#Dave filoni you are dead to me

[krayt-spitter21]

Doing some research for a fic and I’m still so unwell that Tim Zahn basically copied and pasted Thrass’ death from Outbound Flight into Lesser Evil

[yubsie]

Shoutout to Hera Syndulla for being a mother in Star Wars and managing to not die!

[pseudonymous-peregrin]

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE BAD BATCH SEASON 3 FINALE AHEAD!!!

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ok i’m going through emotions right now so my previous reblogs are still a part of how i feel, BUT.

on the subject of we ‘tech-is-CX2’ truthers being OBLITERATED by the finale— i too am salty!!

however!! while my emotional brain is yelling at dave filoni for that ass-beating of a red herring, my storytelling brain is going nuts (in a good way)!

y’all. we don’t know that wasn’t tech. and that was the point.

we’ve seen the CX-es when they’ve been captured. they are completely and fully brainwashed. what i think the showrunners were trying to show with all those tech-like mannerisms and red herrings throughout the season mixed in with the interactions with the other CX-es is that, no matter what body is in that suit, it isn’t tech. he is dead. they may have repurposed his body, and they may have not.

not showing the face beneath the mask shows just how horrendous hemlock’s programming was, because any clone he could’ve turned into CX-2 (i saw that people were thinking it could’ve been dogma or cody, as well) wouldn’t have been any different than any other candidate. in the end, all traces of their identities would’ve been wiped, and there would’ve been no saving them. the emotional weight is still there.

it’s disappointing that it wasn’t confirmed to be tech beneath the mask, but at the same time, i’m glad it wasn’t. there’s no way in hell the batch could’ve had their happy ending with that knowledge, especially if they had still killed him. so many star wars projects end in terrible horrible sadness, so the ending we got, whether or not you think it was a cop-out, was deserved.

at least, that’s my perspective! i’ve gone into shock by the time i’ve finished writing this post, so my deepest apologies for any mistakes in grammar or, you know, the whole thing not making any sense.

expect more from me! i’m cooking up some stuff!

[purgetrooper77]

I just saw the final episode of The Bad Batch, here are my thoughts

The ending is beautiful, I'm so glad that Crosshair didn't die. I'm also glad the children didn't die. Wrecker and Jax would get along great due to both of them having a fear of heights. Hemlock and Nala Se are finally dead. The fact that Hunter, Crosshair, and Wrecker was able to raise Omega until adulthood was like the best thing ever.

I would have consider this finale perfect if DAVE FILONI DIDN'T SCREW THINGS UP!!!!

Allow me to explain my frustration so people would understand why I am so angry.

First of all, what took Tarkin so long? What kept him so long that he couldn't rescue Hemlock from Crosshair and Hunter? Was he in Coruscant, Tatooine, Pantora?!?!? I need answers. Also I thought Captain Bragg and Tarkin worked in two separate Imperial Divisions, why are they together?!? It doesn't make sense.

The other thing I am upset about is Scorch's death. Why the kriff did Scorch have to die? Filoni, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!? Disclaimer: I did not play the Republic Commando games, but I know the characters and I believe all members of Delta Squad should have more screen time. Now Republic Commando fans are gonna be upset knowing that Scorch is gonna be dead. His death is not gonna be memorable for like five years. Come on, man!

Last but not least, we don't know who CX-2 is. Crosshair should have unmasked him but he didn't. I still think it's Dogma, but thanks to you, Filoni, nobody is gonna know who CX-2 is. Again, I still think it is Dogma.

Yes I know Jennifer Corbett and Kevin Keiner were also a huge part of this series but they are not the issue, Filoni is.

I respected Dave Filoni for as long as he was in control of Star Wars, this respect is Shattered. What the heck dude? What the kriffing heck!!

TLDR: I loved the finale, but it wasn't perfect and Dave Filoni Shattered my hope for future Star Wars Projects.

[tennessoui]

honestly doctor who! ahsoka having her own companion is very galaxy brain. i actually have some other suggestions for ahsoka time travel companions:

1) sabine

(she just becomes increasingly smug as the mission goes on and ahsoka keeps failing, then increasingly frustrated because she realizes that she is stuck with ahsoka. i do think she would shoot anakin or palpatine in at least a couple of the timelines.)

2) bo katan

(bo katan spends most of the time fighting with ahsoka and obsessively trying to obtain the darksaber. this backfires when anakin begins to suspect bo katan of being the secret sith lord. ahsoka and bo katan are forced to fake a relationship in order to get him off their back at one point. they accidentally become jedi-mandalorian married in at least one timeline before a humiliated ahsoka resets the timeline anyway. now bo katan is uoset because their fake marriage isn’t real anymore and brings it up saltily at least once every reset.)

3) kaeden

(no coherent thoughts just kaesoka 😔)

4) mace

(at first he is shook because of how truly degenerate some of the timelines get, but also he manages to kill palpatine in at least one of them and he’s pretty pleased with himself. other than that, i feel like he would take a “we should stay and fix the damage we’ve inflicted” approach as opposed to ahsoka’s “hit the reset button now” mindset. he would also pick up at least one hobby along the way, like idk crocheting or fishing)

5) yoda

(ahsoka spends most of the time miserably trekking around with a little green gremlin in her swagpack, aka swag backpack. he keeps giving her cryptic advice on how to deal with the situation until she realizes the best action is inaction. by the end, they decide to sit on the beach and just eat sandwiches together while they watch anakin throw a tantrum over the sand while obi wan sighs because he just wanted to try out surfing)

6) luke

(this is actually the canon backstory for how ahsoka and luke met. dave filoni just didn’t tell us because he didn’t think it was important enough to mention.)

7) count dooku

(this one doesn’t really have any explanation, i just thought it would be funny. bonus points because count dooku approves of obi wan but fucking hates anakin and so this is basically his personal hell. he nearly tries to kill ahsoka at one point, thinking that he will be freed, only to realize he’ll be stuck in the timeline with anakin and obi-wan forever. thus causing him to rescue her and hit reset. while ahsoka tries to matchmake anakin and obi wan, count dooku is constantly trying to break them up. at one point anakin accuses him of being homophobic and obi wan attends a support group for lgbt adults whose parents won’t accept their marriage and count dooku gets offended because he is NOT homophobic, he is just a hater. if anakin and obi wan have 1 opp, it’s count dooku. if anakin and obi wan have 1 million opps, it’s count dooku + an army of 999,999 droids. if anakin and obi wan have 0 opps, count dooku is dead. etc etc)

Note: I would put also R2 or Chopper as candidates but they don’t really seem like good companions to me on account of them being aggressively Dalek-coded.

i think all of these work in different ways and you have put it together so beautifully - i think it makes so much sense!

in my mind since none of this is really happening, ahsoka's companion could definitely change every so often as the Force pairs her with different people in an attempt to show her a different lesson....it's not actually the person but an aspect of their personality that could help ahsoka heal and maybe even appreciate the love obi-wan and anakin share

(except dooku. dooku wasn't supposed to be there and it's his actual force ghost. he's just such a strong hater that the force could literally not keep him out of this liminal space)

[sokayisaidiot]

Ezrabine/sabezra stuff I guess

They're needs to be built up to whatever relationship they will pursue. From the next episode forward. This should decide what happens.

They would need to start showing feelings and giving CLEAR HINTS to make people aware of the status of their relationship.

They did have a starting point to built up from sabine centering everything from her life about ezra. Wearing his clothes, living in his place, only thinking of him when the galaxy is at stake, having his lightsaber.

Let me tell you something. I have two older brothers. If one of them dies, I would not do those things. Because when you have siblings and one leaves your life, you remember them, honor them or do something in their memory, but you do not base your life around them.

Like sabine does not do it with her family. Her apparently dead family. Her brother is dead for all we know, and she does not do those things for him. Or her parents. Or Kanan in that matter. Never with what she does with Ezra

They put an extremely hard emphasis on ezra. Like she had her whole rebels arc centered around her personality and past with her family in rebels. Now she is centered around ezra

Either they start putting out clear signs or we can just look at Dave pasta filoni over there and question his choices

[crackinwise]

Feeling like I'm getting pranked by these story and directing choices.

Turns out Elsbeth KNOWS of this planet and the Mothers were calling her, and even Baylan knows it by the place purrgils migrate to die, but no one knew where it was or how to get there? Nightsisters knew how to ride purrgils but Elsbeth never thought of that this whole time, just like Ahsoka and Sabine--who witnessed Ezra do it--never had the idea all these years? Did I miss something important? It is very possible I did.

Sabine isn't even trying to escape the cuffs or cell or plan anything using all her experience as a badass Mandolorian and Rebel? She just sits around waiting for her fate, then busts out another failed Force move first before any other practical option? I don't know this Sabine, Filoni.

It is very weird and unearned to set up a "hey wanna hear how the universe began?" just to start it off with "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." Sir, Dave, my dude: that's the start of a whimsical fictional tale akin to "once upon a time." I thought Ahsoka meant old history lessons, not a fairytale? Also, that's Jump The Shark, ouroboros world-eating, meta nonsense even Lucas didn't do. You're really not going to tell us anything about this new galaxy we're going to or how long people have known of other galaxies or the means to get there? Really? Do you direct scenes just to eat time?

Sabine to her Howler, a too-smart canine-like pack animal she's known for like an hour, after it wisely fled from being murdered by bandits: "You abandoned me >:(((" ....Is she serious? I'd rather have my living transportation flee to use again than be needlessly killed? It came back! Wtf did you want?!

Baylan just sounds like a Dooku rehash. He's given us no new insight WHY he thinks the Jedi weren't enough or failed. Because that might flesh out a character and Filoni can't have that.

You'd think the reunion would be more excitable? Hype? Emotional? Sabine has apparently been depressed, doing nothing in Ezra's tower for years but they both reacted like they saw each other last month. Does Filoni know people are allowed to emote? Gasp, squeal, bounce, grin wide, cry? DIRECT, DAMN YOU!

Sabine isn't going to tell Ezra how she got here? Isn't that important? He sacrificed himself to exile Thrawn, and she's not gonna mention he's packing to leave? That she has no means to get them out of here herself? That for all she knows Ahsoka might be dead and not working on a rescue? She just wants to enjoy seeing him again? Is she.... does this version of Sabine have a lobotomy or overdose on valium? Is that what I'm missing here?

My brother is watching all these eps so excitedly, like he's marveling at a huge ornate castle appearing before him. But I feel like I was too skeptical to enjoy the castle, so I walked around its edge and saw it's really a fake façade propped up with plywood.

[homonymph]

i think Ahsoka in the mouth of the (space)whale is not just a reference to Pinocchio (and even Finding Nemo, go synergy) but also references the biblical story of jonah and the whale. Ahsoka, like Jonah, had rejected the call to action from the Force (i.e. God) and it is only when Jonah is swallowed by the whale that he reflects, acts for forgiveness, and accepts his mission. I think this is also what part of Anakin's lesson was about, especially when he said "you lack conviction." Ahsoka after leaving the order was directionless, she had lost faith in her mission, her training and in herself. she was "going nowhere." but Anakin is trying to teach her that this is a kind of death in itself. you have to fight to live, you have to fight for it, not just survive. not just stay put. and that's why enlightened ahsoka says it's better to go somewhere than nowhere. she finally wants to live, wants to make things better, not just stop things from getting worse.

also i think this is the first time we ever really get to see/hear from anakin/vader post-rotj and it's so much more full circle to hear him speak and be at peace with both the dark and light sides of the force inside him. i always felt off about how quickly vader turned good/achieved enlightenment and became a force ghost but something about hearing his view of the force really closes that chapter from me. "live or die" might sound like absolutes but i think it's his own contribution to the legacy he was talking about. you have to have a reason to live, you have to have a reason to move on and be, otherwise, you are in a way, dead. something obi-wan learns in his series, and anakin learns once he lets go of the past and saves his son. you have to have an active part in shaping your life, in living.

maybe i'm projecting a bit of myself in here but i think that reading of it is somewhere in there and explains why i'm so emotional about this episode. but dave filoni has given us a brilliant, nuanced arc and philosophy and i am so grateful. i haven't been this excited and invested in a piece of star wars content in a long, long time.

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

dave filoni is amazing and brought us one of the most incredible pieces of star wars media. i love the jedi but holy fuck, some of you in this fandom are just so rabid and bitter. we are allowed to critique things the jedi did and doesn't mean we're anti jedi! things can have nuance.

the jedi are also portrayed very favorably in tcw. we see how much they care about the clones, we seem them acting like a family and being wise and brave. portraying them as flawed just makes them more interesting and layered, it doesn't take away from how good they are.

rabid pro-jedi blogs are making this fandom as hostile as those awful anti-jedi blogs. can you all please just start being normal???

Anon, are you aware that I made a pretty long post saying exactly that (minus the rabid and bitter part) a while back? Here, you can check:

That's me saying Filoni doesn't hate the Jedi and TCW portrays them very positively and he contributed to that.

Or how about this one, about allowing the Jedi to have more nuance:

That's me saying I find frustrating the lack of acknowledgment of how messy some aspects of the Order and that's me talking about adoptions.

Or this one.

Or THIS ONE:

And here's what I said about why their flaws aren't my focus though (and why it bothers me when those flaws become the focus of canon):

I’ll explore the Jedi’s flaws when I write, but I’ll always, always, always talk about how good they were a lot, lot, LOT more. And the reason why is quite simple: I feel like Jedi criticism is nitpicky and pointless, because talking about any flaws of theirs is not only beating a dead horse, but beating a horse that’s so dead it’s been decomposing for fifteen years.  Everything has been said on the subject of the Jedi’s faults - most of which I don’t agree with, but some that I’ll readily recognize (because again, they’re not meant to be perfect). But what is the point of talking about what the Jedi did wrong after a while? Even supposing they were half as flawed as the fandom makes them out to be (which they aren’t) so what? They all died. Their children died. Their history, art and philosophy were completely erased from the galaxy. Most of their legacy was forgotten.  Whatever punishment they might have deserved for not paying enough attention - or too much - to a prophecy, for failing to untangle Sidious’ web, for being blind to a lie or another when they were too busy dying on the front lines to see clearly, for failing to save all the clones, for failing to protect all the Padawans… Whatever punishment this all deserved, they received a hundred times over. 

I don't LIKE that the narrative that's being pushed more and more is that 'they were too beholden to the Senate' when it offers no other viable alternative for what they should have done and their indictment comes from a character pulling the strings of the Senate in the shadows so that the freaking 'coming darkness' he's """"warning"""" them about can become a galactic dictator.

I don't hate Filoni. I may poke fun at him and be annoyed at what he's doing, but I don't hate him. TCW wasn't just a Dave thing tho, GL was still around to supervise, and the more I see of Dave's work without GL around, and the greater creative freedom he gets, the more I'm disappointed that this is where Star Wars is going. That's all.

But point me to one of my rabid posts please. The majority of my TOTJ posts (if that's what this is about) have been either positive, nitpicky or neutral.

I'm not making the fandom "hostile" by disliking things sometimes, anon, I'm making MY blog SALTY. And I either tag that salt, or I don't tag much so that the salt doesn't show up in the general tags so that people in the fandom who don't agree won't have to see it.

If I'm not behaving 'normally' according to you - and you're perfectly entitled to think that, I AM pretty bitchy - you can stop seeing my stuff pretty easily. But please don't come at me anonymously to put a larger fandom issue onto me.

[niobiumao3]

Hmmmm. Hmmmmm. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

My thoughts in no particular order:

Okay so, they answered The Question, and their answer is, 'There's no such thing as being Force Sensitive. Using the Force is like any other skill in terms of people being able to learn, just some possess a natural or early aptitude and some do not. In the same way many (most?) Art Schools wouldn't accept an applicant who has never once attempted a single bit of art, so the Jedi Order only sought out those with obvious talent from an early age.'

This tracks with Ahsoka's comment to Din that if Grogu simply stopped using the Force he would gradually forget how; likewise, not speaking a language or using a skill causes it to atrophy, and re-acquiring it can be difficult.

I'm back and forth on this. On the one hand you can argue Lucas always intended this because you'll notice in the movies proper the term Force Sensitive NEVER ONCE comes up. It's always 'strong with the force' or 'the Force is strong in my family', the same way you'd talk about a family where the parents and kids and grandkids all go into music or something. The concept of it being a Special Thing Someone Has or Doesn't Have is a later bit from the Extended Universe, and was arguably never once canonized.

On the other Lucas never really decried the concept of Force Sensitivity and in fact the midichlorian BS almost made it worse. Except even then he talked about it like 'everyone HAS midichlorians, some just have more than others'. So again with the concept of natural aptitude vs. learning it from nothing.

And on my third hand which I lost in Avengers: Endgame I can get why some people are upset by this development, because it implies well literally ANYONE can be out here using the Force. Does that make any sense?? And I agree it's a bit messy in the world building, because I cannot in fact use amazing artistic skills to literally mind control someone into letting me off without a speeding ticket. (Well, okay, maybe I could, but there's way more steps involved than 'Officer please fuck off' and him just doing it.)

Whatever. Guess what guys: DAVE FILONI SAYS FORCE SENSITIVE CLONES!

NO MARROCK oh you're fine. Damn it he's going to die soon and we won't know anything about him.

Baylan I am going to be so sad when this series is over and you're not dead but they have to kill you off screen.

PURRGILLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!

oh shin hates morgan like she fucking despises her and wants to kill her I love it. I love my savage goth wolf girl.

sabine and ahsoka making an awesome team at the pewpew, yes please

Huyang is basically Tech. I said what I said.

The bit where we're explaining the star whales now feels like it needed to be in episode 1 or 2 but whatever.

I am...on the fence about Jacen. The hair looked like...yeah. Does he have pointy ears? That will fix a lot of things.

Are we never going to mention Kanan. What was this with Sabine being like 'omg how can I possibly' her first master was blind!!!!! are we going to act like he's just not real?? ugh anyways.

aaaaah why does the episode end HERE???????? FUCKKKKK

[aesoka]

okay so indulging further.

when anakin says : ‘ you lost a fight ‘ / ‘ trust me, you lost ‘ he’s obviously talking about the fight with the sith lord, however i’m also reminded how she just pretty much lost everything. rex & her battalion, anakin, obi wan, the jedi order, her other friends, the galaxy she knew at large changed for the worse and she just lost. through no fault of her own she lost. however she’s also ‘lost’ in the sense that she has no real purpose, she fights with a solemn resolve that isn’t really known for. you can see when she enters the weird fugue state with anakin they placed her in black robes that reminded me of mourning , they were black. after she emerges she’s donning white again in her rebirth. idk what dave filoni was intending to do here but i personally took it as anakin urging her back on her feet again.

when anakin says : ‘ you live or you die ‘ it is both literal and figurative. he was 19 when the war started but ahsoka was a literal pre teen, all he knew how to do was teach her ways to survive. i won’t fall into semantics on the fall of the jedi as they began to engage in a war with a slave army and padawans as commanders, but in my opinion anakin is also saying ‘ you’re alive or you’re dead, which is it ahsoka? ‘ because she’s drifting. she’s alive but is she living? what is she doing but going through the motions of what needs to be done? i may be reaching here but he’s saying LIVE or lay down and die, which is it? they drifted back to war, to the lessons he taught her to live, what those lessons led to and how dissatisfied ahsoka was with it all. war was all anakin could see and all he chose, his legacy lays in ahsoka and what she chooses and she chooses life, to foster life , to protect it, to LIVE IT rather than to just endure it.

[marvelstars]

Skyguy & Snips

The Clone Wars may have ended tragically but I have always loved this last conversation between Ahsoka and Anakin. Just imagining Anakin working on Ahsoka´s lightsabers hoping agaisnt hope for an oportunity to give them to her as a gift as her former master and friend and when they finally get the oportunity to meet it´s so bittersweet but nice just to talk to each other again.

Also Anakin´s way of showing love is so sweet:

Here Ahsoka, have your lightsabers back, oh you need people to help you on Mandalore, sure, take half of 501 st they all missed you and changed the color of their helmets to give you a nice welcome back, oh Obi-Wan says you can´t lead them into battle because you are not a "jedi" anymore?, don´t worry Snips, Rex is now Comander and you have great experience working together, go an help Mandalore.

Seriously, Anakin would have given her his metal arm if that would make her happy and she needed it. He would have stayed with her if he and Obi-Wan were not called especifically to rescue the Chancellor

Their relationship is friendship, family love, sister/brother, father/daughter all rolled into one and it was a nice end for them before tragedy stuck.

Now I hope Dave Filoni takes just enough time to give them a nice moment of closure post ROTJ on Ahsoka´s series and I can´t wait to see her learn about Thrawn´s own relationship with Anakin/Vader, that will honestly give her some pause while fighting him.

Ahsoka: What do you mean you knew him and didn´t try to bring him back?

Thrawn: Lady Tano, he didn´t even want to be called by his own name, he insisted he was dead and I am not force sensitive, what else was I supposed to do? I am not a mind healer either and even if I was, the Emperor would have killed me if I tried anything.

Ahsoka: Kidnap him and bring him to me so we could work on his issues.

Thrawn: He and I would have been killed by the rebellion, I didn´t know who you were or where you were hidding if I did that and that´s betrayal Miss Tano, I am loyal to my people and the Empire.

Ahsoka: How did Luke managed to get to him? and during a duel?

Thrawn: Family privilege I guess?, he was his Son after all, Anakin always cared deeply for those he saw as his own.

Ahsoka: It could be that(gets sad over not being able to get to him) well then, I guess we don´t have anything else to discuss Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Thrawn: I quite agree.

Both keep on fighthing.

Meanwhile Anakin´s force Ghost is telling them to stop and work together.

[endwithajadestrick]

Complaining About the Pacing in Ahsoka

I know that I am being a real (medium-sized) curmudgeon about this, but I have chosen to embrace it. Manager, I would like to log some complaints re: the latest episode of Ahsoka.

Spoilers ahead:

This is more of a general gripe, but it really hit me this episode that this show is so slowly paced. Every episode could have been half the runtime without cutting any character beats or plot information. This feels especially apparent when you consider that most Clone Wars and Rebels episodes really are about half the length of one Ahsoka episode, about 20 vs. 40 mins. And episodes of those series are not light on plot or action. Clones and Rebels were, however, plotted more around mini arcs, usually of 2-3 episodes (because they were gearing those shows for kids), which would necessitate that the writers' room keep things tight. You set your board, get in, and get out. But Ahsoka only has one story arc for its eight-episode run and just not enough depth of character drama or pace of action to fill that runtime out. (It is probably worth mentioning here that Dave Filoni is the only credited writer on the series.)

You can especially feel the ponderous slowness in the establishing shots. Why do they go on for so long! It's usual to have a shot or two giving us an idea of the landscape our heroes are in, but in most films and shows those shots only come out to a few seconds of screen time--because we don't need them to be longer in order to get the information they're supposed to transmit. Further environmental detail can be picked out while you are watching your characters do other things.

This episode spends about two minutes just showing us Sabine walking through the Noti village. I know that doesn't sound like a lot of time, but in TV time a lot can happen in two minutes. For example:

Here's a compilation of the Finn vs Captain Phasma fight moments from The Last Jedi.

It is 2 minutes and 34 seconds long--including bits that were cut from the theatrical version of the film! How many beats, actions, and dramatic reversals are fit into those couple of minutes? Quite a few!

By contrast, nothing happens during Sabine's introduction to the Noti village. We aren't seeing anything with each changing shot that feels new or emphasized like it's information that we're going to need to remember later on. It's just wasted time, and I feel like it's anecdotally emblematic of a larger problem with the show. Lots of dead air between actions, wasted time that could have been trimmed in the writing or editing phase.

The first Star Wars movie is about two hours long, and I reckon about as much happens in that film as has happened so far in Ahsoka, which is about twice that length (around 260 mins to New Hope's 120). It's easy to overlook in light of all the other cool stuff A New Hope has going for it, but a lot of what makes that first movie work so well as an action adventure is how fast it's taking you from moment to moment, non-stop from gun fight, to character meeting, to escape, to subterfuge, a brief respite where our guys philosophize, and so on. Ahsoka is already working with a lot less charm and verve in front of and behind the camera than that film. It really can't afford to be lackadaisical with its pacing.

As stated above, I am a curmudgeon, and a lot of my problems with this show can probably be chalked up in part to the fact that it just didn't get me in its pocket out the gate. I wasn't especially charmed or intrigued by anything going on in episodes one or two, and I was subsequently less inclined to roll with the rough bits further down the line.

I want to be on board with it, and it has a lot of aspects I genuinely enjoy that make me believe that with a little spit and polish the finished product could have been shaped into something genuinely fun. I like Ray Stevenson's Baylan Skoll (Titus Pullo stans, arise!). His ambiguous schemes for the future are genuinely intriguing and ominous, and he feels like a fresh take on the dark-sider baddy, next to the cackling Emperor, cold-blooded cyborg Darth Vader, and rage monster Kylo Ren. He's very "I am the only one who can truly see the big picture." Oh ho, betcha you can't! But, as the kids say, let him cook.

I also think Eman Esfandi was perfectly cast as the live-action Ezra. In just a couple minutes of presence, he exudes warmth and charm (though I could have done without the blue contact lenses. They just look wrong, and would anyone have cared that Ezra's eyes are brown now?).

But none of what should be the big beats in this show have really landed for me so far, including this week's big reunion between Sabine and Ezra. Seriously girl, you gambled with the fate of your entire galaxy for just the shot at saving this man, and the most you can summon upon seeing him again for the first time in (checks official calendar) "9 to 12 years" is some middlingly witty banter and a lukewarm hug? I'm not someone who thinks that Ezra and Sabine's relationship is/should be romantic, but come on. Tears should have been shed! This has been Sabine's raison d'etre for the whole show. This, not becoming a Jedi, is what we are told she really cares about. If she won't get emotional about it, why should I?

And for the record, I don't want to put the blame for this on either Esfandi or Liu Bordizzo. I suspect that it's a writing and directing problem. And on that note, this week's episode was directed by Jennifer Getzinger, an experienced TV director with a pretty solid track record, whose resume includes both high emotional melodramas and prestige series, so... paging Mr. Filoni?

There are numerous talented actors and artists who have given a lot to this show, and many fans ready and eager to give it love. I just wish that the story were giving as much back to them.

[swashbucklery]

HEY DAVE. HEY DAVE FILONI. COME TO CANADA I JUST WANT TO TALK.

(me just. . .cyberbullying Dave Filoni under the cut don't worry about it)

HEY DAVE JUST WONDERING WHY DID THE STORM TROOPERS HAVE TO BE ZOMBIES.

HEY DAVE WHY IS MAGIC MADE OF THE FORCE BUT ALSO NOT THE FORCE. WHY DO THERE HAVE TO BE WITCHES WITH MAGIC LIGHT SWORDS MADE OF NOT-THE-FORCE-MAGIC THAT FIGHT THE FORCE.

HEY DAVE WHY IS THE BLUE CONTACT LENS MUMBLY MAN'S PLAN

TO BRING A BUNCH OF CORPSES

TO DATHOMIR

TO MAKE. . .A ZOMBIE ARMY??

FROM MAGIC?

ARE THEY WITCHES DAVE. ARE THEY DEAD STAR WARS WITCHES COMING TO FIGHT THE JEDI, ALREADY NOTABLY SPACE WIZARDS, WITH THEIR WITCH MAGIC?

HEY DAVE I HAVE A QUESTION IF YOU RAISE AN ARMY OF ZOMBIE STORM TROOPERS WHICH TYPE OF ZOMBIES ARE THEY AND ARE THEY THE KIND OF ZOMBIES THAT CAN FLY A TIE FIGHTER

HEY DAVE ARE ZOMBIES ANY GOOD AT FLYING TIE FIGHTERS

HEY DAVE IF THEY'RE NOT AND YOU HAVE A SQUADRON OF ZOMBIE STORMTROOPERS AND NOT ZOMBIE STORMTROOPERS WHAT DO THE ZOMBIES EAT

HEY DAVE I'M JUST A S K I N G DAVE

[mommymothma]

Dave who gave you permission to tug on my heart strings like that?

Here is like the most concise version of my thoughts I am capable of generating 5 minutes after the finally

1. Ezra ahsoka and Sabine are the knee father son and holy spirit I love them and would die for them

2. Sabine's helmet just auto generating into the world was awesome. It means ahsoka picked it up and brought it for her queen behaviour

3. I appreciate that they mention Kanan by name this live action shows sometimes have a habit of just not mentioning important animated characters (like how Satine wasn't mentioned once in the mandalorian)

4. Sabine's family being wiped out on mandalore... I don't know why it took me so long to piece that together that yeah... they probably died. I guess I assumed people kind of just left after the siege but it was intact then and.... can't tall forever moving on

5. It was a violation for that trooper to just pluck Sabine's helmet off her head like that. A disgrace to the way. I'm a little shocked her helmet doesn't seal? I thought most of them did but what do I know

6. Yaya new kanan inspired lightsaber for Ezra just dropped.

7. Force sensitive Sabine. I have mixed thoughts on this but it was awfully convienient

8. I would love if Ahsoka just dual wielded one lightsaber and then Morgan's sword I think it was such a badass as thing for them to do a real win for the gays

9. Ahsoka being afraid of being left alone to die... just think about how many times that thought has crossed her mind. ESPECIALLY with the "all your friends are dead" line.

10. Baylan you SOB. Get your ass back here and stop cosplaying force daddy. Shin needs you. Also, highly sus by the way. But could be cool if it ever leads to a baylan, ahsoka and whoever the "son" will be trio eventually.

11. Manifesting the purrgils return to come save our girlie pops. Really thought that's what the hole in the sky was for.

12. I see u. I see u Dave with the whole "shadows in the stars" thing. I see anakin. And as much as I love the idea of him watching over ahsoka, I also don't like it because he's probably teaching her to be a force ghost which sets her up to die i am weary

13. Ezra not taking off the stormtroopers costume before dropping in on a republic ship is the most Ezra thing ever what a mad lad. Also, go hug your mom bro

14. I don't like them being left behind. But there is something to be said about the possibility of wolfwren now

15. Ahsoka fearing Sabine would turn to the darkside because she experienced loss is such a real reaction for her. She's seen what loss can do to a person

16. Um what was that cargo? Were those bodies in caskets. Clones? Dathomir stuff? I'm not sure but I don't like it

17. They better find their way home in the first episode of season 2 I need this rebels reunion ASAP stop holding out on me filoni

[ghostmistdraws]

The Bad Batch 02x11

OMG OMG OMG OMG!! DAVE FILONI YOU MAD MAN

they filled the Zilo Beast plot hole and the cloning 'plot hole' in ONE EPISODE!!!!

I also have a feeling this is why they are gonna break Crosshair out. He lied to the empire on their behalf about them being dead, and its gonna have consequences. They're gonna have to break him out wiTH PLAN 99 OMG-

I'm so excited for these last episodes! Five more! I cant believe it!

Also the mention of Echo and Rex made me squeal!!! So excited to see what the 501st bois have been up to!!

ALSO OMEGA OML- Nala Se care for Omega? yeah right.

I thought Lama Su was dead so it was an awesome surprise to see him! a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

AHDBWUGDUW ITS A GOOD DAY TO BE A STAR WARS FANNNN