anoray

[anoray]

[anoray]

[anoray]

ANDOR Season 2 Quibbles & Bits:

This is just a smattering of my thoughts/reactions after watching the premiere episodes of Andor Season 2 the other day:

Thank the Force Cassian himself is more likeable so far. I found him mostly offputting until the tail end of last season.

Once again, the production values are impressive, fantastic job on the TIE and the various special effects and settings. Still not enough droids, not enough aliens. No Star Wars charm to be seen here, folks, move along.

Some interesting world building, especially the intricacies of the whole wedding spectacle. Gave a lot of insight into where Mon Mothma is coming from and all she stands to lose by being part of the Rebellion. OMG her daughter is a self centered little ninny, all her mother was trying to do was save her from a loveless marriage like her own. That boy is in it for the money and family connections because the father forced him to do it.

What the hell was that with the two opposing rebel cells that captured Cassian after killing off the pilot he was supposed to meet? One thing I have not liked about this show so far is how frequently they paint the rebels in a negative, hateful light and here we go again. I kept expecting Cassian to show some leadership or at least some of his charm to gain their trust but nope. I didn't like this part of the show, it didn't seem to move anything forward at all.

How much more torture are they going to put Bix through before they (99.99% sure) kill her off?

Brasso was my favorite so of course they killed him off. He basically got the Tech treatment and we'll see if they ever mention him again.

I should not enjoy seeing Dedra and Syril deal with his awful mother, but yet it was entertaining. Dedra is a ruthless ice queen that Thrawn would admire...and I would love to see her and Princess Leia face off. Syril...is Syril. He's the OCD Ken to Dedra's Barbie.

I found the wedding dance scene at the end with the droid disco ball and music to be in the uncanny valley of "too much like planet Earth" but it was painful watching Mon break down after her daughter's rejection and knowing Luthen is going to have her former love Tay killed for her own protection, but mainly to keep the Rebellion under wraps. She hates it but knows she can't stop it, just like the wedding.

Right now, counting the days to K2SO's snarky return. I'm hoping that means somehow Bee gets back to Cassian. Anyway, I liked these first 3 episodes WAY better than Season 1's sloggy start. I may be the only one, but the forced "4-episode arc" and now "3-episodes = 1 year" tends to cause uneven pacing in my opinion, spending too much time on minor people or things, then speeding past what matters, like losing Brasso.

[anoray]

A post I recently came across (elsewhere) about the Jedi made me realize there seems to be some crucial misunderstandings about love versus attachment.

(Full disclosure: for a very long time I didn't understand the difference either. It's only in the last few years that I've come to appreciate the nuances.)

Context: the post claimed that Kanan and Hera prove the Jedi were wrong about feelings/love.

Love and attachment are two very different things. I would even go so far as to say that attachment doesn't allow for real love.

We see in the prequel era that the Jedi Order largely didn't allow for (especially biological) familial or marital/romantic relationships because of the risk for attachment. Sometimes we take this to mean the Jedi Order didn't approve of feelings/love.

But Anakin was absolutely correct when he told Padme that the Jedi endorse compassion, which is (a form of) love. Calm, joy, and peace are all feelings, too, all of which the Jedi encourage. What the Jedi warn against is acting on negative feelings: hate, anger, fear, etc.

So, Anakin was not wrong for loving his mother and Padme, just like Kanan was not wrong for loving Hera and the other members of the Ghost crew as family.

The difference is that Anakin caved in to attachment - he allowed his fear of losing Shmi and then Padme to turn into possessiveness/obsessiveness, to turn into selfishness, which overpowered his love for them. Massacring the Tuskens wasn't an act of love for Shmi. Neither was siding with Palpatine an act of love for Padme, even though Anakin deluded himself into thinking so. All of that was done out of hate and anger and fear.

Kanan, on the other hand, loved others but did not become attached. He taught Ezra how to use the Force as a Jedi would, while accepting that if Ezra did end up turning to the Dark Side, that was Ezra's choice to make - Kanan's responsibility was simply to teach Ezra the best he could. He loved Hera and was basically her husband, but he was willing to step back and let others take the lead when she needed to be rescued. Kanan let go of the things he couldn't control, and he did not become possessive. He truly acted out of selfless love for his family.

Now, personally I think the Jedi generally promoting no marriage/families and no relationships with birth families is a bit on the "overkill" side in trying to stamp out attachment. (Note: while I don't fully agree with the Jedi Order's stance here, I still respect their choice to live that way; much like I personally wouldn't choose to follow the CotW's helmet rule but I don't begrudge them choosing to adhere to it.) And Kanan DOES prove that one can decide against following that tradition while still being a Jedi and not falling to the Dark Side.

But the reason why Kanan is able to succeed where Anakin does not is because Kanan understands the difference between love and attachment, and he remains a Jedi by avoiding the latter. Interestingly enough, I would say it's because Kanan strives to follow the hallmark Jedi principles about emotions - including acting out of love - and using the Force that he is able to avoid attachment.

And so, while I agree with the premise that romantic relationships do not in and of themselves lead to the Dark Side, I think it's also very important to keep in mind what attachment truly is when talking about the Jedi and their beliefs.

[anoray]

Poor Zeb just perpetually third-wheeling until Sabine joined the crew

[anoray]

he shouldnt have been at war,,, he shouldve been a girl dad,,,

sister drawing to the kanan and ezra one... they feel so safe with him it makes me sick

[anoray]

KANAN JARRUS in STAR WARS: REBELS

Spark of Rebellion (Part One)

[anoray]

Why are they so cute when they get snippy with each other?

For my fic “And They Were Roommates” now up on AO3!

[anoray]

Medieval Kanera nonsense incoming

[anoray]

Tales of the Underworld | Official Trailer | Available May 4 on Disney+

Ok, they have piqued my curiosity…..

[anoray]

TALES OF THE UNDERWORLD (2025) – OFFICIAL TRAILER

[anoray]

MICHELLE ANG I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!

[anoray]

Rebels should have gotten a beach episode honestly

[anoray]

have you ever played the jedi Survivor / fallen order games ? If not I’m not going to spoil anything but if cal and kanan do NOT meet before before kanan gets jedi nighted I swear to the father,brother and sister there will be blood

those two meeting would simultaneously fix and destroy everything about my life actually

[anoray]

They’re so important to me actually

[anoray]

*gently picks up the Jedi Knight

*proceeds to shake him like an energy drink

[anoray]

When you’re a 29-year-old father to two teenagers, a cat-man, and a murder droid, on the run from the fascist regime controlling the galaxy, and you just said “I love you” to your situationship and all she said was “thanks”.

Also rent is due.