#but hey at least we got Ahsoka showing up for no reason to give Luke a super fanservicey line about Anakin

[orthopoogle]

I couldn’t be less excited for the future of Star Wars, lol. The Mandalorian was originally marketed as a completely original show with new characters and stories, but it’s all turned into one giant Dave Filoni circlejerk that pushes his boring Clone Wars/Rebels OC’s front and center in the Star Wars universe at the expense of already established characters, and yet fans who accused the sequel trilogy of doing exactly this are for some reason eating all the Mando crap up.

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "The Antilles Extraction"

WEDGE WEDGE WEDGE WEDGE!

Hey, they had the budget to give at least one of these Rebel commanders a face!

This opening scene with the unfortunate redshirts serves two major purposes:

Establishes that the Rebellion needs pilots, and not just pilots but good pilots. (Recall the hilarity that in Legends canon they tested Wedge repeatedly for Force Sensitivity because they refused to believe he was just that good, lol.)

And it sets a baseline of the cruelty we can expect from the Empire. They wipe out this whole flotilla, even though the transport surrendered and is unarmed. Call Forward to Saw's Modus Operandi perhaps? At the very least hinting at the kind of blind dogmatic fanaticism the Empire encourages in its ranks.

Important to note: When the tips of a TIE are painted like that... that's an ace. That is someone you do not want to mess with in aerial combat.

Once again, the A-wings get a really raw deal in this show.

Hngh, Ezra's hopeful expression when Sato mentions "Fulcrum", he was so ready to believe that Ahsoka had somehow survived. *cries*

I think everyone in fandom and their dog guessed that the new Fulcrum was Kallus, lol. Once again, really should have gotten to see some of that arc onscreen. Didn't have to be much, just a scene or two here and there showing him researching into the Geonosian massacre or something and then attempting to get in touch with the Rebellion.

Ezra's objections to Sabine going in undercover play a little bit back into his overactive Hero Complex, that the holocron took advantage of to tempt him. Even though he's sworn off the Dark Side at this point, the underlying causes for why he was flirting with it in the first place--to prevent anything else bad from happening to the people he cares about--are still in effect. So having to wait in the wings and surrender control of an uncertain situation that could prove dangerous to his family is still going to be a source of distress for him.

Unfortunately, as Hera points out, Ezra's face has acquired lots more notoriety (at least in Imperial school circles), so Sabine's the one who's gotta do it this time. And she does not sound too eager about it lol.

This show is so good at lovely environments.

Sabine is the tiniest one there lol.

Kanan putting a supportive hand on Ezra's shoulder 'cause he knows Ezra's worrying. <333

"I'm just not a fan of these solo missions." "Unless it's you." That is kind of how his Hero Complex works, he doesn't want anyone else putting themselves in harm's way, would rather take on the dangers himself so that nothing bad happens to anyone else.

("Tari did the fandom have uncharitable interpretations of this moment too?" Ohhhhh yes you betcha. Fandom, please let the boys care about and worry for their women without turning it into some kind of chauvinism PLEASE.)

Oh wow, that was a snippet of Luke's theme transposed to minor key, that was a brilliant musical move.

HI WEDGE!

Officer Prissypants immediately shutting down any attempt for the cadets to maintain their individual personhood, insisting on callsigns only. See fandom, this what actual cult-like indoctrination looks like.

(Probably one of the reasons Wedge was bristling under their control, he's got too big a force of personality to keep under wraps.)

So another reason why I think the hints of Force Sensitive!Sabine in the Ahsoka trailers have to be a big red herring or else a giant-ass dumb retcon? Recall if you will the Empire has methods of testing for Force Sensitivity, if anything about Sabine's skills as a pilot here had pinged them as a little too good they would have flagged her and called for an Inquisitor to come investigate. (Even given that we lost three at Malachor.)

Or you know... just shot her.

Oh look, basically the same in-field situation they just showed us in the opening! Designed as a test of pilot loyalty: Unquestioningly follow these orders to blow up this ship or you're a filthy traitor to the Emperor.

We can see now a glimpse of how the Empire suppresses all individual thinking, personality, creativity, and humanity in its members, turns them into mindless drones to be pointed as weapons towards the Empire's enemy. Also that the Empire nominally has standards that purport to offer a sense of fair play and moral rule, but that it will immediately ignore its own rules when it suits them, again, in order to go after and obliterate its enemies.

Rebels said watch out for anyone who tells you not to ask questions or express doubts or concerns and who operates on Rules For Thee.

Love that they put the Ghost in the simulation lol.

You gotta know Sabine is chafing under this reprimand from Vult Skerris (the ace in our opener), this is her cadet days all over again, being told to sit down and shut up like a good girl and not worry her pretty little head off.

Wedge already admiring Sabine for her guts and dropping narrative hints that he's one of the defectors. We knew this already, of course, because it's Wedge, but still.

HI HI PRYCE! HI KALLUS. :D

Kallus must be so frustrated that ISB sent him personally to root out the sympathizers they learned about lol.

(Unless he volunteered for it himself, to try and cover their escape and help them if he could?)

Lol the stink eye he gives Pryce.

Sabine lucks out and stumbles across the very self-same sympathizers conversing in the hallway and of course no one is surprised to see Wedge.

Really can't praise the environment and lighting work on this show enough.

Sabine carefully feels Wedge out and confirms he's a defector and reveals herself.

Welcome to the Rebellion, hope you're good at Indy Ploys lolol.

Ezra's agitated pacing as he worries about Sabine. <3

And Kanan speaking directly to the insecurities and anxieties and fears that drove Ezra to consult the Sith holocron.

(Once again the parallels to Anakin "I need to be powerful enough to stop people from dying" Skywalker are great. The heart of Jedi philosophy is realizing you are not in control, and letting go of your fear of loss. Per Lucas, it doesn't mean you don't fight to preserve life if you can, but that if it is their time, you accept it. You don't go down into Hades to get them back, you don't break the laws of the universe to spare yourself that pain. You love them, and let them pass away. You let go.)

Ezra's immediate, "Of course I trust her." awwwwww.

Ahhh Kallus went along to be all, "We have investigated ourselves thoroughly and have found we have done nothing wrong." re. the defectors.

Hi Hobbie! Hi redshirt that absolutely bites it because we don't know him from the OT!

Still loving how Sabine is tinier than everyone there.

"These Rebels you say are waiting for us, do you trust them?" "With my life." UNQUESTIONING FAITH IN EZRA TO SWOOP IN AND SAVE HER AWWWW.

Yeah yeah Kanan is there too but Ezra's the one in the command seat LET ME HAVE THIS IT'S CUTE.

"Come on Ezra... where are you?" See, Sabine specifies him too.

The Rebel Alliance fanfare as the CR90 jumps in, yay!

"Sabine? Hope we're not too late." "Right on time." Sue me, I love cute banter.

And I hear the "Shenanigans" cue in heroic horns there.

Pryce reveals herself to be Actually Pretty Clever, having rigged the TIEs with kill switches beforehand.

HA HA HA HA NOT THE LAST TIME SABINE WOULD PLEAD WITH EZRA TO ESCAPE A PERILOUS SITUATION. *weeps in finale feelings*

And he still hates leaving people behind. But Kanan's right, they have to apply some Jedi non-attachment in this case or risk being unable to help her later. On account of, you know, being dead themselves.

:(

Pryce waltzes in being fabulously nasty and effortlessly reveals Sabine. Kinda wonder if the Imps just had this interrogation table on hand or if Pryce brought it with her.

Ooof Sabine's comment to Kallus here about "they found someone to do your job" had to hurt.

Have I mentioned I love Pryce yet? I love her, she's so casually patronizing and cruel and I adore that she's also a pretty effective brawler.

Love this little fight, it's not pretty or civilized at all, all grappling and dirty tricks.

Wedge is not quite skilled enough in the Indy Plot to pull off escapes like Ezra and Sabine yet lololol.

"Tell Garazeb Orrelios we're even." <333333 I love him.

Shades of Poe Dameron in Wedge's "I can fly anything." boast.

We sacrificed speed for durability, a smart decision when up against an ace like Skerris, actually. The bomber takes three direct hits without shattering like a normal TIE would. And Wedge handles it with much more maneuverability that it'd normally be flown.

Ho ho man this hero shot of the CR90 emerging from the clouds. :)

More adorable Sabezra banter. <333

Lol Hobbie not giving Sabine his real name (Derek Klivian btw) so she has to awkwardly give his nickname to Sato.

And congrats, we have successfully completed another Friendship Fetch Quest!

I remember being kind of bored with this episode the first time around (Sabine was kind of the least interesting member of the main cast for me, up until Season Three) but I think I appreciate it a lot more now. The look into the workings of the Imperial propaganda and indoctrination machine is illuminating, Wedge is pretty cute and it's nice to see him before he was a noted Rebel hero, and Ezra's concern over Sabine makes my shipper heart warm.

Amazingly, however, we managed to completely avoid getting any kind of backstory for Sabine out of an episode where she literally goes back to an Imperial Academy. So I guess if I had to nitpick this episode it might have been kind of nice to see her have to struggle a little bit more with being there, besides the one regretful look in the beginning and the bristling at her reprimand in the middle.

But aside from that, this episode was actually a pretty nice one.

[moinsbienquekaworu]

the yellow saber rey pulls at the end... it's not just some ha! new color! saber right? it's a lightsaber??? or something??? (i read a fanfic where there were a darksaber and a lightsaber and thennn i just watched rogue one and they mention documents about a darksaber briefly so that's a real shit?)

Oh yeah no Rey gets a cool lightsaber that is yellow, but it's just a normal lightsaber. The darksaber is uuuh something else you'll see in TCW, Rebels or The Mandalorian, but it's not in the movies. As its name indicates, it's black, and it looks extremely cool on screen. It's a lightsaber but also not really? You'll know when you see it, it has its own lore (you can go look at the Wookieepedia page for it if you want but it can be a little dry). But yeah it is really just "hey look we made it canon sabers can be yellow too!", on top of "look she gets Her Own! she's a Real Jedi now!"

Lightsaber lore for you: the kyber crystal inside a lightsaber is what gives a lightsaber its colour, during the prequels era the younglings would go to Illum as was tradition and walk around in the cave until the one kiinnda sentient, Force-sensitive crystal that would be the best fit for them caught their eye and they'd leave with it (like the wand that chooses its wizard, yes). This process is shown in one of the TCW arcs I recommended you actually! The kids are really cute in it <3 Incidentally, kyber is really powerful, which is why you might have seen the name Illum somewhere else: it's the planet that Hux chose to become Starkiller, the kyber core (that had been used by the Jedi as a source for their sabers for it is implied to be centuries) was used to power up the thing.

Kyber crystals usually are blue/green for the good guys (there's lore related to that but it's pretty niche), then Ahsoka had a greenish-yellow saber for a while, for some people (Samuel L Jackson) it can be purple, and with Rey we have canon confirmation (canon, canon, vite dit given how little people liked the sequels) that they can also be yellow, which we'd only seen in legends stuffe before.

They can also be red if a person falls to the dark side, because kyber crystals are attuned to the Force and so they do not vibe with people who use the dark side. When a Force user falls, their crystal eventually stops working for them, at which point they usually force the crystal to submit to their will and kind of mentally break their spirit? which is a processus called bleeding, and it's evil and bad because the crystals are implied to be at least kind of aware of some stuff, which means they are kind o torturing them, but they're darksiders so it's appropriate.

And Filoni made it (maybe not him but it's Ahsoka related so I'm pinning it on him) he made it so you can heal a red crystal, which Ahsoka does later on and which results in a white crystal. In the Fallen Order games you can customise your blade and they can also be orange, indigo, cyan and magenta, plus some other material has used orange as the colour of training, low power lightsabers. That's less important though.

The out of universe reasons they're those colours are they were just supposed to be blue and red to show good guys/bad guys, but then Luke got a green one so it would be obvious he had a new saber and the colour wouldn't clash with the sky of Tatooine, then Samuel L Jackson wanted a purple one because it's his fave colour (me too bestie), and the rest was probably because people thought it would be neat if there were other colours.

This is a piece of concept art (??) for the High Republic project, which basically is a multimedia project that showcases the Republic in its golden age, before the prequels era, and I love this art specifically because it shows a pretty good diversity in saber & character design while still keeping it clear they're all force-sensitives (/Jedi?). There's also a neat few pages in a comics on why they use lightsabers and not anything else, though they also have variations on the traditional lightsaber that you can see on the Wookieepedia page for lightsabers.

(the darksaber looks like the black saber to the right, with a white halo and a black inside instead of a while inside and a coloured halo, which is super cool visually. This isn't the darksaber though I don't think, the handle isn't right. And maybe the person wielding it is a darksider given the golden eyes?? Whatever. Cool art)

[ooops-i-arted]

Child development/Dad-thoughts for Season 2 Episode 8???

Poor little guy.  He has to be so terrified and traumatized by the time we see him again - ripped away from his father by scary bad droids, threatened by Gideon and his scary black sword, weakened from using his powers and blood loss, and we don’t even know if he was awake for any medical procedures that surely would have involved his autonomy, personhood, and fears being completely ignored let alone scary ouchy needles/medical tools.  It’s hard to gauge how he’s doing since we don’t have the entire picture of what he experienced, although we can assume it had to be terrifying.  But when we see him again, he’s patiently sitting by Gideon, apparently having complete faith that Dad will come save him and defeat the bad guy.

I do feel this episode hugely dropped the ball by not showing us Grogu being reunited with Din once Gideon is defeated and Din unshackles him.  It’s such an important missing piece - last we saw Grogu was so terrified he was giving in the Dark Side and harming stormtroopers, then he’s sitting (I infer) paralyzed with fear/scared enough to be quiet and still because of Gideon, and next we see he’s tucked in Din’s arms again.  How was he feeling to be reunited with his dad?  Did Din comfort and reassure him (it would be ooc for Din not to at this point imo)?  Did he feel better knowing that Dad came for him after all?  Sure, we can infer all that, but it’s a big emotional beat that should’ve been present because it impacts The Big Grogu Moment we get later:  Grogu choosing to go with Luke.

I’m not gonna lie, I was really surprised the show went this direction since it seemed like they were setting up Din choosing to keep Grogu as his own and I have my reservations about the story going this way tbh.  But I think Luke taking Grogu (for now) does work.

Season 2 Grogu is a much happier, well-adjusted, and more mature child than Season 1 Grogu.  Season 1 Grogu was quiet, subdued; he had moments of comfort or testing limits but overall generally made himself less noticeable and was hesitant to indicate his needs or wants to anyone, even Din.  Season 2 Grogu is a much more average child; he knows he can indicate what he needs to Din and it will be provided for, even something as the simple emotional comfort of uppies; he chatters more often and isn’t afraid to be more curious, more defiant, and just express himself.  In Season 1 Grogu didn’t even ask for food - probably thinking he’d be ignored - he just caught that frog by himself; Season 2 Grogu has a loving dad who tells him “I see you’re hungry, we’ll get you some food.”  Season 1 Grogu generally just follows Din around, not wanting him out of his sight but rarely requesting interaction until the end of the season but waiting for it to be offered instead; Season 2 Grogu is always running to Din the second he needs anything.  Does trauma magically go away?  No, Grogu is still affected.  But he’s clearly healing and growing under Din’s care, and having a stable adult in the child’s life is one of the biggest things that can reduce a child being affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Grogu seems to know who Luke is, or at least recognize him as a Jedi.  My guess is he did connect with Luke during the Scotty Beam Me Up scene.  So it’s not like a stranger showed up to take him away, this is someone he has “met” and “talked to”.  And since Grogu has the Force, he can sense for sure that this is a nice person and someone who truly can teach him, which eliminates some of the guesswork you usually get when a kid meets their new teacher/a stranger.  So while it looks to Din like some random guy just showed up for his kid, there was more stuff going on below the surface that Din (and the audience) didn’t really see because It’s The Force.  So it isn’t like Grogu is being sent off with the first strange Jedi who rolls up (like on Corvus).

Grogu certainly doesn’t act afraid of Luke or anything other than friendly.  The only issue is separating from his beloved dad.  Grogu will not go unless the person he loves and trusts most in the entire world says it’s okay for him to do so.  He goes up to the screen and almost seems like he wants Din to look and show him “This is an okay guy.  Look he kills things just like you, Dad.” before pointing and trying to get the adults to open the door.  And I definitely got the impression Grogu is calling or otherwise trying to commune with Luke through the Force, telling him “Hey we’re on the bridge, come save us and meet my Dad.”  So Grogu is open and willing to start interacting with Luke - as long as it’s okay with Din.  (And Din in turn trusts Grogu enough to open the doors when Grogu says it’s cool, this guy is okay.)

The #1 thing that makes Luke taking Grogu work for me is that everyone’s consent is involved.  Grogu may be a small child who still needs an adult guardian and guidance in his life but that doesn’t mean he should be carted around without taking his feelings into consideration.  This isn’t like a few episodes ago, where Din tried to hand Grogu over without really seeing if Grogu or Ahsoka were okay with it.  Luke addresses Grogu directly and treats him like a person, accepting that Grogu needs to be involved in this decision; Luke also addresses Din’s worries and even speaks up on Grogu’s behalf (”He wants your permission”).  Grogu is clearly open to the idea of going with Luke - if he didn’t want to, Luke would certainly say so - but also wants to make sure Din is okay with it.  And while Din balks at first, once he realizes that Luke can offer Grogu the training he can’t, he gives Grogu permission to go and even gives him a special good-bye so that Grogu knows how much he means to Din.  And the face-touch seemed to me, at least, to be Grogu saying, Don’t worry Dad, it’s okay to try and reassure him.  And Din tells him in turn “Don’t be afraid.”  The separation is hard, but Din and Grogu both realize that Grogu needs to be trained to use his powers safely.  They’re willing to do what’s right, even when it’s hard, which takes a lot of emotional maturity.  Grogu has certainly grown indeed.

Realistically this probably should’ve taken a lot more time - Din going with Luke to help transition Grogu - but 1. this is a tv show and 2. this is still better than small children usually get in media anyway, since people tend to lump anyone under age 5 as “cute and/or annoying prop for the adult characters.”  Also, we the audience know Luke (the real one, not the OOC Rian Jackoff version).  We know Luke is compassionate and kind and will take good care of Grogu.  If Grogu is troubled by leaving his beloved dad, Luke will do his best to guide Grogu through it, and I personally think that if Grogu ultimately decided this wasn’t for him and wanted Dad?  Luke would pack him up in the X-wing and fly him right to Din.  So ymmv but Luke training Grogu works for me and I think Grogu is in good hands.

I don’t wanna super go into The Discourse but since I know it’s gonna come up in the fandom and since I am a big Jedi fan, I’ll briefly address the whole No Attachments/Jedi Attitudes thing:

No Attachments refers to No Possessiveness, not You Can’t Love Anyone.  The Jedi don’t discourage compassion and love and even family ties, just the whole I’d Commit Genocide For My Loved One (looking at you, Anakin).  This post specifically refutes the comments Filoni made in the Making the Mandalorian show and goes into it way better than I could, if you’re interested.  I’ll just pull out this George Lucas quote: “But [Anakin] has become attached to his mother and he will become attached to Padme and these things are, for a Jedi, who needs to have a clear mind and not be influenced by threats to their attachments, a dangerous situation.”  So Grogu loving and caring about Din isn’t an issue - it’s only an issue when he’s willing to harm and endanger others over it (like choking Cara) or when he becomes so afraid he lashes out without thinking (the stormtrooper free-for-all).

Which is why it’s so important Grogu be trained by someone who knows and understands the power he has.  Even if Grogu still decides not to be a Jedi, he needs to know how to control himself and his power so he doesn’t hurt anyone.

Jedi are allowed contact with family and embrace their original cultures as shown throughout Star Wars media.  There’s no reason to think Luke will snatch Grogu and never let him and Din see each other again even if Luke did follow the prequel Jedi completely (which he didn’t in Legends anyway, which honestly makes more sense to me since so much Jedi knowledge was lost/destroyed by the Empire).

People have always been allowed to leave the Jedi Order.  If Grogu or Din decide “Nope, can’t do this, I want him back” Luke would 100% support them making a decision that works for both of them.

We follow Anakin and Revan because they’re interesting characters and because conflict makes good stories.  The Jedi Order didn’t work for them but most Jedi seem pretty well-adjusted so... I don’t tend to think Anakin is really the baseline we should be going by, y’know?  Grogu has past trauma but he’s been with people who care for him and listen to him.  And not to knock Din at all, but Luke being able to communicate with Grogu is a huge advantage and will actually probably be really good for Grogu.  So I think Grogu is in good hands and won’t be Ruined Forever by training as a Jedi.

And of course Din says they’ll meet again.  He promised.  (And Din & Grogu are Disney’s chief moneymaking duo these days, you want to make your audience worry about your dream team, not break them up permanently.)  So I think Grogu will be reunited with his beloved dad.  And while the parting was certainly heartbreaking, for now he’s in good hands who will help him continue to grow and thrive.

[twilightofthe]

@nerdgatehobbit Hey! Thanks for the question! Ik you asked this to my main but imma respond on my SW blog if that’s okay?

So whew that’s a big question. Do I honestly think that Dave kept Obi Wan and Padmé and then Anakin and Satine from interacting in the TCW show because they didn’t want shipping wars?

(Remember, these are all just my personal opinions. I do me and you do you!)

Short version? Yes and no. Long version? Under the cut because I can never shut up.

Firstly, I don’t wanna say this was all Dave’s decision. He was one of the top guys in charge of TCW, yes, but he was far from the only one, there was an entire creative team working on the project, and during the time of TCW’s original six seasons Lucasfilms was not owned by Disney yet and George Lucas himself had a very large amount of creative control over the entire show. So I don’t really think it’s fair at all to point fingers at any choices the show made and go “yep that’s completely 100% Dave’s fault alone”.

I also don’t quite think they were concerned about shipping wars in the way ATLA had them. Avatar’s shipping wars were so absolutely toxically rancid that they legit drove me right out of that fandom. I’m still hesitant to come back during the current renaissance because of them. Star Wars, prior to the Sequel Trilogy, never had shipping wars close to that calibre of pure nastiness. The fandom was a godawful cesspool that fought to the death on most aspects of the franchise, this has always been true, but shipping, if I’ve read right, was somehow never really one of those hot button issues within fandom. I don’t think Lucasfilms kept the Clone Wars four apart because they were afraid of fans fighting over ships.

That being said, Lucasfilms HAS always been Very Strict on how they want their characters to be seen, romantic-wise, way back to when they would terrorize Original Trilogy slash shippers back in the 80’s and 90’s with threats of legal action. It’s part of why they were Very Firm in their insistence that they had absolutely nothing to do with all the Luke/Mara Jade EU stuff. You either abided by LF’s canonical romances or not at all in their world. So yes, in the case of Obi Wan and Padmé, I absolutely think the writing team’s decision to keep the pair of them apart was almost entirely so fans didn’t ship them together.

Why do I think this? Because there is no other rational reason why Obi Wan and Padmé haven’t had a single second of screentime in TCW that hasn’t had either Anakin or Satine also in the room as a buffer. Not when Revenge of the Sith EXPLICITLY portrays their relationship as relatively close friends who care about each other. So nope, I genuinely think the show just doesn’t want the fans to consider any other relationship for Padmé besides Anakin.

But why would they do this just to her and Obes? Obi Wan and Padmé both have other friends of different genders, why don’t they worry about us shipping THEM? Well for Obi Wan’s case, it can be excused that he flirts with everyone, so we’re conditioned to think that it’s never anything serious, and none of the other characters are married to the main character of the series. This is entirely because of Padmé’s position. Yes, she has other male friends, but either they’re nonhuman and not conventionally attractive so the series doesn’t see them as a threat, they’re Clovis, who they actively show Anakin going into a jealous fit over, or they’re Bail, who can be excused by the fact that he’s already married and also because he’s never actively shown as in competition with Anakin for anything, so he’s not threatening either.

Obi Wan, on the other hand, is a major threat to Anidala in the show’s eyes. They already constantly make a point to compare him and Anakin in almost every opportunity. Which is strange, the show’s decision to force them into the role of narrative foils to each other when in the movies that isn’t the case at all— Obi Wan is much more of a foil to Sidious and Anakin’s foil is Luke —but yeah, the show very often has Obes and Ani going through similar situations with competing viewpoints— ESPECIALLY their canon romances, and I won’t rant about how the show’s attempted Anidala and Obitine parallels fall apart under scrutiny right now but if yinz want the rant sometime let me know.

Obi Wan also has the canonical ability to charm the pants off of literally everyone he meets. Nearly everyone in canon is in love with him, 80% of the fandom at least is in love with him, and I KNOW most of the crew was in love with him too. Anakin, on the other hand, has a very abrasive personality and is much easier to dislike. The show was ALREADY terrified of the fans not liking or wanting to root for Anakin to the point that they reworked his entire personality to make him more palatable to his critics from the movies. Plus, Obidala fans already existed! Since the first and second PT movies, a big group of people already shipped these two because they already thought Obi Wan was a preferable match to Padmé than Anakin. The studio did not want to encourage this.

So yes, I think it was a combination of the show’s tendency to already try and get the fans to compare Obi Wan to Anakin for everything else plus their insecurity in Anakin’s image and likeability as it was, that they did Not want the handsome charming not-future-evil guy around the leading lady and threatening her canon romance by existing as a possibly better option. So Obi Wan and Padmé got no stories together, just kinda throwing the opening ROTS left them in the garbage ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The worst part is, there is so many potential places in TCW where Obi Wan and Padmé could talk to each other, like during her investigation into her friend’s murder, during the Clovis arc, bits during the Malevolence arc, the earlier Naboo crisis arcs, even the one time where she’s just hosting a damn party and wants to invite her friends gahhhhhhhh

Anakin and Satine, I also think yes, but this is also a case of half and half because Satine isn’t nearly as major a character as the other three are, and out of the nine episodes she appears in, she only has more than a singular line in seven of them, and out of those seven, only two of them aren’t revolves entirely around building her relationship with Obi Wan. So really, there is a defence for the writers here in noting that there’s not as much room to explore Satine’s character as it is, let alone trying to shoehorn in a scene with Anakin.

Except no, I’m not gonna give them that defence because in the two episodes where she only has a speaking line or less— Obi Wan’s funeral and the Ahsoka and Lux meet Death Watch ep —I can already easily think of ways she and Anakin could have really meaningful interactions in them both. Y’all have already heard my bit on how they could have a real important conversation at the funeral, but y’all HAVEN’T seen my idea for a rewrite of the Carlac ep where it’s a two-parter, Anakin comes with Ahsoka and Padmé to the negotiations on Mandalore, and it ends up with a subplot of Anidala chasing after Ahsoka and Lux with Satine as the put-upon third wheel and we get foreshadowing to Satine being Bo Katan’s sister, so when the reveal happens the next season it actually means something.

So yeah, it was partially because of timing constraints, but it was also DEFINITELY in part because they didn’t want Satine being shipped with Anakin— which ppffffft, if they were brave enough to actually try writing these two in a conversation in-character, they’d understand how much of a not-worry this would be xD —because the show is set on the fact that despite maybe there being other flings at some point, Obi Wan and Satine are each other’s one true tragic love (Or, at least Obi Wan is Satine’s. He’s always had more freedom and decision than she has in this narrative, and that’s always kinda bugged me). So, that means Satine can’t interact with any men unless they’re gonna betray her trust and try to kill her by the end of the episode, because the show needs Obi Wan to have a loyal, steady, good girlfriend because he is a good man.

(And yes, before anyone says it, I have heard the more unpleasant rumors behind why exactly Obi Wan was given a girlfriend in the show, but as I’ve yet to see any official proof of them besides fandom salt, I’m not gonna spread them because those are hefty accusations to throw around).

So yeah, Satine can’t talk to Anakin partially because time constraints, but also because she isn’t allowed to talk to any other nice men besides Obi Wan and her son (no I don’t particularly like the Korkie Kenobi thing, but it is blatantly obvious that that is what the show was implying and I’m not gonna pretend otherwise), and Obi Wan and Padmé can’t talk to each other entirely because the show saw Obidala as a threat to Anidala.

Again, just my opinions and things I noticed, y’all are more than free to disagree and discuss with me.

[coe-lilium]

TroS reaction (1st view)

Necessary premise in bullet points:

- I liked TFA when it came out and still do but as I dug into the franchise/canon (Disney only by choice) my enjoyment of it became more lukewarm. Came out of it dreading a potential Reylo but liking the two charas on their own. 

- went into TLJ worried I’d hate it, came out with it being my favorite saga movie and sold on the Rey-Ren connection, whatever road it would’ve taken. Loved the “Rey’s powerful on her own/bc the Force wants to set Kylo’s wrongs right”. It felt good after two years of being bombarded with “this fucking Mary Sue can have any power only if she’s connected to powerful men of the saga, she has otherwise no right in being powerful” in forums spaces.    

- went into TroS non-spoiled, wary of Palpatine return but relatively hopeful if soured about the “JJ our lord and saviour pleease save us from evil evil Jonhson” (HA!). The rumors about lore from the tv series being featured into the movie had me excited.  

That said, here goes: [SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE MOVIE, ENDING INCLUDED, RIGHT OFF THE BAT]

I didn’t like it. I really hope to warm up to it more in future views, there’s absolutely stuff I liked or even loved, but as it stands now it was overall a massive disappointment on many sides and -worst of all- threatens to retroactively ruin my enjoyment in other previous stories. 

First, the positives: 

- Parentage notwithstanding, Rey was good. Her rage, her fears, her good heart, her commitment to the fight and the training, her longing for guidance… truly, if the bloodline revelation hadn’t retroactively ruined my investment in the character and themes I’d have fully, 100% loved her even if every single other part of the movie had been the same. 

Except for a brief war flashback to Starkiller game abilities (I lolled) I wasn’t even troubled by all the new abilities or their scope. Movies’ been inventing new powers since the beginning and the Force does what the Force wants. Again, fuck the genetics “twist”, garbage stuff. 

- Kylo, next to… 95% that involved him? TLJ did a great job selling him to me and surprisingly this movie added to that instead of retconning it away. More competent but still stupid and petty from time to time. I’m glad he came back, glad he choose right and glad he was allowed more time on the right side than Anakin. I love redemptions and he was portrayed as wavering the entire trilogy, I don’t even really care that it could’ve done better. I’m happy for him and his family, that’s all. The kiss got a laugh out me but not a malicious one, I was kind of running out of reasonable reactions by then. 

I’m just conflicted on how I feel about his death. Back when TFA was released I wanted him to survive to face what Anakin didn’t: justice (the kid-friendly setting prevented a death sentence anyway), atonement and growth from there, I still wish it happened and maintain that a different pacing would’ve allowed it. On the other hand, I’m also kinda okay with him dying. He righted at least a bit of his many wrongs, he saved a person he cared for, that his parents cared for and that could help the galaxy much more than he ever could and he was at peace. It was a good death.      

- Kylo’s vision/illusion of Han. A surprise but a very pleasant, well acted one. Would’ve I maybe liked Anakin more, as Ben idolized him so much and for all the wrong reasons and because I love that disaster? Yes. Does Han work much better in the economy of the movie and trilogy story and do he and Ben have a much rawer relationship and history? Absolutely. I am a teeny tiny bit baffled as  for why Luke didn’t also show up, but the actual scene was good enough I forgive it.  

- Rey and Kylo bond and connection was one of the saving graces of this mess and I utterly loved it. Both actors worked their asses for for all their scenes and it payed off, oh if it payed off. Their DSII duel was perhaps a tad long but great nonetheless (Republic era Jedi jumps!), the hurt and the sense of absolute loss and grief they both conveyed -and shared!- after Leia’s passing was incredible, Rey regretting the near kill and softly going “I would have stayed, had you renounced the dark side”. She cared, yes, but not to the point of ignoring the horrors (something Anakin never quite understood). The “dyad” stuff was a bit overkill, just call it a force bond, we can see it’s freaking powerful, but the Force Skype and sharing of objects that came with the package, that I loved. Surprise lightsaber, Ren fuckers! :D Bet Anakin and Obi Wan were really jealous, that would’ve come in handy during the war.       

- Finn was now fully invested in the cause, at ease, visibly happy to be with his friends, ready to bond and reach out, quick to plan, to act and to adapt to the situation, brave but cautious and calculating. I wish it was given a bit more focus, but I loved he found other young FO defectors. Also fuck yeah, he’s force sensitive and his ability is used, not just thrown in as a useless wink. Jedi Finn in future material, c’mon!

- Poe’s also grown. He was probably going to have more screen time with Leia had Carrie not died but there was nothing to be done for that. I’m not as happy as for previous 3 charas for the backstory retcon I’ll tackle in the negatives.

- Jannah was cool, the addiction of other FO defectors a welcomed one and the scene were she and Finn excitedly went over their “I broke free” moment was adorable. Good bean, I’d read more about her and her company. 

- A bit lot annoyed at Bloodline being kinda tossed outta the window but getting Leia with lightsaber was nice. Give me some ancillary material to deal with the clash and I’ll fully forgive it. 

- Jedi! MY GIRL AHSOKA MY MAN KANAN! I mean, I sure wish they were in a better movie, but hey, recognition for something more than the OT? No slandering of the Order but all of them collectively kicking Sidious ass once and for all? I’ll gladly take it. Anakin, my dude, I’m sorry your sacrifice was next to nullified but it was good to hear you again ;_;  I didn’t hear Ezra’s voice anywhere so I can still hope he’s alive, well and with the Ascendancy teaching all their Navigators. “I am all the Jedi” remains a terrible line. 

And now, oh boi. Here comes the long list of annoying - bad - stinking shit stuff: 

- If I wanted to watch a 2 and half long videogame cutscenes I’d have done that in the comfort of my home without spending money for tickets. Go to level x to retrieve related macguffin, move to next level to get next macguffin and so on and so on. I liked close to everything in the DS II sequences, but what would’ve that dagger pointed at if the wreckage had fallen even a little bit differently?   

In general, many plot points gave me the feeling they were stolen from the tv series and badly executed, like a mockery (or incompetence?). Case in point: Hux betraying the 1st Order out of personal, spiteful hate? Potentially good! The execution? A poor man’s Rebels Agent Kallus, already over in little more than 5minutes. 

- Palpatine himself is a poorly, ridiculously poorly executed Maul resurrection storyline from tcw and rebels. 

Because Maul was 1. explained and 2. got a good, long arc that made you forgive the undoubtably contrived ass-pull it took to bring him back while Sidious is just… there. You gotta accept it because the writer said so. 

How did he survive? We don’t know and fuck you if you expect an explanation (they really had the absolute galls to have him say the iconic/meme line from Rots and apparently it was supposed to be enough?!) How could he “have all Sith reside inside me” when canon’s clear that Sith do-not-get-to-retain-their-individuality-in-the-Force, do not work well together (lmao) and he as an individual never gave a shit about the Sith except when they could serve his own personal desires? His entire approach to the rule of two and other Sith stuff is “fuck that noise, everything in the galaxy exist to serve me”. He’s fine dying as long as “the Sith rule”? Who IS this character, because he’s not Darth Sidious (as presented in Disney’s own canon, mind). Oh, you wanted explanations? FUCK YOU, screams the movie. 

The mess gets somehow salvaged in the end as he comes to his senses and siphon the life out of Rey and Ben to de-rotten/revive himself to rule in person, now *that* was in character. Was he actually lying his ass off the entire time waiting for the moment he could siphon them? Hopefully but who the hell even knows.

In the end it just wasn’t worth bring him back. A holocron, a different Sith, even a hive-mind of old records/tainted wraiths of Sith (perhaps wearing Palps face to buy the old empire aficionados loyalty, idk) would’ve been better than “actually, Anakin suffered nearly his entire life and sacrificed himself for barely more than 25 years of peace and it still wasn’t enough to rid the galaxy of the monster who destroyed his and countless other lives”. But Johnson was the one shitting on beloved characters legacy and accomplishments, uh? Surely at least he’s got company. 

Ian was clearly having a blast, so there was… that? And the initial sequence being legit creepy and the Sith storm or whatever the fuck was that. That can stay, it was cool.     

- Poe, the latino character, got retconned from former Republic pilot (a backstory established before TFA came out and faithfully respected ever since) into a smuggler and gang member. Classy. What does Lucaslfilm have a story group for if not for stopping stuff like this from happening? Bonus Zorii being used for a “no homo! homo? no homo?” wink wink and for generally being a poor man Solo’s Qi’ra.   

- The movie makes you worry for a character death three (3) times in a row only to immediately backpedal on it. The survivors are grieving, the scene is sober… and then suddenly! they’re alive! isn’t it wonderful? let’s insert a comical scene now that we’re at it! Sigh.   

- The whole Threepio stuff was a contrived waste of time in a movie already full of more relevant plot treads that could’ve put that screen time to better use. 

- Rey’s parents apparently aren’t assholes anymore bc they sold her into slavery to protect her from Sidious, which is… supposed to make it alright, a sacrifice in the name of love? If they had been shown trying to give her to a trusted person and then she was kidnapped that wouldn’t had been their fault, just unfortunate, but the movie shows them leaving their 5yo daughter with her in-all-but-name slaver so?? 

- Rey Palpatine… Rey. Palpatine. Gesù Cristo benedetto che minchia mi è toccato di vedere. That hurt. That was so hilariously over the top bad I just…I started laughing. On top of the entire thing, thank you so, soo much for validating all those fucking assholes who demanded Rey be connected to a powerful man in the saga to accept her powers and value, you hack. Jedi were never about power of blood and then you went and reinforced the very opposite. She ain’t powerful bc the Force recognized her as worthy to stop evil and chose to aid her anymore, she’s powerful bc grandfather was. Lovely stuff. Hilariously, now she has a lot more legit “Mary Sue” traits than before. 

- Rose’s sidelining was a blatant bow to her and her actress haters whims. If in VIII she jumped at the chance of action, now she was fearful and “had to stay behind” studying maps. Fuck that noise. 

- Even if she rejected it, underline is that the Skywalker line is wiped out and the Palpatine one thrives. I… just… wtf wtf wtf. A final “Just Rey” would’ve been more powerful -because now it would’ve been reclaimed- and less corny and in poor taste than a Palpatine taking on the Skywalker name. I’m not sure if Sidious is more offended or if he’s laughing his ass off in space!hell. Probably the 2nd. Bad.      

- The final scene on Tatooine. It rang so empty because the planet brings warm memories only to the audience, not the characters. In-universe, that place brought nothing but misery to the Skywalkers: Anakin and Shmi were brought there as slaves and lived as such for years, Shmi was tortured to death and Anakin began his descent into the dark for crying out loud. Luke had to hide and saw his relatives murdered. Leia had no connection whatsoever to the place. The mera idea of burying Anakin Skywalker lightsaber into the sands of Tatooine and considering it a way of paying respect is… I don’t know, hilariously in bad taste? Rey, dear, what did you have personally against the guy? Put those sabers to rest on Naboo! Ah, but we can’t truly acknowledge the PT now, can we? Wack.   

- It’s not TroS complete fault, that “honor” mostly sit at TFA’s feet but for all its omages, copies and almost slavish references, from a in-universe point of view it’s like the OT barely occurred. 

The same evil man has been defeated (until next time?), the Republic must be rebuilt from scratch, a evil military is all over the place and must be dealt with, the Jedi Order has to be rebuilt… it’s depressing. A new evil taking advantage of the empire leftovers would’ve been one thing, but Sidious? He’s been effectively winning nonstop ever since he was elected Chancellor. He had all the power, all the influence, all the control and he maintained it all even as a rotten corpse in exile, the entire galaxy marching on his tune, controlled by his strings. And as the cherry on top of the cake he even managed to wipe out the family that could’ve, should have been his undoing! He effectively destroyed the Skywalkers. He outlived every Jedi, every survivor, every clone. I hate this. It’s sickening. I can’t even be happy Rex was on Endor anymore.      

In general, the best word I can find for this movie is: coward. 

So blatantly desperate to please, to be “forgiven”, to reference every single irrelevant thing -except the PT and the TV series in a intelligent way-, to throw fanservice after fanservice after fanservice no matter how nonsensical from all over that crossed the “corny” to wander into embarrassing territory many times over (Maz giving Chewie a medal outta nowhere? Come the fuck on now). 

The cartoon series had twenty time the guts of this movie and I vehemently wish for Filoni to take the helm of the entire creative team in a very near future.