actual Heir To The Empire movie, rather than this mashed together, 'memberberry shit?

Like everything else with Disney Star Wars, I'd say in a few weeks, once that dopamine nostalgia hit has worn off.

 

[Trunx81]

How long will it take for people to realise that they could have had an actual Heir To The Empire movie, rather than this mashed together, 'memberberry shit?

Like everything else with Disney Star Wars, I'd say in a few weeks, once that dopamine nostalgia hit has worn off.

People just want Luuke Skywalker!

 

[BlackTron]

People just want Luuke Skywalker!

Im willing to say that at this point and I've loved Mando. This one has a lot of the mysticism I like from star wars though so that could be it

Luke was fan service, but at least he appeared at the end of a season finale with a lot of tension built up over what would happen and how they are going to get out of that situation. They didn't randomly fabricate some nonsensical issue in another character that flies in the face of everything we know as an excuse for him to show up. You'd hope the appearance of your old Master/The CHOSEN ONE would have a bit more depth than this.

They made it seem like Ahsoka's main drive in life is to hunt Thrawn since back in Mandalorian and she's always been a fighter. Now that she's hot on the trail, she needs a pep talk from Anakin to tell her you can't be afraid of the consequences of fighting? It's like they spent their time deciding what angle to capture his hair and delivery of lines like "snips" and filled in a shoddy excuse for the whole thing the night before on a dinner napkin. I too once enjoyed mysticism in Star Wars, having the Chosen One show up and go "FIGHT OR DIE look at my hair hurr hurr" aint it

Edit: At this point I don't want to see Qui-Gon Jinn anymore, it will just be some shitty excuse to get Liam Neeson on the screen, with utterly no depth to the Jedi mysticism I wanted more of from this character

 

[Trunx81]

Luke was fan service, but at least he appeared at the end of a season finale with a lot of tension built up over what would happen and how they are going to get out of that situation. They didn't randomly fabricate some nonsensical issue in another character that flies in the face of everything we know as an excuse for him to show up. You'd hope the appearance of your old Master/The CHOSEN ONE would have a bit more depth than this.

You probably didn´t get my reference. Luuke Skywalker is from the Heir to the Empire books. You could consider the EU also expanded fan service, as they are mainly about the OT-crew.
Rogue Squadron was the first time they integrated their own heroes, although they had a lot of fan-service (Lando, etc) as well.

 

[Sybrix]

People just want Luuke Skywalker!

I'm a Star Wars fan.

A fan in the sense of loving the movies and the Disney + shows (TLJ,ROS,Solo excluded)

I've never seen Rebels, Clone Wars cartoons etc or any of the expanded universe stuff, just not interested.

However seeing all these new characters to me, Thrawn, Ashoka, Sabine etc is really interesting and im loving Ashoka so far.

People taking about this Heir to the Empire movie that seem inevitable now has me really excited.

 

[AJUMP23]

He doesn't seem like a threat or a mastermind of evil.

 

[Pilgrimzero]

Can't wait to see what Blue Elon does next.

Jokes aside, great episode. Love Thrawn.

 

[Trunx81]

todays episode, no context

 

[ADiTAR]

Show is ok. Pacing is awful, nothing really happens and you can sum up the four last episode in one line.
3: Ahsoka finds the planet where the hyperspace thing is
4: Ahsoke fights the bad guys and they flee
5: Ahsoka follows the bad guys
6: Sabine finds Ezra, oh, and here's Thrawn

It's so thin in plot.

I watch it at 1.28X and it's still slow.

 

[Trunx81]

Show is ok. Pacing is awful, nothing really happens and you can sum up the four last episode in one line.
3: Ahsoka finds the planet where the hyperspace thing is
4: Ahsoke fights the bad guys and they flee
5: Ahsoka follows the bad guys
6: Sabine finds Ezra, oh, and here's Thrawn

It's so thin in plot.

I watch it at 1.28X and it's still slow.

You´ve forgotten the walking and waiting. Especially the waiting between columns. Baylan is excellent at that.

 

[ADiTAR]

You´ve forgotten the walking and waiting. Especially the waiting between columns. Baylan is excellent at that.

Haha, yes, and Thrawn walking for 5 minutes.

 

[FunkMiller]

Show is ok. Pacing is awful, nothing really happens and you can sum up the four last episode in one line.
3: Ahsoka finds the planet where the hyperspace thing is
4: Ahsoke fights the bad guys and they flee
5: Ahsoka follows the bad guys
6: Sabine finds Ezra, oh, and here's Thrawn

It's so thin in plot.

I watch it at 1.28X and it's still slow.

You don't need plot these days. Just a random series of events that are designed to put nostalgia bait front and centre for everyone to enjoy.

And by 'everyone', I mean a diminishing selection of die hard fans who are easy to manipulate through empty iconography.

 

[AJUMP23]

Just wait for the youtube reaction videos when Ezra gets out a lightsaber and defeats Sith chic.

 

[ManaByte]

How long will it take for people to realise that they could have had an actual Heir To The Empire movie

We’re getting that. Dave Filoni is writing and directing it. They announced it at Celebration.

 

[Toons]

Luke was fan service, but at least he appeared at the end of a season finale with a lot of tension built up over what would happen and how they are going to get out of that situation. They didn't randomly fabricate some nonsensical issue in another character that flies in the face of everything we know as an excuse for him to show up. You'd hope the appearance of your old Master/The CHOSEN ONE would have a bit more depth than this.

They made it seem like Ahsoka's main drive in life is to hunt Thrawn since back in Mandalorian and she's always been a fighter. Now that she's hot on the trail, she needs a pep talk from Anakin to tell her you can't be afraid of the consequences of fighting? It's like they spent their time deciding what angle to capture his hair and delivery of lines like "snips" and filled in a shoddy excuse for the whole thing the night before on a dinner napkin. I too once enjoyed mysticism in Star Wars, having the Chosen One show up and go "FIGHT OR DIE look at my hair hurr hurr" aint it

Edit: At this point I don't want to see Qui-Gon Jinn anymore, it will just be some shitty excuse to get Liam Neeson on the screen, with utterly no depth to the Jedi mysticism I wanted more of from this character

Season 2 of Mando barely even had a plot if we are being honest. It was mostly set up for spin offe and cool cameos with nice action scenes. That doesnt make it bad, but its gonna pale in comparing to something like this. Every eosidoe was Mando completing a side mission to gain access to a new "level".

Anakin was done better in one episode of this series than the entirety of the PT, actually could buy that he was someone people ever liked and wasn't whining alm the time thanks to them pulling from the characterization clone wars gave him. Even if his brief appearance he had actual personality and the stuff he said while cryptic was still better than the material Hayden was forced to deliver before. That alone is worthy of praise.

Like its easy to pick apart what may or may not have been executed perfectly but it actually attempted something with its cameo and integrated them into the narrative. Thats more than csn be said more the mandalorian s2, which again, wss mostly setting up like 3 or 4 different TV shows (ahsoka, Boba, and the now canned rangers of the new republic)

 

[Toons]

How long will it take for people to realise that they could have had an actual Heir To The Empire movie, rather than this mashed together, 'memberberry shit?

If you were going to get a HTTE movie it would've had to be in the early 2000s but Lucas really wanted to tell us about midichlorians instead.

But again, Lucas never gave a rats ass about the EU and we now know that he never actually intended to adapt that, based on what we know of his sequel trilogy outline it was a new story with a female protagonist and an older Luke not too much unlike what TFA setup. HtTE wouldn't have happened regardless if Disney bought the franchise.

 

[ManaByte]

If you were going to get a HTTE movie it would've had to be in the early 2000s but Lucas really wanted to tell us about midichlorians instead.

But again, Lucas never gave a rats ass about the EU and we now know that he never actually intended to adapt that, based on what we know of his sequel trilogy outline it was a new story with a female protagonist and an older Luke not too much unlike what TFA setup. HtTE wouldn't have happened regardless if Disney bought the franchise.

Lucas’ Episode VII was TLJ but with Darth Talon seducing Ben Solo to the dark side. The submerged Death Star II from TROS was also in his Ep7. Kira (Rey) came from a snow planet instead of a desert planet.

Daisy Ridley actually filmed for a week or two as “Kira” before Disney found out they couldn’t trademark the name. They changed it to Rey and Kira resurfaced in Solo with a spelling Disney could trademark.

 

[Dr.D00p]

He doesn't seem like a threat or a mastermind of evil.

...The banality of Evil.

 

[jason10mm]

Lucas’ Episode VII was TLJ but with Darth Talon seducing Ben Solo to the dark side. The submerged Death Star II from TROS was also in his Ep7. Kira (Rey) came from a snow planet instead of a desert planet.

Daisy Ridley actually filmed for a week or two as “Kira” before Disney found out they couldn’t trademark the name. They changed it to Rey and Kira resurfaced in Solo with a spelling Disney could trademark.

How can you trademark the Spanish word for King?

I believe Disney's lawyers billed them a few million bucks to say it us true, but it seems doubtful.

 

[Trunx81]

He doesn't seem like a threat or a mastermind of evil.

That´s why you underestimate him.
In HttE, he was amazing. Cunning. Cruel. Thoughtful. Always a few steps ahead. I haven´t watched Rebels, so I can´t compare how they showed him there. A good story is always defined by the villain in it (example: The Dark Knight).

In German, there´s actually a audio version of the HttE trilogy, with the original voicecast of the movies. You can listen to it on YouTube.

 

[jason10mm]

That´s why you underestimate him.
In HttE, he was amazing. Cunning. Cruel. Thoughtful. Always a few steps ahead. I haven´t watched Rebels, so I can´t compare how they showed him there. A good story is always defined by the villain in it (example: The Dark Knight).

In German, there´s actually a audio version of the HttE trilogy, with the original voicecast of the movies. You can listen to it on YouTube.

But can they WRITE him that way? Thrawn begs for a master level predictive genius orchestrating a plan all around the heroes. But I just don't think LucasArts has the chops to write it, or the desire to clown the heroines.

And really, what can he possibly accomplish if SNOKE, of all the jokes, ends up in charge? Never forget, TFA is where we are headed. Starkiller Base, the New Republic doggedly ignoring that there is a problem, building a giant wing ship, pursuing a frozen fleet of fully manned star destroyers, resurrecting a clone of a dead guy.

 

[Hayabusa83]

This show sucks.

 

[ManaByte]

How can you trademark the Spanish word for King?

I believe Disney's lawyers billed them a few million bucks to say it us true, but it seems doubtful.

The US Trademark office did issue them a trademark for Qi’ra.

 

[AJUMP23]

That´s why you underestimate him.
In HttE, he was amazing. Cunning. Cruel. Thoughtful. Always a few steps ahead. I haven´t watched Rebels, so I can´t compare how they showed him there. A good story is always defined by the villain in it (example: The Dark Knight).

In German, there´s actually a audio version of the HttE trilogy, with the original voicecast of the movies. You can listen to it on YouTube.

Ya I read httE I just thought he felt more sinister looking.


I would like a wild Mara Jade appearance.

 

[PaddyOCanager]

Baylan's story continues to be the only interesting part of this show. I expect a massively disappointing conclusion but at the very least I'm tuning in to find out.

I couldn't care less about what happens to Ahsoka or any of the Rebels characters at this point. Every time they're on screen I'm just counting the seconds until the scene is over. Thrawn's character being folded into that storyline and those characters is just a shame - he deserves better.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

I was hoping the new galaxy would be more... alien than The Galaxy.

 

[IntentionalPun]

It's so thin in plot.

They wrote a plot that covers Mandalorian / this show and some other show next (skeleton crew) and have to make it fit in 30 episodes.

Clearly they didn't write nearly enough content to cover all of that, because Mando/Ahsoka both are really thin on plot lol

edit: Oh almost forgot, and that plot all leads into a movie by Feloni lol

These fucks wrote like 1/5th of the content of 1 Game of Thrones book and are trying to stretch it out to be about the length of that series.

 

[Roufianos]

Man, that one was a very mixed bag. Sabine is an awful character, and her reunion with Ezra was emotionless. Two supposed long lost friends reunited and it's ruined by Marvel smart-ass quips. All the Thrawn and Baylan stuff was awesome though.

 

[Alex11]

Man, that one was a very mixed bag. Sabine is an awful character, and her reunion with Ezra was emotionless. Two supposed long lost friends reunited and it's ruined by Marvel smart-ass quips. All the Thrawn and Baylan stuff was awesome though.

I thought I was the only one that thinks about Sabine like that, all that she does it strikes me wrong.

And yeah, that scene was awful, not only long lost friends reunited, but in another galaxy, and they were shrugging it off like they saw each the other week in the same city.

 

[ManaByte]

Baylan's story continues to be the only interesting part of this show. I expect a massively disappointing conclusion but at the very least I'm tuning in to find out.

I think that’s the planet that Dawn of the Jedi will be set on.

 

[Toons]

Lucas’ Episode VII was TLJ but with Darth Talon seducing Ben Solo to the dark side. The submerged Death Star II from TROS was also in his Ep7. Kira (Rey) came from a snow planet instead of a desert planet.

Daisy Ridley actually filmed for a week or two as “Kira” before Disney found out they couldn’t trademark the name. They changed it to Rey and Kira resurfaced in Solo with a spelling Disney could trademark.

So Lucas always intended for there to he pieces of the DS somewhere . Thats interesting.

Also didn't know that they actually were gonna name her Kira.

 

[BlackTron]

Season 2 of Mando barely even had a plot if we are being honest. It was mostly set up for spin offe and cool cameos with nice action scenes. That doesnt make it bad, but its gonna pale in comparing to something like this. Every eosidoe was Mando completing a side mission to gain access to a new "level".

Anakin was done better in one episode of this series than the entirety of the PT, actually could buy that he was someone people ever liked and wasn't whining alm the time thanks to them pulling from the characterization clone wars gave him. Even if his brief appearance he had actual personality and the stuff he said while cryptic was still better than the material Hayden was forced to deliver before. That alone is worthy of praise.

Like its easy to pick apart what may or may not have been executed perfectly but it actually attempted something with its cameo and integrated them into the narrative. Thats more than csn be said more the mandalorian s2, which again, wss mostly setting up like 3 or 4 different TV shows (ahsoka, Boba, and the now canned rangers of the new republic)

Mando S2 was like a long ending to S1 with many great opportunities for characterization. For example it wasn't just a side quest to get Gideon's coordinates, it was also about Mando's convictions slipping, leading up to him taking his helmet off in front of everyone at the last episode because of his feelings for a kid.

 

[Toons]

Mando S2 was like a long ending to S1 with many great opportunities for characterization. For example it wasn't just a side quest to get Gideon's coordinates, it was also about Mando's convictions slipping, leading up to him taking his helmet off in front of everyone at the last episode because of his feelings for a kid.

It had that ill grant you. Thats still not much. Like I said I enjoyed it but I wouldn't call it particularly smazing in the writing department. Its serviceable, and the other stuff elevates it.

 

[John Marston]

Again I'm fast forwarding episodes more than I want to.
Was it episode 5 with Anakin and the flashbacks with lightsaber duels?

I thought it was ok, did not go crazy like some of you did.
I compare it to walking in the desert for 7 days then someone throws you a cracker.

I'm not bitter but I hate myself for keeping on watching what Disney puts out. Quit the fucking memberberries and start something new from scratch.

 

[gothmog]

I'm enjoying it. Episode 6 felt different and kinda showed potential. Thrawn has his plans and I love Baylan. The rest is reasons to fight and comic relief which is fine. I also love that they pulled in some of the more fantasy side of Star Wars which I think has been pretty lacking from anything post Jedi.

For some reason I keep thinking they'll somehow have this all resolve with them stuck in the other galaxy for a while or with them arriving back post ST. This really is a moment where they can potentially move on.