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novelmonger · 2 years

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The dialogue in Andor is so good. Every episode, I find myself amazed at how expertly written it all is--when usually, I don't tend to notice film writing unless it's particularly bad. But when I watch Andor, I feel like I'm sitting through a film-writing masterclass. Most recently, episode 9's dialogue stood out to me as particularly excellent. If I could take one lesson from this episode, it would be:

Good dialogue does not have to be elaborate.

It doesn't have to be flashy. It doesn't have to use complicated sentence structure or big words. It doesn't need people interrupting or talking over each other. Good dialogue just needs to do three things:

Convey information (plot exposition, characterization of the speaker, etc.)

Sound like something a person would actually say

In most cases, not say everything the speaker is actually thinking/feeling

(Point 3 might sound like a contradiction of point 1, but it's related to "show, don't tell." Besides, people generally don't go around saying exactly what they mean or what they're thinking, so it ends up sounding clunky and unnatural.)

And I have a perfect example from Star Wars to demonstrate my point. In my opinion, Episode II has some of the worst writing in the entire series, such as this teenage-poetry-worthy line:

Okay, no, we need the whole poem for context. "From the moment I met you, all those years ago, not a day has gone by when I haven't thought of you. And now that I'm with you again, I'm in agony. The closer I get to you, the worse it gets. The thought of not being with you...I can't breathe. I'm haunted by the kiss that you should never have given me. My heart is beating, hoping that that kiss will not become a scar. You are in my very soul, tormenting me. What can I do? I will do anything that you ask."

First of all, who talks like that? (They sure don't! This isn't how they talk, before or after this scene.) The whole conversation is awkward and stilted, and has all the subtlety of a foghorn in a library. It conveys information, sure, but in a very clunky, cringey way that takes way too long. (And I'm just talking about the writing here, not the delivery--Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman both did their best with what they had.)

Contrast this with the dialogue in Andor:

"I can't help him. I can't help anyone."

Two lines. Two four-word sentences. Very simple sentences, too. No fancy words at all. And yet just think of how much they convey, whether you hear them in context or not. Yes, a lot of the power of this scene comes from the excellent acting, the expressions and body language that tells you so much more than just the words.

I don't even remember if we ever learn what this guy's name is. And yet, with those two simple sentences, we can glean so much of this man's story, his outlook on life, not to mention simply the impact he has on the plot unfolding right then.

Pretty much everything about this show is fantastic and keeps me thinking about it for days, and the dialogue is no exception. This is just one tiny example of the good writing in this show, and I can't wait to see more.

Full credit to Beau Willimon, writer of episode 9.

#star wars #andor #dialogue #writing #dialogue analysis #i've gotten so used to the writing in star wars being abysmal to mediocre #even in the installments i love #(tpm is my favorite of the movies and i love the mandalorian)#(both of which have plenty of flaws)#i hardly know what to do with myself when it comes to andor #here i was expecting just a fun romp with an interesting character #and instead we get this masterpiece???#(also yes i know these two scenes have very different tones and are from very different stories)#(but i think even taking the context into consideration you can see how much more effective the writing in andor is)

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thefinalboss387 · 1 year

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Darth Sidious Appreciation Post!

I have SO much love for this character. Palpatine is the main villain of the entire Star Wars franchise, and arguably one of the greatest villains of all time. I felt the need to gush about why I love him so much and what makes him so great. There are a lot of little traits and tropes that I tend to be drawn to in characters, and Palpatine manages to check off pretty much ALL of them. This post will be long, so I’m throwing it all under a cut. Spoilers ahoy!

Star Wars is, as the name suggests, all about a galaxy that is constantly at war. It is a vast, ever-expanding saga, with countless films, books, comics, TV shows, and video games all constantly adding new chapters, new characters, and new perspectives to the story. The lore and history of the Star Wars universe has grown considerably, of course, but during the core story and present time of Star Wars - which spans nine films, and far too many spin-offs to count - Palpatine, AKA Darth Sidious, is the main antagonist, finishing off a revenge plan that had been in the works for a thousand years before him.

I’ve always loved villains, but I’ve always had an especially high regard for manipulative, mastermind-type villains, who are revealed to have orchestrated everything on their own behind the scenes. And Palpatine is very much the personification of this type of character. In all three film trilogies - and the eras in the Star Wars timeline that come with those trilogies - Palpatine was in the background, directly responsible for each massive conflict.

In the prequel trilogy, Palpatine came off as a kind, empathetic man. He was a Senator for the small backwater planet of Naboo, who eventually rose up to become Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic after Naboo was involved in a crisis. However, behind the scenes, Palpatine was the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, manipulating events and manufacturing that crisis to garner galactic attention and sympathy to ensure his route to the chancellorship. Once he was in power as the head of the senate and the Republic, he manufactured another, much larger crisis, throwing the entire galaxy into a war where he controlled both sides and benefited no matter the outcome. Publicly, he was the head of the Republic, but as Darth Sidious, he was the leader of the Separatist movement against the Republic. At the end of this war, he declared himself Emperor, with all of the unlimited power that came with it, and threw the entire Jedi Order into extinction.

In the original trilogy, Palpatine has even more political power and influence, having shown his true colors to disband the senate, create super-weapons to scare the masses into obedience, and placing his own sycophants and followers into positions of power beneath him. A rebellion forms to take down the oppressive empire and put an end to Palpatine’s rule. Although he largely avoids the public spotlight, preferring to experiment and plot behind closed doors while his minions do the dirty work, he gets directly involved in Episode VI, Return of the Jedi. Palpatine continues to show his penchant for manipulation and foresight, using spies and false information to lure the rebels into traps and control the narrative.

The sequel trilogy seems to be pretty controversial, especially Palpatine’s inclusion in Episode IX, The Rise of Skywalker. Honestly, I was thrilled to see him back, and Rise of Skywalker was one of my favorite Star Wars movies - I know, people usually react badly when I say that. But, for better or for worse, Palpatine reveals himself as the mastermind behind the sequel trilogy, having transferred his consciousness into a decrepit clone body and once more controlling things from behind the scenes. He creates Snoke and puts him in charge of the First Order, a successor to the fallen empire, as a way to secure power and set the stage for his own eventual return to glory.

In the Expanded Universe, before the Star Wars continuity was rebooted to make way for the sequel trilogy, Palpatine did resurrect himself in a clone body in one of the many post-Return of the Jedi stories, but the overall narrative of Star Wars largely moved away from Palpatine’s machinations into newer territory, though it still dealt a lot with the fallout of Palpatine’s actions, those loyal to him attempting to reestablish his empire, etc.

Another trait I tend to love in characters, and one that many of my favorite characters ever possess, is when they take on a mentorship role, or have some kind of parental feelings toward other characters. I work with kids, I take my work as a mentor very seriously, and only recently came to realize that I have spent most of my life, even before my current career path, loving characters that also take others under their wing... even though, since I love villain characters, those mentor relationships are usually super toxic and unhealthy. Villains are a fun way to explore the dark side of our psyches, our consciousness, and seeing how horribly those kinds of nurturing relationships can go wrong because of those villains, or seeing how even the most irredeemable sociopaths find some good in themselves in their relationship with their mentee, is also kind of fun to explore. Palpatine has SEVERAL of these toxic mentor relationships - and actually, Star Wars as a whole is full of mentor/student relationships and the idea of leaving a legacy with the next generation, which probably is part of why I have so much love for Star Wars as a franchise.

The Legends novel Darth Plagueis is, so far, the only source to go deeply into Palpatine’s past, and it is sadly now non-canon. In it, Palpatine was a teen when he met Darth Plagueis and was taken in as his apprentice. Palpatine was troubled, hated his family, and actually grew close to his master. Plagueis was seeking to do away with the Sith custom of the apprentice murdering the master to acquire power and take in an apprentice of their own; instead opting to study ways to become immortal and, together with Sidious, rule together forever. Sidious, however, betrayed his master and murdered Plagueis in cold blood.

The first apprentice Sidious had was Darth Maul, a young Zabrak. In the Plageuis novel, Palpatine took him in as an apprentice while he himself was still apprentice to Plagueis, though that may no longer be canon. Maul was practically a slave to Sidious, taken against the boy’s will and tortured and abused into a loyal, brainwashed weapon. Maul was totally obedient to Sidious, but his master never really saw him as a true apprentice - just a blunt instrument to carry out his whims. When Maul died, Palpatine seemed to show no remorse or grief at all. When he resurfaced in the Clone Wars, Sidious saw him as a rival and moved to destroy him with no mercy. (I also need to say, that lightsaber battle in Clone Wars where Sidious dual-wielded against Maul and Savage Oppress is MY FAVORITE FIGHT IN THE ENTIRE FRANCHISE GAH IT’S SO COOL)

The relationship between Palpatine and his next apprentice, Count Dooku, is one that hasn’t been too deeply explored - at least, not in any of the Star Wars material I’ve consumed. (If anyone out there knows of material that explores this, please let me know, I’d love to see it!) Dooku fell into Palpatine’s clutches at a much older age, having several disagreements with the Jedi Order and how they are run, which Palpatine exploited to bring Dooku over to the Sith philosophy. Dooku was charismatic, and easily able to act as the face of the Separatists and sway people to his side so that Sidious could stay in the shadows, only known to his highest lieutenants. Sidious constantly tested Dooku’s loyalty and made him prove himself - I suspect this was because, given Dooku’s older age and how much freedom he had as the public face of the Separatists, Sidious felt the need to instill the fear of god in him and keep him constantly aware of who was really in control. Dooku was not as brainwashed or dependent as Maul was, he even attempted to find an apprentice of his own at one point, so Sidious needed other methods to keep him in line.

In the sequel trilogy era, Sidious was keeping a very close eye on Kylo Ren, effectively having a hand in raising him from birth to mold him into the weapon he wanted, mostly through Snoke as a proxy. I also have heard that Palpatine has an adopted son named Gallius Rax in the Aftermath trilogy of books, that he mentored and used as a key piece of his contingency plan in the event of his death, but I have not read those books so I unfortunately don’t know much about it - but I definitely am interested and intend to read those.

And then there’s Anakin Skywalker, AKA Darth Vader. Hoo boy.

Palpatine met Anakin in Episode I, when Anakin was just a child. Palpatine told him that he would be watching his career with great interest.... and he was not lying. For most of Anakin’s life, Palpatine was a mentor to him and practically groomed him. He heaped praise on Anakin, constantly telling him about the enormous potential he had and how much he believed in him. When the Jedi Order pointed out his flaws, Palpatine made it seem like they just took him for granted and didn’t see what he saw. He slowly, subtly, turned Anakin against everyone he knew, and planted himself as Anakin’s only real friend and confidant. He was kind to him, understanding, patient. He preyed on Anakin’s deepest fears and insecurities, making him believe that he had the power and the answers Anakin needed to solve his problems. But then he showed his real colors and Anakin was forced to pick a side, between the Jedi Order he couldn’t trust and the monster who believed in him and had the answers he needed.

When Anakin - as Darth Vader - almost died at the hands of Obi-Wan and is forced to become a cyborg monster, he loses a lot of his value to Palpatine. He also loses the love of his life and his humanity. With nothing else to keep him going but rage and loss and despair, he acts as Emperor Palpatine’s muscle, continuing to serve him but ready to take any opportunity to overthrow and replace him. But, as Emperor, Palpatine now has entire armies at his disposal, countless Imperial officers, a whole legion of Force-sensitive Inquisitors that hunt down the remaining Jedi...

In Return of the Jedi, Palpatine seems very eager to have Luke, Anakin’s son, strike Vader down and replace him as his apprentice. It’s also implied in later movies that Luke striking Palpatine himself down would allow him to possess Luke’s body, as Palpatine later tries to do with his own granddaughter, Rey.

Palpatine is a character that is always on the lookout for his next young, powerful apprentice. He puts up a caring, gentle, fatherly facade to reel them in, but truthfully he doesn’t seem to see anyone as anything more than tools to be used and controlled, and takes no hesitation in tossing them aside once their usefulness runs out, or a shinier new toy comes along.

That duality in his character is fascinating to me. Palpatine is an extremely patient man, his plan to overthrow and take over the Republic was decades in the making, and that whole time he effortlessly gave off that caring mentor facade and fooled an entire galaxy. As Darth Sidious, he was calm, quiet, and heartless, completely detached from emotion or sympathy. Once he took over as Emperor, the Jedi were slaughtered, and there was no reason to hide himself any longer, a whole new side of his personality emerged. He became a cackling, maniacal, croaky monster. There are so many sides to this character.

And it’s worth noting, Ian McDiarmid was phenomenal in the role, clearly enjoyed every minute of playing this character, and chewed the scenery in absolutely every moment of his screentime. Palpatine’s presence and the way he carried himself was very theatrical and extravagant, another trait I tend to love in a lot of my favorite characters. He is just so campy, and there’s a reason so many of his lines have become memes.

Palpatine is basically the devil. He is the ultimate evil of the Star Wars universe, hurting and manipulating so many people in the quest for his own power and immortality. But he is so FUN to watch. His scheming and plotting is super impressive, his relationships are fascinating, and the level of complexity in his character is surprising considering how one-dimensional he initially comes off as.

I love Palpatine. He is, after all, the Senate.

#Palpatine #Darth Sidious #Sheev Palpatine #Emperor Palpatine #Star Wars #There is SO MUCH MORE I could say about this devil toad #But this post is getting long and ranty #Might do a part two someday if I think of much more to say #Palpatine is legit one of my top favorite characters of all time #He's so evil and so problematic #But AMAZING

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she-toadmask · 1 year

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I swear my vocabulary has been ruined by this place

Bug annoys me? "I will eat you"

I really enjoy something someone wrote? My first instinct is "I'm eating this/I am consuming this/something similar"

Also earlier I texted saying a Slowbro set for the Cinderace event going on in SV fucks and my friend said, and I quote: "I am begging you to never word things like that again I am not young enough for new slang"

Edit: I don't know where I went in the tags it's late

#for reference my friend is my age so i found that very funny #its also interesting because like. i didnt have the shift in favorite character terminology that happened.#like i dont say 'i want to put him in the washing machine' and stuff like that. it didnt click with my brain.#unrelated but sometimes being able to remember shit really well is cool (like the lego star wars thing from earlier like i was 90% there)#but sometimes it sucks when you cant find what youre remembering. like this one set of d&d alignment videos i tried to find #there are so many i couldnt find it. i dont remember the channel name but the vid for chaotic good had robin hood on it #and i think lawful neutral had robocop? maybe they just talked about him in the video?#and i cant. fucking find the videos.#another thing i remembered i was eventually able to find again. these two people doing a thing doing dex stuff for all the pokemon #first time i looked i thought they were gone but second time i did find them. channels dead but at least it exists #unlike skydoesminecraft.exe where the only record is a full playthrough of the game i put on youtube. someone commented on it the other day #i hate when things go missing. i hate when people delete what they made from the internet. if its for privacy its. understandable.#i have unlisted some old yt vids of mine because my face was in them and i didnt want it on the internet #but otherwise. i dont like it. its why all of my terrible terrible wattpad fic is still out there. in case someone liked it.#it's 3 am i need to sleep

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bowl-of-fruit-loops · 1 year

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it’s actually hilarious how many star wars time travel fix-it aus I have with characters that have very little/nothing to do with the main plot

#star wars #specifically I’m talking abt characters traveling back to the prequel/clone war era #I have two cal ones #one cal+boba+din #and one din+cobb #can you tell who my favorite characters are #love putting characters who have very little/only the barebones of information and have them stumble around trying to fix things

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monsterhospital · 2 years

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as the obi-wan kenobi show is coming out and likely renewing many people's interest in darth vader, i'd like to remind everyone: darth vader's two best friends are canonically gay. darth vader has two best friends and one of them has canonically had sex with a stormtrooper and the other has been in relationships with multiple women and has a mutual ex with han solo. these characters may or may not be mentioned in the show but be aware that darth vader is an ally.

#im talking about tarkin and aphra by the way #who are coincidentally two of my favorite characters in the franchise #i really hope we see some tarkin content!! chelli would be but a babe at the time of the obi wan show #she would be in her teens i believe #darth vader #star wars #obi wan kenobi #kenobi 2022

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plokool · 5 months

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I may have complaints about some outcomes in my T. rex bracket (RIP Megatron, you deserved better), but I'm forever grateful that the whole thing didn't get taken over by one of the meme options

#i don't even follow the star wars bracket #but it shows up anyway because i follow the star wars tag #sebulba has beaten at least two of my favorite characters #and not like minor characters like plo or something #what is even going on

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poorlittlevampire · 9 months

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seeing asajj ventress and ahsoka Did Something To My Child Brain

#genuinely two of my most favorite characters both within and outside of star wars

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allpromarlo · 1 year

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i didn't think i was gonna fall this deep into the sw rabbit hole but now i have 20 ocs and i don't know where to stop. anyways happy may the 4th

#two whole lineages & a bunch of different characters do u understand me #tis a STRUGGLE #but n e ways i really didn't expect this space wizard stuff to bring me this much happiness but alas. here i am #i still don't like the fans though y'all weird #why do you think i barely ever post sw on this blog aside from mandalorian eve? exactly #star wars #may the 4th #sw ocs #i don't play favorites i love all my children equally but i'm saying if there was a house fire i'd save era first #she's that girl i'm sawry

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rochenn · 3 months

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The year is 2034. Disney announces the production of the show "Resistance: Dooku of Serenno", set during the early days of the Empire, starring CG Christopher Lee.

We begin with a flashback to Revenge of the Sith. After Dooku is beheaded, we learn that he used the Force to supply his brain with blood and oxygen. The movie is visibly retconned - as Obi-Wan, Anakin and Palpatine flee the Invisible Hand, four human parts can be spotted stealthily floating after them.

Dooku, being Dooku, survives the crash and manages to steal away. His head is surgically reattached. Don't ask why nobody else ever stitched their lightsaber-chopped limbs back on. He ends up getting prosthetic hands, anyway. David Filoni said in a behind-the-scenes interview that he thought they were cool.

Previously established canon prevents Dooku from doing anything in-character until Order 66. He lets loose in Coruscant's undercity and becomes the local kooky old man who couldn't possibly be public enemy number one until Mace Windu, freshly fried and unhanded, crashes down in front of him. What a coincidence.

Mace is still played by Sam L. Jackson. He is So Old. He is only there for the paycheck. Disney didn't know how to recast him. He is acting alongside the shell of a man who has been dead for two decades.

After a joke about missing hands that is very funny, the two get along swimmingly. They don't really talk about Dooku's various war crimes. "My droid army would never traumatize a young child," Dooku says with a wink into the camera. Remember to buy your Mandalorian merch.

Mace and Dooku organize an underground resistance on Coruscant in the spirit of the Confederacy. Mace is okay with this. Choice aspects of this arc are compelling, like the fight against fascism under the yoke of cruel state suppression, but tone-deaf allusions to the work of Sophie Scholl cause controversy abroad. Andor did it better. Critics on YouTube who thus far lauded the return of fan favorites and 'faithful casting' tear into the show for pushing the woke agenda.

Nothing Mace and Dooku accomplish has any impact on the Original Trilogy. What were you expecting? The end of the show teases a second season with the arrival of a mysterious woman. Dooku's secret wife. You never knew of her because she was never relevant before. As the final credit music slowly creeps in, she says: "Don't you want to see your son?"

The music swells and we cut to Serenno. The planet has never been mentioned throughout all 15 episodes of the show. Standing in the ruins of Dooku's castle is Dooku's son: back turned to the viewer, gazing into the sunset. Dooku II of Serenno, proud heir, turns his head. He is played by Harry Styles.

Roll credits.

#count dooku #i #I'm actually so sorry I don't know what overcame me #i wrote this in a trance #shitpost

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