#this is the reason they deleted that arc from ROTS

[snipsnipsnippy]

I have another secret children theory.

So we are introduced to these lovely force sensitive twins, right? Super cute twink and a darling ball of rage. And Luke and Leia look fairly cohesive as brother and sister.

But you go into the prequels and take a look at their parents. And listen, I love Hayden. He’s gorgeous. He’s got the gorgeous blue eyes to give to his son and these super beautiful luscious natural curls (don’t tell me it was a wig, I will cry real tears). And the funny thing to me is.. I guess they got jealous? And had to give curls to Padmé?? Despite the fact that she has no idea how to care for them… which is neither here nor there. But for the sake of this theory, both Padmé and Anakin have curly hair, right? Like both fairly defined curls. We see Padmé with full ringlets and Anakin with more wavy curls, but both defined curls.

But what about the twins? Luke? Straight hair. Leia? Also straight hair.

And the thing about curls (mind your business, science tumblr) is they’re a dominant trait. And not like brown eyes are dominant where there’s two allele types, B or b, and both Bb and BB make brown. It’s kind of a spectrum where like nothing makes straight hair and c and cc make curly and curlier hair, right?Like, it’s possible but very unlikely that two curly haired parents make straight haired children, not just once but especially TWICE. They would need a straight haired parent to make this mathematically possible.

And who do we know like that?

All I’m saying is that Anakin wasn’t exactly wrong to think that Obi-Wan was sleeping with his wife. Because it’s entirely possible if not more likely that Obi-Wan Kenobi fathered the twins.

[hanasnx]

can you share some of thosr anakin-related-content-you-consumed on ur anakin fixation era cz im fixating on anakin aswell rn and i want to study him!! please, idk where to start 🙇🏻‍♀️

supercut of star wars I - III reddit link with instructions to receive them via google docs

i've seen both tpm and aotc supercuts but i have yet to finish the rots supercut because of it being so long. there are also deleted scenes on youtube that were not included in the supercuts linked here:

star wars episodes I and II extended edition - unused deleted scenes youtube video

revenge of the sith 4 hour supercut - unused deleted scenes youtube video

if you cannot get a hold of the supercuts for some reason, no sweat. the same channel listed in the above links has a bunch of videos on their channel of all "restored deleted scenes" that you can watch individually. of course, that is without the "siege of mandalore" that's included in the rots supercut. but that's just the bits you would see from season 7 of the clone wars spliced in, so you wouldn't be missing anything.

star wars: episode I - the phantom menace

if you cannot get a hold of the supercuts for whatever reason, start here. one of my favorite star wars movies. features young anakin, about nine years old, and how comes to live with the jedi, how he meets padme, and where he comes from.

star wars: episode II - attack of the clones

we follow older anakin, about nineteen years old, where he reunites with padme and they fall in love. the cracks of the dark side's influences are beginning to show.

star wars: clone wars

this is the mini-series released in 2003-2005 to depict anakin's journey throughout the beginning of the clone wars to prepare audiences for star wars: revenge of the sith coming out in 2005. it has since been de-canonized and replaced with the clone series that comes out in 2008. it is still worth the watch. anakin's voice actor is supremely talented and sounds a lot like hayden christensen. albeit he is dramatic, as it is a kid's show, i still very much enjoy his characterization. it's actually pretty funny too, it did get me to laugh a couple times. chapter 24-25 i believe is where anakin undergoes a sort of spiritual awakening, and the ending always makes me cry.

star wars: the clone wars movie

it was honestly boring to me, but i still watched it for much needed context on the show.

star wars: the clone wars

as i’ve said before, i don’t really care for tcw!anakin, but this was still a fun and enjoyable watch. it wasn’t completely worthless to me, i did learn some more things about anakin that applied to hayden’s rendition.

unreleased star wars: the clone wars arc - crystal crisis on utapau (full) youtube video

i didn’t finish it but from what i’ve seen so far it’s pretty funny.

anakin & obi-wan | let my people go youtube video edit

one of my favorite edits to one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite movies. i think about it a lot, especially during the “this was my home.” lyric. hammering in the betrayal of brothers that grew up alongside one another, and if you resonate with that song and movie it provides another layer of context. it’s deliciously painful. when anakin’s side of “you who i called brother,” cuts through and interrupts the melody, impatient to speak about his perspective using ramses’ narrative to do it, it’s acutely accurate to anakin’s character in my eyes.

clone wars: battle of the heroes - a star wars fan animation youtube video

i haven’t seen this yet but i’ve been waiting to enjoy it to its fullest. the creator worked very hard on it for a long time, so it’s worth the link.

star wars episode III: revenge of the sith novel by matthew stover

i have not read this, but i’ve seen hundreds of excerpts over the course of this hyperfixation on tumblr. it’s widely accepted even though it’s decanonized, and offers insight into anakin’s head that you can’t access with just watching the movie. i thoroughly enjoy and reblog the excerpts i come across, but since i’m not a reader i haven’t picked it up to complete it myself.

star wars: episode III - revenge of the sith

the third installment in the prequel series, and where shit goes down. twenty-three year old anakin grapples with his desires overcoming his sense of obligations, warping his own ideals to fit into selfish purposes. you see how he betrays the republic, his wife, his brother, and himself, all for power.

star wars episode III revenge of the sith (xbox) no commentary walkthrough full game [1080p60fps] youtube video

i haven’t gotten to watch this yet but i’d like to soon, i’ve seen bits and pieces and i believe there are alternate endings that prove interesting. if you like gameplay movies i think you should give it a shot, but if not, go ahead and skip this one.

star wars: episode III - revenge of the sith - making the game youtube video

it’s short and sweet. about hayden’s view of the character anakin and how he acts in combat.

star wars: tales of the jedi

s1e5 where we receive insight as to how anakin trains his padawan.

vader: complete canon comic series 1-25 in chronological order youtube video

i loved this so much. so many good moments that i ate the fuck up. we follow vader in his first year of becoming the sith lord, grappling with identity, past, and recognition. we also get insight into the very sensitive time of jedi eradication, i learned a lot. my favorite parts are when vader has to fight without a saber against clones, make his own red saber by retrieving one from a surviving jedi, and the arc that includes jocasta nu.

star wars the force unleashed- full game walkthrough gameplay no commentary youtube video

star wars the force unleashed 2 - full game walkthrough gameplay no commentary youtube video

both of these i've been meaning to watch, but i haven't been in the mood. i figured i'd link them in case you were interested in more gameplay movies.

star wars rebels

i didn't finish this, but i did watch a lot of the vader content and the scarce anakin content. i'll watch anything that mentions him tbh.

star wars jedi: fallen order - full game - no commentary youtube video

i played this game and loved it. the ending is the money shot tbh.

star wars: obi-wan kenobi

this was probably the first sw show i watched after i got back into darth vader in august 2022. reawakened a lot for me, i really enjoyed vader's part in this story. reva is also one of my favorites, and i thought her being a mirror image to anakin in this situation was clever, i thought her backstory was unique and refreshing. but what really shines for me is vader's contribution as both an extension of the emperor and a vessel for his own selfish desires. there are parts where i can see he's more machine than man. there are also some anakin parts as well! which i didn't enjoy as much, funnily enough.

rogue one: a star wars story

i haven't seen this one in years, but i do remember darth vader's appearances being both funny and badass.

star wars: episode IV - a new hope

star wars: episode V - the empire strikes back

it took me a long time to come around on this one. now it's one of my favorites. especially because we start to get the first glimpses within the original trilogy of vader's humanity, and his ability to demonstrate faint loyalty to his blood.

star wars: episode VI - return of the jedi

fave sw movie tbh since childhood. you can't get better than the ending. vader's sacrifice is everything to me.

lego star wars: the skywalker saga

i had played this game back in may 2022 when i visited my sister. she and i used to play lego games together when we were kids, and one of my first video games ever was lego star wars: the video game from 2005 which she introduced me to. it holds a special place in my heart, and i really liked playing skywalker saga even though at this point i hadn't cared about star wars in years. when i got back home i couldn't stop thinking about the saga game so i bought it myself, and then played it so obsessively i didn't do anything else. it got me back in the mood for darth vader so i watched obi-wan kenobi, and one thing leads to another now here i am with a smut blog about anakin skywalker's entire life and his every iteration. i loved the game, i think you should play it even though it's just lego versions of everything, it's still really fun.

star wars: ahsoka

you see him in this and the cinematography is breathtaking at times, but i didn't care for it. i only cared about the glimpses of anakin/vader's appearances even if they didn't contribute anything to the story for me.

anakin skywalker vs palpatine full fight scene (hd) - star wars episode IX [alternative ending] youtube video

this is a fan edit! i think about it a lot even though i haven't seen the sequels.

the life of anakin skywalker: darth vader (star wars) youtube video

i haven't finished this, but from what i've seen it's taught me things even i didn't know. i really appreciated the facts that aren't even on wookiepedia.

any books on it i've only seen the excerpts here on tumblr, i haven't read any because i'm not a big reader but i've seen some great posts that i reblog. so don't sleep on the books/comics

great ask

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of a commonplace book

10:30 pm, sunday, nov 14, 2021

what's up gamers, it's been approx. two thousand years (actually a month) but i am alive, i am consuming media, and i am going to tell you about it under the cut. this is a long one!

reading please believe me when i say i had written out an extremely good and thoughtful take on mxtx's novel tiān guān cì fú (heaven official's blessing), specifically for you, @viciousmerlin, and that because i am somehow still very bad at this, i managed to delete the whole thing. very frustrating! anyway, loved it, took forever to finish it, the last quarter or so draaaagged which i do blame in part on the fact that it was being released serially at that part (and also that the slow burn had...slow burnt up to such a pitch by the cave of 1000 gods that any flashback or sideplot at that point was torturous); i know there was a whole secondary arc with some new characters and shit introduced but i have absolutely no memory of it apart from ruoye's incredibly sad backstory; still, we stan a plot that manages to introduce a rigid and completely impenetrable heavenly hierarchy and then deconstructs it, and there is at least one unwritten essay in me about face covering in this (masks! bandages! facial expressions that are or are not sincere! kisses?) and also probably ascent / descent/ leaping /falling/ flying/ leaps of faith and or love? we love to invert a rigid value system, xie lian actually is as worldly-wise and damaged as you think and it only made him kind but then, also, i did contract serious hua cheng brain rot after the whole 'teach him to roll dice properly' thing and it has yet to let up. the way xl just! starts trusting him with literally no reason and is never proven wrong! is very good to me, personally!

in my earlier draft of this post i listed a bunch of the things i was reading around the margins of trying to finish tgcf, and i will recreate it at a later date, but consider: i am tired.

watching finally gave the anya taylor joy emma a fair trial, having more or less forgiven it for not being the romola garai + johnny lee miller mini series. i will give atj this, she does a better job than i feared from all the promo material (wherein she only had a single facial expression-- in the film she has several!), but the best part of this film was a) the soundtrack b) bill fucking nighy c) miranda? the older i get, the more i feel for miss bates. i fucking loved elton and mrs. elton, they were absurd, i loved it. i knew i liked johnny flynn as a folk singer already, and thought he actually did a passable job as knightley, but they did him a disservice with the hair/sideburns combo, it covered most of his face and left his pouty lips as a weird focal point, which was distracting. there's an unwritten essay in me about the decision to associate certain scenes/classes with italianate / classical music, and others with trad music / raucous folk harmonies, without then having any real time spent around the classes who are implicated in those harmonies, but consider: i am tired.

also started watching succession and this Sure is a Show, but four episodes into s1 and i can usually pull the correct name for the correct roy- male and just want to watch sarah snook work. tom and greg are Way Too Much already but they are, individually and together, the kind of traffic accident you can't look away from. actually, i could apply that to roman too. the recny ball just happened, to give everyone context.

listening i've had the newest album by autoheart on infinite loop almost since it dropped a few weeks ago-- initially it wasn't doing a lot for me, not being punch (2013), but as i have listened more to the album as a whole, stuff has clicked. there are more bleeps and bloops, synths and bass lines, it almost hits an abba-esque place every once in a while, which of course means it slaps, and the lyricism and unexpected melodiousness (?) is all still there. the single i know that he loves me captures this pretty well:

(the religious trauma/gay devotion is certainly a big part of the video but also, if the 'he' in the lyrics is a certain ghost king who is there and gone but unquestioningly devoted, this becomes a hualian anthem and on this hill i will plant my flag) and that led me to consider the album more carefully. other stand-out tracks right now are:

into the woods (slow and easy tempo, shimmering sort of up-beat texture, the lyrics are Good but also Very Real, there's a repetition of 'i feel fine, i feel fine' which is a useful mantra lately)

perestroika (instrumental! incredible! cinematic! makes me feel like i'm standing on top of a mountain in a sunrise!)

time machine (the chorus is a good-sad that i don't necessarily relate to but don't not relate to, I forgive, you forget me, that's just how it has to be)

already gone (melodic! melancholy! i love the focus on little things about someone, the way the music itself builds. either a wangxian anthem or a hualian anthem depending on the hour, ugh the devotion is very much)

playing nothing really-- dnd resumes tomorrow!

making i need to...mend things and also put the garden/yard to bed for the winter and neither of those things is happening. i got halfway into the prep for a cooking project yesterday and just...put it on hold...when will my hands-on-project ability return from war...

working on spent much of the last month stressing about, and the majority of the last week actually drafting, the diss proposal which will ideally govern what i spend the next 2-5 years (please god more on the 2 side) of my life working on. so that's...a thing... i have also got a shitload of grading to still finalize, i did a first pass of my thoughts and then got so demoralized i had to fart around reading ridiculous fanfic for like 36-48 hours to recover. my eyeballs feel a bit scalded now but what can you do, just write in the comments section of an essay 'this is poorly written and it made me sad to read'?

[lilylilie001]

“Old Friends Not Forgotten” Review and Analysis

Spoilers for Star Wars: The Clone Wars S07E09

If you are interested in my reactions while watching the episode click here

If you want to read my rant about the thing that made my cry the most in this episode click here (disclaimer: I was still crying while writing this and that may have clouded my opinion about the scene. In this review I will go into more detail about that)

So then let’s get started! I have calmed down and feel now emotionally ready to actually interpret and analyse the scenes and not just bring across my emotions. But this still is only my personal opinion! So if you disagree that is fine, just please don’t be mean about it.

So the first scene we get is a parallel to the movie (aka the first arc of TCW) which I think is a pretty amazing idea. It shows how Anakin and Obi-Wans relationship has changed and how it has stayed the same. Anakin is as cocky and arrogant as ever. But this time he is not Obi-Wans student anymore. He leads his own men with his own plan and is just coming from his own solo-mission. Yes he wasn’t Obi-Wans Padawan in the movie and Rex was under his command back the too but their dynamic was still different. He still sees Obi-Wan as his former Teacher and as a Jedi Master and part of the counsel he is technically still above Anakin, but they act more on an eye-to-eye dynamic. More like brothers than father and son.

Anakin uses a smiliar trick as Obi-Wan did back in the movie. (I don’t know how the Republic and the Separatists handle that but it is considered a war crime in our world... Since Obi-Wan did it and never got called out for it I guess it is okay in their world...) But of course Anakin puts his own spin on it. That is I think a pretty good way to show how Anakin learned from his master. He did watch and listen but he is not like Obi-Wan. He likes to do things his way. And as long as it works he won’t stop.

Their friendly banter in this scene is also really in tune with the way they act with each other in the beginning of ROTS (especially in the deleted scenes). So it is not hard to believe that this takes place only days before. 

Before Anakin does his own thing Obi-Wan says: “I know better than to try and stop you.” I really liked this line. Not only because it was funny but also because for me it had a bit of an bitter aftertaste. He does not approve of Anakin’s actions (or methods to be exact) but he doesn’t do anything about them. Anakin is an adult and Obi-Wan is done with his education but his former padawan is far away from being a Jedi Master.

Then we have the first moment with Rex. Again a beautiful example of their dynamic. The other clones do what Anakin say (they have to) but they also are a bit annoyed by their general and his plan. Rex on the other had has Anakin’s back, as usual. And he motivates his men to follow Anakin. The trust these two have in each other is just beautiful! Rex trust that Anakin knows what he is doing and Anakin trust that Rex is taking care that everything works. I am pretty sure Rex wasn’t given more than a few instructions haha 

Anakins plan works and he learns nothing except that he was right. Again. I am not gonna go into to much detail about Obi-Wan and Cody but I will say this. As usual they care about and trust each other. Cody is like a friend and not just some clone to Obi-Wan and knowing that makes Cody picking up Obi-Wans lightsaber in a few weeks so logical. Also it makes Order 66 as usual even sadder.

I can’t help but feel that is episode feels like part of a movie. The opening battle. Very Star Wars. That would also explain the new intro and outro. A very nice ending to the show. Staring with a bad movie, finishing with good one. All in all this episode really played on nostalgia about the TCW Movie and I love it!  

Okay back to the episode.

Ahsoka used the name Fulcrum for her transmission. It is a nice callback to Rebels and to the Ahsoka Novel. But with the republic (for example Yularen who becomes a impirial officer) knowing that she uses that name it feels like a bit risky to me to use it in the rebelion as a code name... Maybe I am thinking to much about that but yeah I had to write that thought down. Also Anakin first thinks it is Saw Gerrera, so that means he came up with that name? This just confused me... 

So now I going to try to fangirl not to much about Anakins reaction to Ahsoka, which is hard. But I am going to talk about it because it is very important for his character. I personally don’t remember the last time I saw Anakin this happy. Ahsoka coming back into his life is for him obviously a thing he had wanted and hoped for for a long time. But at the same time he is so surprised that it happened.

The next feeling he goes through is concern. He is just immediately concerned about her and the reason she is contacting him. Perfect Anakin moment. He loves his adoptive daughter and of course he is scared about her wellbeing. He is Anakin! He always scared about the women in his life. So having this poking out under his happiness was a good call.

Obi-Wan on the other hand is just surprised. And Ahsoka herself is very distant. (gonna go into detail about that in a second)

The talk Obi-Wan and Anakin have while walking to Ahsoka’s ship is also very interesting. You can see Anakin trying to find a reason for her leaving. Like it is the will of the force. Meanwhile Obi-Wan has a mixture of quilt and anger. He was partly responsible for Ahsoka being kicked out of the order and therefor also for her not returning. But it also feels like he is mad at her for not retuning. Maybe (that thought had just crossed my mind) he is angry at her for breaking Anakin’s heart. After all Obi-Wan had to piece him together again. (There is an unfinished scene form the original 7th season were they talk about Ahsoka.) And now he feels like she should not be let off the hook just like that. 

Or he really just angry that she left the order that he believes in.

Again we have a nice callback to the movie. I really love those. They feel fitting.

R2D2 is just amazing as usual and greets his masters daughter like a good boy. 

Ahsokas face goes through so much in a matter of seconds. She looks at R2: happy. She looks up at her former masters: scared and unsure. She takes a step: confident. That is genius! I especially love that little moment of fear in her eyes. It makes so much sense when you look at her in the rest of the episode! And I personally think that it is Obi-Wan that she is cold towards. I think she has not forgiven him at all for his part in her trial. And she is not at all ready to face him. But she puts on a brave face because she has a mission bigger than her. 

At first when she stopped Anakin I was a bit upset but i get it now. She does not want to have this in front of Obi-Wan and Bo-Katan. Anakin staying behind for a second and putting himself together again is also really fitting I think. He was so excited to see her and she is cold towards him. He either does not see that it is not about him or he feels the tension between her and Obi-Wan.

Anakin again becomes worried dad when she mentions Oba Diah. And it feels like she would want to tell Anakin but she has Bo-Katan next to her and Obi-Wan in front of her so she doesn’t. She also seems surprised that he still cares so much about her. I think she expected him to be a upset with her and not as open and happy as he is. (Maybe that was why she looked scared in the scene before...) 

“What is one more?” This sentence is big. I mean yes Bo-Katan is not a friend of the Jedi and not a friend of Obi-Wan. But it also kinda shows the overall frustration with the Republic and the Jedi in the galaxy. 

Anakin lighting the mood with a joke...that is just pre-Vader Ani at his finest!

Bo-Katan is not wrong in this scene but after everything she had done to sabotage Satine she should really get down form her high horse here! 

You can just feel the tension leaving the room when Anakin and Ahsoka are alone. They start to banter and she immediately smiles. These two have still so much love for each other and truly enjoy each others company. But after that there is this small moment of silence. Again perfect moment. It just shows that regardless of that there is baggage here.

While walking down that corridor Anakin acts like a worried dad again. “It doesn’t matter to them. It is a sign of respect. They know what you went trough for them day after day. Battle after battle.” I choose to believe that he is also talking about him self when saying that. It is his way of telling her that he is proud of her. I don’t think she picks it up but the way he talks about it...that is his opinion of her for sure!

The Helmets...I just love them. I am not going to talk about them much. Their meaning is obvious and this is getting really long. I will also skip Rex for now (don’t worry he will get his paragraphs) same with the lightsabers.

Ahsokas face...she just feels proven right about the Jedi...

So I am not sure if Anakin’s worry is about Padme or the Chancelor. I mean they talk about the chancelor and he is close to him. But he looks really worried so maybe Padme? 

Ahsokas and Obi-Wan argument. The scene is amazing! I have to say that. It showed their morals pretty perfectly and both are kinda right. Again the tension between them makes sense. It still hurts to watch it.

But also Anakin standing between them awkwardly is kinda fitting with his arc. He is so happy this whole episode that it is hard to see ROTS Ani but I think it still ads up. He knows they are both right. The war has to be won but also Mandalore needs help.

“Unfortunately Ahsoka is no longer a part of the grand army of the republic.” That one sentence made so mad at Obi-Wan. Yeah, he is technically just saying a fact but his attitude. He is partly responsible for that he takes no blame! Even Ahsokas reaction is just like: Are you kidding me right now? She just looks at him for a second and she looks so disappointed and hurt. 

And Obi-Wan, he continues to look at her after she looked away and I don’t know but I see a bit of regret in eyes.

So apparently Anakin can promote Rex just like that. Don’t know why he never did it before. I mean we all know Rex would deserve it. But better later than never, right?

Interestingly enough the tension between Ahsoka and Obi-Wan is gone so quickly. It is fare away from their friendship in previous seasons but still. There is respect there again.

Of course Obi-Wan has to make a Kenobi joke before leaving. That really made me forgive him, at least a bit.

“Thanks for the support, as always.” I have not nothing to add to this sentence. Ahsoka’s words nailed the point I want to make about Anakin in this scene.

Okay now on to the lightsabers. Two things. First, he must have had them with him on the whole siege! So that means that Anakin Skywalker kept her lightsabers with him at all time to either remind him of her or just in case she came back to him! Yeah, attachment is problem with this boy...

Secondly...they are blue. All of Ahsokas lightsabers are green up to this point. So he either got her knew crystals or he played with them so much that the took on his lightsaber color. I don’t know what to say about that. 

Ahsoka rolling her eyes at his braging is just wholesome. Nothing more to add there.

I really love their dynamic when they are alone. It is so pure and happy and loving...

“Good thing I taught you otherwise.” So again a sentence with so much meaning. Filoni just loves throwing these in there, right? Let’s analyse it (bc that is the purpose of the post after all). With this sentence he basically tells her that it is okay to disagree with Obi-Wan and that he is not holding it against her in any way. He himself does it. Especially with the scene from before in mind that is so powerful. 

We have heard a multiple of Jedis saying that luck doesn’t exist so Anakin saying that shows he does not care about what the order thinks is right. He has his own right and wrong. For now that is not problematic but we all know who that ends...

And that means he tells her he raised a good person and not necessarily a good Jedi in her. (it is really late, my english is no longer working properly) Hopefully I got my point across.

The way Ahsokas stands in this shot... She is not a little girl anymore. She is a fighter. A warrior. 

“Anakin! Good luck.” 

I really have to take all my strength to stay calm while writing this. I don’t want this to be too emotional. 

So. Okay. *takes a deep breath* Ahsokas last words she ever says to Anakin Skywalker. The next time she talks to him he is Vader. Good words. Less than I personally wanted but good words. 

After what he told her before it is just so poetic. She wants the best for him. She wants him to be lucky. To succeed. But after what he said it is more. So much more. It is a rejection of the Jedi and an embrace of the light force. And... Damn with everything that is going to happen in ROTS having Ahsoka telling him words that the Jedi reject is just... 

Moving on before I lose my mind. We still have Rex to cover. 

Anakin and Ahsoka think they will see each other again. They think that they will win and be together again and then they can figure out what to do about everything. About them. About the Jedi. About Obi-Wan.They have no idea what the future has in store for them. And it is perfect. I aligns perfectly with other star wars media. ROTS, Rebels, Ahsoka Novel. They don’t hug. They don’t say goodbye. I hate it but it is perfect.

I love that Rex got promoted but he is gonna be Captain Rex for me forever. Captain or Sir. But he really does deserve his promotion!

Because this is really long already I will not talk about Bo-Katan and the Mandalorians but focus on Ahsoka and the Clones. 

We get an amazing banter between Rex and Ahsoka were Ahsoka proves that she is Anakins Padawan after all and that she has Skywalker energy. It is really amazing to see her in her element again. She can use the force whenever she wants and kicks ass! This really was her childhood.

And then she saves a Clones because that is what Ahsoka Tano does. She knows casualties are a part of war but she saves who she can.

Rex is so happy to have her back! He smiles and smiles just like Anakin. And just like with Anakin Ahsoka is so relaxed with Rex. They are her home! 

I just love the cinematography of her fighting. It really is just watching a Star Wars movie. I can’t wait to watch the whole arc in one go!

“Beat you.” “Some things never change.” Wholesome. This is just wholesome.

Okay so that is it for me. I know there is still Maul and Bo-Katan to cover but I will talk about them after next episode!

But I will say this in conclusion: This is episode was stunning! Like everything was beautiful and meaningfull and thought out and detailed! I truly love this episode! I already watched it three times today. And I am so amazed by the animations! The characters facial expressions were on point! I had so much fun analysing them!

I hope that was interesting to read and honestly I am surprised if anyone got this far. Anyway I really loved watching the episode again frame by frame and note my thoughts (this took me 6h btw)

[padme-amitabha]

All I wanted is for Luke to see Force ghost Anakin again and then Luke and Leia to visit to Naboo so they know about Padme in the sequels. But nooo cuz Dis/ney wants to please the toxic masculine audience, so they ignore the prequels. I'm just so BITTER rn.

Yeah that was terrible. Reminds me of a clip I saw where Anakin’s force ghost was originally in TLJ instead of Yoda. Now while they did Hayden dirty by deleting his scene at the last moment, I’m personally glad they didn’t keep the scene for different reasons. Sorry because this turned out to be a rant. 

Apparently Anakin’s ghost was supposed to take Yoda’s place in TLJ but Rian felt Luke’s connection was with Vader not Anakin so Yoda saying would be more impactful since he was Luke’s teacher. For once I have to agree with him. Putting Yoda in this scene was much better than bringing back Anakin. Anakin telling Luke not to leave Jedi order would be such a hypocritical thing to say considering he himself planned to leave the order himself once. I don’t really think he would have been in any position to lecture Luke on failing people.

Seeing Anakin act like Yoda/Obi-Wan would make no sense to make. Anakin was not a perfect Jedi or a perfect Sith. The Jedi were right in one sense that Anakin was not worthy of being a master yet. He was still hot headed and dangerously unstable as he would later prove to be. He really wasn’t ready. He didn’t have the other masters’ wisdom. BUT when he died Jedi chose to accept him back despite his mistakes. Because after he lived his whole life he as an old man IS worthy of being a Jedi master that’s why when he stands with Yoda and old Ben he no longer feels out of place. He earned it after a life on both sides of the force and being mature enough to realize his mistakes, repent for it and learn to forgive himself too. I think that’s true wisdom - something Luke learned quickly but Anakin learned much later. I really believe that’s why he didn’t go to force hell like other Sith Lords. Which is also why I feel Anakin’s young force ghost reduces his character depth because it implies Vader was not Anakin and also I feel his arc was incomplete in ROTS because he still had so much flaws and so much more to realize.

Honestly I think if Luke met him later after Kyle or maybe Jacen let him down and he was frustrated and on exile and asked for Anakin’s guidance, Anakin would just smile at him and be supportive of Luke’s decisiom. I don’t think he would be a hypocrite and act like he’s Yoda all of a sudden or excuse his grandson for dark deeds. He would have been a true neutral. And stay out of it all. Because he knows both sides and neither saint. That’s what I believe anyway. He would have been the supporting father he himself never had and desperately wanted in his lifetime and be that because he couldn’t be for Luke in his lifetime. I think Anakin’s biggest role in Luke’s life as a ghost would be as the father figure and a confidant. Not an IDOL and not an enemy. Just his dad. Because Luke idiolized his father and realized he was no saint in ESB but again realized he’s just as human as anyone else in ROTJ.

Why would Anakin vouch for the Jedi after they technically ruined his early life? By that, I mean with it’s lifestyle and code. For whatever reasons his grandson turned he would relate in one sense as to WHY they might leave or hate Jedi. But also realize being in the dark is no true solution either as he himself saw and that it makes you more miserable. So he would have been the best neutral figure tbh.  Episode 6 is called Return of the Jedi and yeah Anakin a Jedi again in a sense he was not in force hell but I think still possible to stay neutral. 

He would have a good life if he stopped using force altogether and lived normal life and that would’ve suited him. Maybe it wouldn’t be satisfying because of his desire for glory and adventure and ambition but a happier life. Pretty sure as a ghost he would see that too. So Anakin supporting the Jedi makes no sense. Like why would he just forget they were okay with letting Padmé (and his mom) die? Anakin may be “good” again but he ain’t gonna stop loving them or kids right? So it makes no sense. Anakin would always choose love over the Jedi and Sith. The Jedi didn’t save him nor did the Sith - it was love that saved him. 

Still, I think if Luke ever needed assistance from the force ghosts he had Yoda and Obi-Wan. I honestly think Anakin would just smile at him and wish him well but stay out of it all as I feel he would have enough of using the Force for a lifetime. He had completed his destiny as the Chosen One - probably the reason why he was conceived by the Force in the first place. I’m sure Luke would have understood too. Just let him live ffs. 

In any case, I think using force ghosts to fight Palpatine is stupid. Where were Obi Wan and Yoda then when Luke and Vader were dueling in ROTJ? Why couldn’t they just stop by so they could help fight Palpatine?? I think force ghost abilities should be limited to giving advice to other force users. They shouldn’t HAVE powers. Their lives are done and as Qui-Gon said they can retain their consciousness after death. That’s it. They are dead and should be powerless but wise and experienced enough to guide a new generation as people.

The idea that Anakin would be “Team Jedi” all over again sounds terrible to me. Has he learned NOTHING from his own lifetime? The Jedi made him feel trapped and forced him to go insane. The Sith made him miserable and filled him with self hatred and misery. Why would he pick any side when both sides were cruel to him? 

[gffa]

It makes me angry that Padme become's a shell of herself in RotS she essentially is the woman in refrigerator trope being killed off for man pain I feel like Lucas was inconsistent with her portrayal and essentially changed around her character throughout the films to fit a certain narrative when it comes to Anakin not surprising considering she was so unimportant in the OT since she's never mentioned by name other than one scene which alludes to her but never goes into detail (continued)

about her other than Leia alluding to her otherwise she's a non entity she deserved better than this women seem to always be put into the weak passive role when it comes men essentially sacrificing any dignity they had for the sake of looking like some maternal martyr I mean she "lost the will to live" because of Anakin rather than staying alive for her kids. It's pathetic what she was reduced to especially knowing about that alternate scene on Mustafar. Again no respect for a female character. Ignore the messages I sent about Padme's character assassination (since you are more pro-Anakin and anything that further's his arc) I don't think we will be on the same page about her so it's probably best to delete them.

I debated just deleting them, but ultimately I decided to respond because this is a subject that has meaning to me and I’m not sure why you sent this to me, if you have read my posts on this previously.  Initially, I thought you sent it to me out of the blue, not having seen much of my previous posts, but your final message about furthering Anakin’s arc touches on something I said in my previous post: “I’ve never felt that anyone is obligated to like or appreciate the way the story was written for her, especially since I can’t hardly say for certain that this was the intention behind it, that it wasn’t just that she was written to further Anakin’s story, rather than because she herself had one at the end.” Possibly the wording is just a coincidence, I wouldn’t be totally surprised.  But I do take issue with the idea that I’m okay with Padme’s character “assassination” because I’m more pro-Anakin (as if I don’t routinely rake him over the coals for his bad decisions), rather than why I actually am okay with Padme’s story arc: As someone who has struggled with suicidal thoughts pretty much all my life, who has worked really hard to get to a better place and not hate myself for being “weak” enough to have them in the first place, Padme’s story resonates with me, that someone who is as amazing as Padme Amidala could be going through something similar to me, that someone who was as strong as she was struggled against the isolation and depression and giving up on life, that meant a lot to me, even if she ultimately lost her battle, that someone who was that worthwhile struggled with the same things I do?  I took a lot from that. I have never demanded that anyone else find the same meaning in it, I’ve specifically said I can’t say that she wasn’t written to further Anakin’s story, so I get why people find it unsatisfying for themselves.  But I think there’s still room to allow for other people to interpret it differently and find meaning in it and I would think that sympathy for people who struggle with suicidal thoughts and how they can happen to literally anyone for any reason, because that’s how fucked up brain chemistry works, and equating that with weakness is sending a message to the people around us that are struggling with it.  That there’s a way to criticize the character arc without equating her “losing the will to live” (which is very obviously going to hit a lot notes with people struggling with suicidal ideation) with being weak and pathetic or that Padme’s too good for that kind of thing.  As if only bad, worthless people struggle with suicidal impulses. Our disagreement comes from why I find meaning in Padme’s story for herself, not because I’m more pro-Anakin and anything that furthers his arc.  And it’s fine that we disagree, you’re allowed to be angry at a character arc going in a way you find unsatisfying.  But my finding meaning in Padme’s story is for my own reasons and I will always defend that I have the right to that resonance for myself. (As a side note, I have never seen anything official about that “alternate scene on Mustafar”--assuming you’re referring to the concept art of her with the knife--other than the concept art and concept art means almost nothing, because the way the movies worked is that they threw tons of ideas out to see what might spark interest, not because that was a serious contender for how things were going to go, as far as I’ve seen from LF or GL themselves.)

[innocent-until-proven-geeky]

for the character thing; cody, obi wan, and ur oc pova (is that how you spell it?)

YEAHYEAHYEAH (also that is how you spell it) I see we’re doing the whole family and I LOVE it.

I was in the middle of answering this and then I went to find my favorite episodes and Tumblr ate whatever I was working on sooooo I start over.

Cody

Why I like them: Sass. Fandom’s interpretation as Ultimate Big Brother (behind Alpha-17, of course). Mysterious scar. And he’s pretty.

Why I don’t: Honestly? The fact that the clones are slave soldiers, and the fact that fandom tends to give racially biased interpretations of the clones (I’m guilty of this too). Nothing to do with Cody himself, honestly, which isn’t to say he’s perfect or anything, I find him to be rough around the edges but who wouldn’t be in his shoes?

Favorite episode: s1e16 The Hidden Enemy. This one is probably on my top 5 list even without Cody. But guys. GUYS. “Hey there, Slick. Gun’s empty.” WHAT COULD BE MORE ICONIC?

Favorite film: Okay technically these questions were “episode/scene if a movie” and “season/movie” but because he’s in both I’m gonna have to go with a film for this one. Revenge of the Sith. Listen, I can’t watch ROTS without crying but damn if I don’t love Cody in it anyway. The lightsaber scene will ALWAYS get me. (Season 1 gets an honorable mention.)

Favorite line: Uh. Well. Okay so. “Hey there, Slick. Gun’s empty.” *holds up mag* LISTEN GUYS I LOVE THAT ONE. Although he also gets points for “I’m putting you in charge of this one.” I don’t know if season 1 just has a lot of iconic Cody lines, or if it’s because I’ve been watching that season in Spanish lately.

Favorite outfit: ... his armor? No actually though, I love his Phase II armor. Phase I is cool but Phase II has the cool ventilators. And how can I not make fun of his antenna?

OTP: Codywan. Ideally in a post-war fix-it or semi-fix-it where there isn’t a huge power imbalance, but I’ve been known to read Codywan stuff that takes place during the war, especially before I was as cognizant of the power imbalance as I am now.

BroTP: Cody and Rex. I’m sure y’all saw that one coming. I mean it’s CODY and REX, I’m pretty sure that’s everyone’s BroTP!

Headcanon: So this might be a good time to mention that I headcanon everyone everywhere as autistic. Everyone is autistic. Cody is autistic. Okay actually though, I headcanon that Cody has a great deal of anxiety. He handles it well, and he has a support system, but given his entire life, and the fact that he’s a Marshal Commander, and further more the headcanon we collectively have that Obi-Wan insists on promoting Cody to get out of paperwork because Cody deserves it, he’s probably anxious. And man, same.

Unpopular opinion: Do I have one? Tbh I don’t know how to determine whether an opinion about a character is unpopular. How do we define unpopular? Do we mean just like, not commonly known or shared? Because if so, I once again raise for your consideration: everyone is autistic, therefore Cody is autistic.

A wish: For Disney to retcon Order 66. Barring that, for the Bad Batch show to give him a happy ending involving the removal of his chip and the opportunity to live happily ever after with Obi-Wan on Tatooine. (Is the Bad Batch show going to be live-action like Kenobi? Because PLEASE give me Temuera Morrison playing Cody in both.)

An oh-gosh-please-don’t-ever-happen: Don’t laugh. Order 66. Listen I KNOW it’s canon but that doesn’t mean I have to like it!

5 words to best describe them: Salty. Snarky. Protective. Competent. Thoughtful.

My nickname for them: honestly, just Codes or Kote. Not much to get out of Cody, really.

Obi-Wan:

Why I like them: HE’S PRETTY. And sassy. There’s a pattern here.

Why I don’t: I don’t think there’s ever a time in canon that he acknowledges all the issues with the clones’ existence. He does in fanon, which I can appreciate, but canonically he’s like, “ah yes, we bought 3.2 million humans. We’ll just stick them in this war I guess.” Also frankly he’s a bit oblivious, bordering on daft, especially considering he’s the Negotiator, I mean he KEPT HIS LAST NAME when he went into hiding. I still love him though.

Favorite scene: That deleted “good girl, Boga” scene, which just hits different when you’ve read Master & Apprentice and know how much he loves varactyls. I don’t care that it’s deleted. It’s my favorite. (Plus you’ll probably like this better than my favorite episode, which is the Kadavo episode.)

Favorite film: Attack of the Clones. Listen listen listen, he has a lot of good moments in TCW, but hands down it’s AOTC.

Favorite line: Eheheheheheh. Eheheheheheheh. Eheheheheheheheheheheheheheheh. “Hello there!”

Favorite outfit: Was gonna make a comment about Jedi robes but then I remembered his stolen Mandalorian armor in The Lawless and *swoons* that’s one pretty outfit.

OTP: ... also Codywan. Again, ideally in an AU with less of a power imbalance, I mean it doesn’t matter how much he promotes Cody, canonically he’s still a Jedi and Cody is still a slave and I just don’t love that but I live for Codywan. Domestic Codywan? *chef’s kiss*

BroTP: probably Obi-Wan and Anakin. Maybe Obi and Padmé? Idk I have Thoughts about Anakin, he’s a problem child, but not much can top the agony in “You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!” (I like whump, okay?) Also just. Can you imagine the Negotiator just being buds with Senator Amidala? Helping each other with domestic disputes and speeches? Working on a Clone Rights Bill? Yeah. Can it be a broT3? What if we just don’t have Anakin and Padmé dating? It’s such an unhealthy relationship. That’s it, broT3 is Anakin, Padmé, and Obi-Wan.

Headcanon: ACE!OBI ACE!OBI ACE!OBI!!!!!! Also,,, autistic!Obi. I know I know, but actually genuinely @fromryloth-tocorellia has some pretty good autistic!Obi-Wan stuff, including Obi-Wan being semi-verbal, low-verbal, and non-verbal. Autistic characters is a hill I will die on, and Obi-Wan is a character I happen to enjoy projecting on (oops). Plus, if I headcanon Cody and Obi-Wan as autistic, then the entire Ibonek family is autistic, and I love that.

Unpopular opinion: The only reason Obi-Wan “left Anakin to die” was because there was nothing he could safely do to help. When I was taking first aid classes, one of the first things they told us was that, unless there is no danger to yourself, you do not help. You wait for actual first responders to show up. If Obi-Wan had tried to help Anakin, either Anakin would have killed him or Obi-Wan would also have been severely burned. And if he had stayed, he may have been caught by Palpatine. Is it sad that he left? Absolutely. Heartbreaking. I don’t think it was a GOOD decision. But he didn’t just leave him to die; there was no other safe option. There were no good decisions here. I have a lot of thoughts about this, I have half-written essays on Discord about it, feel free to ask further questions.

A wish: For Qui-Gon’s dying words to be retconned. I know I wrote that post about how his dying words were full of trust in Obi-Wan and I stand by that, but that doesn’t mean Obi-Wan realized that, or that they were a good choice.

An oh-gosh-please-don’t-ever-happen: For the Kenobi show to be sad. It’s not allowed. Obi-Wan can have one fight, and that’s it, he is happy as a clam on Tatooine because he DESERVES GOODNESS DAMNIT.

5 words to best describe them: Kind. Soft. Warm. Compassionate. Daft.

My nickname for them: Obi

Pova:

What I like about them: They’re my OC and I can do whatever I want with them!

What I don’t: They’re my OC and I’m in charge of them.

(Okay actually though:)

What I like about them: Nonverbal. Pink. Perpetually grumpy.

What I don’t: perpetually grumpy. Seriously how did that happen? Why did I do that? Why is the only time they AREN’T grumpy around Rex or when shopping with Obi-Wan?

Favorite scene: The adoption scene in “Observations on the Nature of Cody Ibonek”.

Favorite work: Probably “Observations”. It’s the first one that’s entirely from Pova’s point of view.

Favorite line: “He was making fun of my stimming. I was already having a bad day. I punched him. It’s whatever.” POVA NO. (Pova yes.)

Favorite outfit: Uh. Haven’t given it much thought yet? Haven’t done many character designs, although fromryloth-tocorellia did one for me and it’s my icon at @ver-writes-things if you want to check that out? Also my Halloween costume is gonna be a super basic cosplay of them and I’ll probably post that.

OTP: None. First of all, the oldest I’ve written them so far is 14. Second, I don’t have any other characters their age yet. Maybe the six kids from the Gathering episode survived? But even then I probably wouldn’t ship it. And I mean, not every character needs a romantic ship.

BroTP: Either Pova and Rex or Pova and Luke. Rex is like big brother/cool uncle, and Luke is like little brother. As of right now, though, definitely Rex, as I haven’t written much of anything with Luke.

Headcanon: I don’t have any because all my headcanons about this character are CANON! Man I love having OCs.

Unpopular opinion: to quote Paige Layle on TikTok: “Stop using the term low functioning autistics when you really mean that they’re just nonverbal. And nonverbal autistics still have a lot to say, they just have a hard time talking.” Basically, I’m certain that as this AU gains traction, Pova’s gonna start getting flak from readers for being nonverbal. It hasn’t happened yet, and maybe I’m just being pessimistic, but just in case someone needs the reminder: No. Stop now. Pova’s autistic. And nonverbal. And not a savant (man I fucking hate that trope). But they are a capable Jedi and, with Cody and Obi, developed a very functional sign language comprised of Jedi hand signals, trade sign language (like from episode 5 of the Mandalorian, that the Tuskens use?), and ARC signals. There will be NO functioning labels on this AU, and Pova has and will continue to have PLENTY to say. If you have a problem you know where the door is.

A wish: For everyone to love my kiddo as much as I do!

An oh-gosh-please-don’t-ever-happen: Listen Pova is gonna have a good and happy life. There is trauma and there is bullying and there is heartache but they are going to live a good life with two AMAZING dads. So there is no “don’t ever happen” because it won’t.

5 words to best describe them: Sneaky. Quiet. Excitable. Compassionate. Snarky.

My nickname for them: Kiddo or my kiddo.

[bibliophileiz]

A (not really) Ode to bucklemming

Last bucklemming episode, and you guys, it was just such a classic example of their stale mediocrity. And yet, at the end of this post, I found myself bizarrely happy with how the episode turned out.

This is the second time I’ve watched it, and while I was planning to just liveblog my thoughts, I realized quickly that would not work, because most of the episode is boring and miserable, (especially the first third or so) and that makes for boring and miserable note-taking. I think I said in a tag of a different post that Dabb assigning this one to bucklemming is just further proof that he hasn’t cared about plot at all this season, and honestly, I don’t know there’s much they COULD have done to make this plot entertaining. Chuck even says at one point that it ... isn’t entertaining.*

The first third or so is basically Sam, Dean, and Jack being miserable with nothing around them break that misery up (except, briefly, a dog). And that makes for a miserable viewing experience. Here are a handful of notes I took that give you the gist:

- Chuck standing there talking about how loneliness and no-people is “deep” and a “page-turner” is such a gratifying little critique of shitty writers who like their gritty stories about permanently miserable protagonists. Like dude, you know there’s a reason nobody rereads “The Road,” right? - Dean slurring his words because he’s hungover is the first time anything interesting has happened with the dialogue in this whole episode. - Rob Benedict is the only one who gets to inflect his dialogue this episode. I do think his acting in that last scene is great, where he’s screaming, “Guys, wait!” as they drive off. It’s not a terrible ending scene.

So there’s that. Now here are my notes not-related to how stale and boring everything is:

Beginning: -The shots of Kyoto and New York City remind me of all the shots in NYT and other major newspapers after COVID shut everything down last spring (except in this case all the traffic would still be in New York, just no people). - “I couldn’t save anybody.” Poor Sam. (must push down feelings about Sam’s leadership arc and how it always seems to end with people dying, ugh, repress, repress!) - Also, I wanted to see a shot of a sink running and one of them turning it off. Just a random thing.

Archangel stuff: - I guess it makes sense to lose Adam if you’re going to kill Michael at the end, but goddamn if Michael isn’t a way more boring character without him. - Ah, Lucifer, a.k.a bucklemming’s attempt at comic relief. I’m starting to miss the boring dialogue. - Ooh, awesome, the only female character in the episode shows up bound and gagged and immediately murdered so she can be used and then murdered again. (Also, the first time I watched this scene, I was sure she wouldn’t wake up and was gearing up to laugh at Lucifer for sucking.) - Jensen stays as far away from her as he can when he unties her, I’m sure that actress appreciates him trying not to give her COVID. Course then she immediately ruins it by head-butting him, which is NOT practicing social distancing. - Many have commented on whether Lucifer can actually kill Death by snapping his fingers. We don’t know, but the Scythe WAS right there, and if Dean can kill Death with it (twice), I’m sure Lucifer can. - On the other hand, it IS established lore that God doesn’t have power in the Empty. Presumably he could negotiate with it like Death, and possibly he just took advantage of the loud chaos of Jack exploding, Death dying, the Empty apparently being super pissed, etc. to sneak in and make off with Lucifer. - Also WHY DO ALL THE ARCHANGEL FIGHTS IN THIS SHOW SUCK ASS???? - “I haven’t been in a battle like that in several centuries,” Michael says, as if he just fought the Battle of the Blackwater in Game of Thrones, and not what appeared to be the archangel equivalent of Mario Kart.

And climax/last scene: - But the best moment of the episode is when they GET BACK UP BLOODY AND HOLDING ONTO EACH OTHER AND ABSOLUTELY BEAMING BECAUSE THEIR LITTLE BOY IS ABOUT TO BECOME GOD. - Also, I like the music in this scene. And it seems like it’s the same place they used to film the end of Season 12/beginning of Season 13, which was probably peak Dabb era, ngl. (Jensen as Michael was also great.) - I also like that Jack and Chuck are both wearing light jackets, but Jack’s is a leeeeeetle whiter. - Chuck looking at the blank book is that moment in every writer’s life, when they’re like, “NOOOOOO, the computer DELETED EVERYTHING I WROTE.” - “Dean Winchester, the ultimate killer” You guys, 10 is Chuck’s favorite season. - Of course it is sweet that Cas’s last words seem to have had an effect on Dean, how he goes from “That’s (killing) all I know how to do” to “That’s not who I am.” I’m far from the first person to point that out though. - What happened to Amara is THE WORST. - Also, I am annoyed that Jack isn’t going home with them, because I really wanted him to be God, and a hands-off one, but I also wanted him to drive the Impala and solve crimes, ya know?  - Jared at least seems to understand that this ending is upsetting, because Sam has tears in his eyes, whereas Dean is just kind of like, “ah, he’s leaving.” Which is fine because DEAN AND JACK ARE NOT AS CLOSE AS SAM AND JACK, fight me. - Him disappearing into light is stupid, though. - At least Dean and Sam get to sit close to each other at the end. I wonder if that was the first scene shot after they got out of quarantine. - WHERE ARE THEY DRIVING? - Maybe to go see Jody. - WE GOT BELA AND CROWLEY AND ANNA IN THE MONTAGE HELLZ YEAH, ALSO ABBADON AND ELLEN AND RUFUS, but we also got fucking Asmodeus and Ketch and no Benny, what the fuck, Showalter?

So I have questions.

Some of them are unimportant, like how did people in restaurants at the end react when they found themselves looking at food that seems to have undergone days’ worth of rot in the blink of an eye? Also, you got a shot of a full airport at the end, but that begs the question: were there airplanes in the sky at the time Chuck snapped everyone away, and did they crash, and did the people on them get snapped back into crashed airplanes and was that not super confusing for them and did the airlines lose billions of dollars because all their planes crashed right before COVID shut them down anyway and if all that’s the case is it really any wonder they needed a bailout from the federal government?

But some of them are plot-relevant and could have helped an episode in desperate need of it.

For example, I want to know what’s going on with the Empty, and if Mark Pellegrino had talked about it for more than two seconds, I might not have hated every second he was on screen. Also, there are other things happening this episode. Like Jack walking around sucking life and “power” out of plants catches Dean and Sam’s attention immediately. We know that, because we see them noticing it and exchanging confused glances in the flashback at the end of the episode.

Here’s the thing though: Why not have that in the beginning? It’s not a Huge Reveal, and it would have given Jensen and Jared something to do in that stale boring beginning other than Make Sad Face. As pretty as Jensen and Jared are, and as good as they are at making sad faces, you cannot build an entire episode around that. 

Related, there isn’t actually much of a beat in the plot where it makes sense for them to figure out Michael will betray them for God. It seems like it will happen in that conversation between Dean and Michael when Michael expresses his hurt that Chuck let Lucifer out of the Empty before even asking for help. But at that point, it seems Sam and Dean have already come up with their plan. The flashback makes it seem as if they began to suspect Michael would betray them when Lucifer called him a cuck, something I think they made a plot point purely to have the word “cuck” in the episode for the third time.**

There are a few hopeful beats that show that bucklemming understand on some level that there needed to be some flow to this episode, such as the dog and Dean thinking he may have gotten Cas back. But I don’t think those are substitutes for showing Sam and Dean come up with their plan to defeat God. Even if you don’t want to reveal that they know Michael will betray them, you can still get one scene in there of them saying something like, “You think this’ll work?” if you just cut two minutes of Michael’s boring monologue in the church and/or Lucifer’s bullshit.

It follows this weird pattern of bucklemming once again seeming to not find Sam and Dean particularly interesting, so they don’t spend any time writing them DOING anything, or at least succeeding at anything, because they’d rather write Lucifer killing women and generally being an asshole.

So ... who cares, right? It’s bucklemming, they were bound to be mediocre-to-bad anyway, it kind of makes sense for Dabb to give them this episode because nepotism definitely makes it a best case scenario. And while I take issue with Dabb as a showrunner, I do think he’s great at standalone episodes and character stuff, so I’m not too terribly worried about next episode. I just think there were things about this episode that could have sucked less.

There ARE things about it that were fine, dare I say even good. It was in my notes, but I just want to emphasize that I LOVED the shot of Sam and Dean getting up bloody and broken, holding onto each other and grinning their asses off knowing that Chuck’s about to lose to Jack, and they get to see it! They may very well have gone into that fight expecting to die -- Chuck nearly just zapped them from existence, which would have still unleashed God-power for Jack to soak up.

The ending scene is pretty good, with Sam and Dean seeming like they’re still pretty beaten down, but trying to get it together. That’s more Jensen and Jared’s acting than anything bucklemming wrote, but it’s still good. The montage is good (although I will say for like the third time, where. the fuck. was Benny?) 

Jensen’s acting over the dog was SO SOFT (doesn’t he have a dog?). I half-expected the dog to run to him at the end, which would have been cute.

There are also things that were ... potentially good, if they’d been brought up correctly? I actually really like that Jack is going to be “hands-off” (although I like less that he and Sam will never see each other again, but Dabb did say it was going to be a bittersweet ending, so ....). 

I also -- and God, I’m going to get hate mail for saying this -- don’t mind that he didn’t bring Cas back. That highlights the difference between him and Chuck. Chuck brings back Sam and Dean (and, in Season 5 at least, Cas) over and over again, not out of love, but just to throw them back into their exhausting existence. In contrast, Jack NOT bringing anyone back (except the people who’d been snapped out of existence, which I would argue is more about putting the world on its proper course again, as opposed to “violating the natural order,” as Billie would put it). He knows he has to let people go. You could argue that’s always been his arc -- he and Cas even talk about how hard it will be for them to one day lose Sam and Dean back in Season 14 when they think Dean is dying.

But I wish there had been dialogue exploring THAT instead of the weird vague stuff about how he would always be a part of them. It doesn’t have to be anything super analytical like what I just wrote, it just has to be him saying, “I understand that in order to be a just god, I have to let things go and be at peace.” 

(However, if the reason they DIDN’T go that direction is they didn’t want Dean to be like, “You know, he’s right,” next episode and not rescue Cas from the Empty, then I’m fine with them leaving that out. Screw the natural order, Dean -- go rescue Cas from the Empty!)

I also really really really want to get some sense that Sam’s faith has been rewarded. We got a tiny glimmer of that this episode in the hushed, awed way Jared delivers the line, “Are you really ... him?” Sam has always been the one with faith in a just and loving God, and one of the things that aggravated me about the end of Season 14 was his faith being so blatantly not rewarded, in favor of promoting Dean’s more cynical take on God.

The show has always, since the very first season, raised questions about where God is, whether his will is just, and how we know we’re following it, and the main characters all have different answers to that -- Sam’s being the more faithful, optimistic view of “God is good”, Dean’s being the more critical “If God is good then why do bad things happen?”, and, most interestingly, Cas’ viewpoint largely fluctuating with his own sense of identity and self-worth. The point is, we had all three of these opinions on God, without the show ever explicitly saying which one was right.

Until very recently, I thought it should have stayed that way. But now I love the idea that Sam’s faith in God was rewarded not by Chuck, but by Jack -- the very boy he took under his wing and raised as his own son, the boy who understands that he is good and that people are good largely because SAM TAUGHT HIM THEY CAN BE. It’s just so beautiful, and I’m getting more and more happy about this ending as I write about it, actually, so maybe I don’t entirely hate Jack’s ending after all.

That was a happier note than I planned on ending this on. I guess that is how you stop worrying and tolerate bucklemming. 

Goodbye, bucklemming. I hated many of your episodes, but I will miss you and your weird, inconsistent writing that was so entertaining to pick apart and analyze and make fun of. I hope you find some cop shows where you can churn out more mediocrity and make some money. And in the meantime, stop killing off women.

*Yet another example from this season of the writers intentionally writing a bad episode to highlight the fact that Chuck is a bad writer. NEWSFLASH DABB: Bad writing is still bad writing, I don’t care if the villain of the story is the writer, I still don’t want to watch it if it’s bad.

**Which is such a bizarre insult to use. Isn’t it slang for a guy who’s wife cheats on him? I swear I’m not innocent or sheltered, I have just literally never heard anyone use that insult in a real context in my entire life. 

[jedi-order-apologist]

Personally, I'm not surprised that some fans are surprised that Obi-Wan knew about Anakin and Padme. Because for years people have argued that he wouldn't support and get Anakin expelled from the Order if he knew but it was Anakin's fear and belief. Fans always take Anakin as a reliable narrator. This proves it was not the case at all. Anakin was wrong. Most of us knew but people liked the idea Obi-Wan only guessed at the last moment Anakin was the father. But the movies make it obvious he knew.

I wish ROTS had left in the deleted scene where Obi-Wan tells Padmé that he knew about their relationship the entire time, if only to shut down this misconception about his character. It's still in the screenplay, and it's alluded to later in the film when Anakin senses that Obi-Wan had been to Padmé's apartment and asks her about it, to which she tells him Obi-Wan is worried about him. Even that alone should be evidence enough to say that Obi-Wan knew about their relationship, because why would he seek out Padmé to express his concerns about Anakin if he didn't think they were seeing each other regularly, and that they had a level of emotional intimacy to where Anakin would confide in Padmé things he wouldn't with Obi-Wan?

Obi-Wan probably didn't know they were married, specifically - but it's absolutely clear he was aware of Anakin's feelings for Padmé, even as early as the beginning of AOTC. He immediately picks up on the fact that these feelings are affecting Anakin's judgement, and warns him to be careful as he reminds him of his duty and commitment to the Order. I think it can also be reasonably inferred that this awareness informs his objection to Anakin being sent off on his own, but notably he does not bring this up to Yoda in their conversation about Anakin's readiness (or lack thereof) for his assignment. That itself is a good indication that Obi-Wan wouldn't just tattle to the Council the moment he found out about the relationship.

I guess people look at the part later in the film when Obi-Wan says that Anakin would be expelled from the Order if he went after Padmé after she fell from the ship, but in the context of that scene it's not so much about "having a relationship with her" as it is "abandoning his duty". And from a military standpoint it might very well have been tantamount to desertion, because whether they like it or not, the Jedi are part of the army at that point. Ditching in the middle of battle would have legal consequences for him that the Jedi would have to release him to anyway.

At any rate, Obi-Wan isn't going to just forget about Anakin's feelings for Padmé after that point. And when Padmé shows some reciprocity, it's not surprising that Obi-Wan quickly picks up on the fact that they have a relationship. Even in early TCW arcs (Malevolence, Blue Shadow Virus), he gives Anakin a bit of side-eye whenever Padmé's involved. He just looks the other way as long as it's not actively interfering with Anakin's duties.

[more-than-a-name]

Attacked and almost killed her friends, murdered her father figure, took her prisoner and tortured her in a scene that the director said was written as a rape scene: Kylo is abusive. Now fuck off and get crotch rot for posting pro-Reylo content in the anti tag.

Okay, first of all I would like to say I debated heavily on even replying to this one. You do not know everything about why I tag things the way I do, and saying what you did was horribly immature, and childish. However, I will indulge you with the explanations to why I have tagged these posts as “anti-reylo”.

1. The asks I was answering included anti-reylo sentiment. I may be defending the ship in my post, but that does not make the ask’s content suddenly obsolete.

2. As the asks are anti-reylo in nature, and I am answering them, this means there is discussion of anti-reylo. Discussing anti-reylo means it is viable for the anti-reylo tag.

3. Some people, including myself, have gone through literal hell from anti-reylos (not all of them of course, but some anti-reylos certainly) since 2015. Therefore, some reylos chose to blacklist the anti-reylo tag, and in case any of them follow me and do not want to see any anti-reylo conversation, I tag it as such so they can avoid these posts. It is a courtesy I extend to my followers, just as I tag my posts that include Reylo as “reylo”, so those who are either triggered/squicked by or just don’t like the ship can blacklist it, and not see the posts. (Heads up- THIS INCLUDES YOU, ANON! You are more than welcome to simply blacklist “reylo”, and therefore have no other need to harass me for shipping them myself, and posting reylo content on my blog). If you do not feel like blacklisting “reylo”, then you are free to also have no further interaction with my blog. But certainly saying the things you did, simply because you do not approve of my tagging system, was highly inappropriate.

Now that that’s all out of the way... Let’s get into the meat of what your issues with Reylo are. (I will admit, I considered just deleting this ask because of the crude wishes, but decided to go ahead and answer for the sake of this debate that has suddenly, for some reason, cropped up on my blog).

“Attacked and almost killed her friends”- Yes, they are in a war. They are on opposite sides of said war. He was very much pre-redemption arc. Have you ever seen Avatar: The Last Airbender? If you have, I’m sure you know that Zuko was actively trying to capture Aang, and was ready and willing to kill Sokka and Katara (and even Toph, in later episodes) to do so. This did not stop them from, when he had his redemption arc, eventually allowing him to join them. I don’t mean this to say “Ben is Zuko!!!” but to point out that pre-redeemed characters will often attack and try to kill the main characters. In case you haven’t seen A:TLA, I will also point out the same is true for most villains who are later redeemed. Otherwise, they’re not exactly a very good villain, are they?

“Murdered her father figure”- and HIS ACTUAL FATHER? He expresses clear remorse for this as early as The Last Jedi, and Snoke even points out that it caused great conflict within him. This move was to SHOW US that Kylo is not “dark side man bad”. This was to show us that he was a redeemable figure, and not fully evil at all. It would be different if he murdered his own father, and was like “Yeah, I did that.” and moved on with his life, feeling better about what he’d done than ever.

“Took her prisoner and tortured her in a scene that the director said was written as a rape scene”- So, I had to do some research to find where JJ said anything about the scene being written as a rape scene. I asked friends who are very knowledgeable on all things Star Wars, and I would like to request a source from you on that. All I was able to find was an offhanded comment where he said parallels could be drawn to a mind rape, but it was certainly not official commentary, and even then, “Word of God” is typically not considered to be canon. But let’s break the interrogation scene down a little better, shall we?

To start with, the “mind rape”, if we want to call it that, is a Dark Side interrogation tactic. Kylo is far from the first to use it, although I will agree this does not make it okay that he used it. But, see my point concerning pre-redemption characters. They do bad things because, at the moment, they are bad people. BUT, to look further into the scene, Rey does tell him to get out of her head, and he doesn’t, but then she pushes back, therefore creating the Force bond that connects them throughout the next two films. So, if you want to call Kylo a rapist, you must extend the same criticism to Rey. (And before you come at me with any kind of “MEN CAN’T BE RAPED”? I have studied rape extensively as part of my major. The legal term may not include it, but I assure you, a man can be raped). This does not make what Kylo did in using this technique on Rey acceptable or excusable, but it is not acceptable or excusable that she used it in return. I also don’t mean this to say “oh they’re even now”, because that is obviously not how these things work. 

So finally, we come around to “Kylo is abusive”- No, Kylo Ren was the villain. As the villain, he did villainous things.

TL;DR- Kylo Ren was not a good man when Rey met him, but over time, he healed from the horrors that had been done to him, he changed, and he found his redemption in the end. I ship Rey with Ben Solo, the man who laid down his life so she could live hers, the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo, the one who was canonically her soulmate.

If you want to debate anything I’ve said, please feel free, but I ask that you keep all nasty words (you know the ones I refer to) out of it. No one deserves any verbal abuse simply because you disagree with their actions.

[shadowsong26x]

EPIX/Rise of Skywalker Reaction Post

So, I got back from seeing EPIX this morning, and I figured I should get all my thoughts down!

Everything spoilery is behind a cut, and this post is also tagged with the spoiler tags I’ve listed here. If you want me to add any additional tags, let me know and I will to this and any future EPIX posts.

Okay, so, before I really get into this, I should mention two relevant contextual things that probably strongly impacted my feelings on this movie.

I’m not super-invested in the sequel trilogy. I love (most of) the characters, I’m not really into the story that’s being told with them.

Given where TLJ left us, I went into the theatre expecting something between A Trainwreck with Some Delightful Moments and A Delightful Trainwreck. Basically, it was going to be a Hot Mess and I knew it, but I was pretty sure there was going to be something to love, even if the film as a whole didn’t delight me (which, honestly, is even where I stand with TLJ, which remains my least favorite film of the series). And, you know what? I got exactly that. A Sometimes-Delightful Trainwreck. I’d say it’s even towards the upper end of that Delightfulness scale.

All right, moving on to actual thoughts. I’m trying to focus on the positive here, mostly because I did overall enjoy this movie, but I also had some Problems with it.

I’m gonna talk about Kylo Ren first, mostly because I want to get this out of the way. I will say that--when I first saw TFA, I thought I could be interested in this character. I thought they were gonna maybe go the burnt-out gifted kid route with him, which would be hella interesting to explore for the child of Heroes like Han and Leia, and the Legacy he had to live up to. Obviously, they didn’t, and while the direction they went is certainly topical, it’s not super engaging, at least to me. I know it is to some people, and far be it from me to harsh anyone’s squee, but he basically doesn’t do anything for me. I personally don’t find him particularly interesting or intimidating.

Basically, I don’t particularly care about Kylo Ren. (I don’t know if I’m quite at the point where, as my roommate puts it, I aggressively Do Not Care, but the Not Caring is definitely a thing.)

Anyway, that disclaimer aside--his arc was okay, I guess? I mean...I think my general feelings on the subject are not that it felt phoned-in, exactly, but that it was mostly there because the writers thought it should be there, rather than it flowing organically from the character(s) involved. It also felt rushed, but that goes back to a problem with the movie as a whole that I will get into later in this post. But, given that, the actual beats that were involved in said arc I thought were effectively done. The bit with Han in the wreckage, in particular, was nice.

As for that Kiss though.

...I mean. I’m actually kind of pleased that the end of the film left the romantic threads dangling? It gave me plenty of OT3 feels (though I felt like, especially in the first third or so, the film was leaning more towards Rey/Poe and Finn/Rose, but there was some later stuff that seemed to hint at the full OT3 with a question mark on where Rose stands.)

But I do have a problem with the fact that the only on-screen kiss between Major Characters was between Rey and Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. That being said, I can backfill/justify it in that...you know how some people headcanon that Luke’s initial crush on Leia was some sort of “There is a Connection Here that I Cannot Name and it’s probably supposed to be Romantic given our ages and genders and presumed lack of other relationship so let’s go with that?” Between something like that and the fact that he just gave up his life for her in a very literal way (side note: the Force has always been New Powers as the Plot Demands; but the healing thing was a) if not actually in a canon novel at least strongly implied and b) ALL OVER fanon so even if I had a problem with Random Force Powers suddenly occurring I wouldn’t have an issue with this one; the Force Diad thing was ~handwave plot device~ sure fine whatever). ...anyway, given all of that, I can backfill it to a way where I don’t hate it (i.e., if he’d lived, I don’t think it would’ve been followed up on very much/they would’ve settled into a non-romantic relationship of some kind, whatever that might’ve been). Except that it’s the only one, which kind of leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Then again, he did immediately die, so...yeah, I can live with this. I don’t like it, and I don’t think I ever will like it, but I don’t hate it either and it’s not a dealbreaker for me.

Most of the other problems I have with this film come down to structure and pacing. In that, thanks to where TLJ left us, this move had to do so much to bring the story to any kind of cohesive end, and not enough time to do it in. Trying to squeeze too much plot into too small a space.

(I actually had the same problem with ROTS initially--although that was more due to the PT having pacing issues as its Primary Narrative Flaw; TPM was way too slow; AOTC actually had good internal pacing but couldn’t quite make up for it; and then ROTS was as a consequence of that really rushed. Meanwhile, with the ST, I feel like the writers are relying on “it’s all there in the manual” a little too much, so not really...trying as hard, if that makes sense? To make it all connect within the film, I mean, as opposed to depending on people going into other/outside/supplemental material to connect the dots (still not as bad as the Prisoner of Azkaban movie on that front, but it’s still Bad; and, like, all film versions of novels leave some stuff out, just look at the LOTR films; but POA left out a key plot point and that--is a rant for another post. Back to EPIX). It’ll be interesting to see what kind of deleted scenes come out, or if it’ll grow on me in future watchings. Not that it’ll ever become a favorite, I don’t think, but it might improve in my eyes.)

Anyway, basically, a lot of this felt rushed or like...introduced but not really addressed/wrapped up in any kind of satisfactory fashion? Kylo Ren’s arc in particular, as I’ve mentioned before, plus the Threepio stuff felt rushed and non-consequential, and also with Rey’s arc to an extent (it...again, all the beats worked for me/I thought it was fairly effective, but it really needed two movies to pay off as well as it could have). ...I mean, there are more plot threads I could probably mention here, but those are the three that stuck out the most.

Also, this movie needed More Rose :( I LOVE HER and she was barely here!!!!!

Another thing I would’ve liked to see is...okay, I really liked the Overlapping Voices bit, but it would’ve been nice to have more Presence from the ghosts? Like...there’s a bit at the end of season 1 of Sailor Moon where she’s in the Final Battle, the other four have died (or just been left behind, if you’re watching the English dub), and their ghosts show up and place their hands on hers and lend her their strength? A visual cue like that would’ve been great and helped the arc feel more complete. Especially since Palpatine had all of his predecessors/Sith ghosts backing him in a more visible fashion. But, then again, that’s a Personal Taste thing and while it would’ve, IMO, made that moment better, not having it doesn’t make it worse, if that makes sense?

(Also, the credits moved too fast for me to track, but I definitely saw Qui-Gon Jinn listed, though I don’t recall hearing him, and I definitely recognized Anakin/Hayden Christensen and Mace/Samuel L. Jackson and Obi-Wan/Ewan McGreggor (and Alec Guinness I’m pretty sure?) and obvs. Yoda/Frank Oz when actually listening, but I couldn’t identify the other voices--anyone have the full list? Was Ahsoka and/or Kanan and/or Ezra involved, or was it restricted to movie-only Jedi?)

But...yeah. Apart from the Kiss being very ....:/ for me, most of my identifiable problems with the film is stuff like this.

I think the other thing I want to talk about in detail is the Rey Palpatine reveal.

So, up until this movie, I was actually in my corner flying my tiny but determined Rey Kenobi flag, and the more I think about it, the more I like Rey Palpatine for some of the same reasons? Like...I don’t remember everything I’d thought through about Rey Kenobi, but it had to do with the cyclical nature of Star Wars, and bringing it back where it started--and we get that with Rey Palpatine, in a nice arc, healing some of the damage her grandfather did, both to this family and to the galaxy as a whole.

That being said--those of you who know me and my fic projects know I’ve been writing a child (daughter) for Palpatine for quite some time now, and I have no intention of stopping, lol. Am I going to take this/Lavinia’s (presumably) half-brother into account in future projects? ...probably not. But I am looking forward to/hoping we get a novel or something about him and Rey’s mother. Because that is actually a story I’m interested in--why canon!Palpatine chose to have a kid, and how said kid managed to break away and got to this point. [...y’know, I actually think Rey Kenobi’s background/thread of descent would be less interesting to me? Since I subscribe to the idea that a) Korkie Kryze is Obi-Wan’s biological son; and b) Obi-Wan had many Friends With Benefits throughout the galaxy and figuring out exactly which one Rey descends from carries less weight for me.]

...okay, I think that’s all the Detaily Bits I want to get into, so here are some bullet points of things that really stuck out to me, in no particular order:

Bawled like a baby re: everything involving Carrie Fisher. Just...yeah. Miss you Space Mommy.

LANDO! I loved his entrance, I loved him adopting Jannah at the end, I loved all of it.

Chewie’s fake-out death was also actually pretty good/well-handled. I mean. First Boom happens and I’m like DDDDDDD: but then I remember how people reacted to his death in Legends and I’m like would they really do it and then DELIGHT.

HUX. Okay. I never really cared about this dude before, and honestly I still don’t really care about this dude but at the same time, those of you who know me know I have a Thing for double-agents and defectors and I LOVE THIS WHOLE ENTIRE PLOT THREAD. I LOVE THIS SHITHEAD TURNING TRAITOR FOR THE MOST VENAL REASONS AND STILL BEING A BAD GUY/EVIL/AN UNREPENTANT JACKASS. THIS WAS PERFECT.

(Also Finn shooting him in the leg instead of the arm as requested was DELIGHTFUL)

SPEAKING OF DELIGHTFUL gotta love Zombie Skeev Palpatine Unliving His Best Afterlife. Was he as Delightful as he is in ROTS or ROTJ? No. Did I still enjoy every minute of his scenery-chewing nonsense? You bet your ass. So happy, Ian McDiarmid looked like he was having tons of fun and honestly what more could I have asked for?

The whole scene on Ahch-To was just *chef’s kiss.* Use of Yoda’s theme with the rising X-Wing, Luke being snarky and kind and beautiful, him emerging from the fire with the saber...just loved it.

LEIA HAD JEDI TRAINING AND HER OWN LIGHTSABER. BB!MARK HAMILL AND BB!CARRIE FISHER’S FACES.

LEIA TRAINING REY. REY CALLING HER ‘MASTER.’

USING THE BOND TO ARM KYLO REN okay like I said I have Mixed Feelings about the arc as a whole but that moment was SO COOL.

Poe’s ex-girlfriend was pretty great, ngl.

JANNAH AND EX-STORMTROOPERS YESSSSSSSS

HINTS OF/SHREDS OF EVIDENCE FOR FORCE-SENSITIVE FINN GIVE THEM TO ME NOW.

D-0 was pretty cute!

All of the Badass Finn.

Also that MOMENT where Finn runs up to Poe like “I NEED TO TELL YOU A THING” and Poe is all “I NEED YOU TO FIGHT WITH ME” and Finn just interrupts himself to thank Poe and they have that “General” “General” moment and it’s SO CUTE I’m love it.

The entire thing at the Lars farm at the end. Just. Burying the lightsabers, seeing the twins’ ghosts, claiming the Skywalker name, Rey having her own saber now. This movie was a Hot Mess but it definitely ended on a high note.

...that’s pretty much what I have for right now. I will probably have more thoughts after discussing it with other people/seeing it again (because I will be seeing it again). But overall...do I like it? Well, it’s Star Wars, which I love and which frankly always has some Super Dumb and/or Frustrating Stuff, and the things I disliked weren’t bad enough to Ruin It for me, so yes, I liked it. Is it my favorite Star Wars/good for a Star Wars movie? ...not really, no. It did have some gorgeous moments, but it doesn’t really hang together. Like the rest of the ST, it relies way too much on It’s All There In The Manual and, between that and the fact that TLJ didn’t do the work necessary to set it up, the movie felt rushed and a little bit...I don’t want to say hollow, maybe shallow is a better word? I mean, I know this is Star Wars and It’s Not That Deep (but the ground is soft and I’m ready to dig or however the quote goes), but this felt particularly shallow even for Star Wars. Like...cotton candy, fairly good/tasty but a little bit prone to melting away and with very little substance holding it together. On that level, I’d actually probably rank it around Solo (which, let me say, I really like)--so, better than TLJ, but still A Hot Mess of a movie. But I enjoyed myself, and I think overall my feelings are middling-to-positive on it. Even if...honestly, even like less than four hours after the movie ending, I’m already forgetting like half the plot points...? Like I said. Cotton Candy.

What did/do you guys think?

[enneagramspam]

ISABEL LOVELACE

8w7

“Don't die. Be a big girl, and don't die.“

Isabelle Lovelace is a textbook Eight; as a Captain, she is authoritative, resourceful and strong-willed, but also prone to domineering and confrontational behaviour. Upon her return to the Hephaestus, she demonstrates the ruthless, authoritarian streak of a deeply disintegrated Eight, but over the course of the series she is able to integrate back into a healthier Eight, a heroic figure who is genuinely able to protect her crew. 

Basic Fear: Of being harmed or controlled by others

“Oh, I'm not following one of your orders? Gee, must be Monday…”

In comparison with the rest of the cast, who grow to reasonably distrust Goddard after betrayal, Lovelace has never been good with authority of any kind; it’s simply a facet of her personality. This is made clear in Greensboro;

“There's been times when I haven't seen eye-to-eye with my superior officers. Like all those times they gave me stupid orders. On those occasions, I was inclined to carry out my orders with a bit of... creativity.”

Lovelace remains her own ultimate authority, following orders only when they suit her, and as such, she is not truly beholden to them at all. Interestingly, there are pages of glowing testimonials from those who served under Lovelace, while those above her in the chain of command found her to be disobedient and punished her as a result; being a good leader and a bad follower isn’t at all uncommon for an Eight. 

Lovelace takes great pride in her independence, and expresses contempt for those that, in her eyes, allow themselves to be controlled, particularly her rules-obsessed second in command Officer Lambert, who effectively represents this basic fear- she calls him “an asinine teacher’s pet,” and repeatedly admonishes him for a lack of “a mind of his own,” even ridiculing him in front of the rest of her crew. Lambert is in fact the perfect foil to Lovelace, because while he is endlessly obedient to Goddard, he repeatedly undermines her, as Hilbert observes;

“You are perhaps needing someone who... questions superior officer? Who does not immediately do what is told? Who will fight for what they think is right way of doing job?”

Taking all this into account, it’s no wonder Lovelace dislikes Lambert so much when he both represents the control she so fears and the disobedience she cannot tolerate. The anger he provokes causes her to slip into the role of the intimidating Eight, which causes some friction with the rest of her crew, who describe her as “scary,” and observe that her personality is fundamentally combative; “she’d be bored without something to fight against.”  

Lovelace’s preoccupation with control is part of the reason that her discovery that she is an alien replica of her previous self subject to the whims of the aliens who created her is so distrubing for her- this is the avenue the habitually manipulative Kepler takes to try and unsettle her, preying on her basic fear;

“Are you sure that it's you that made the choice? Less than two days ago you were speaking words that weren't your own. … Maybe they're always in control, and they've made it so you can't tell. What if everything you think you're doing for yourself is just our friends out there pulling strings? What if your thoughts aren't your own?”

For Lovelace to even admit that this bothers her is difficult; Eights natrual tendency is to avoid vulnerability. It’s not until her control is completely taken away when she is trapped in a time loop orchestrated by the same aliens in Out of the Loop, driving her to disintegration and essentially forcing her to do so in the hopes of moving on.

“I - I'm sorry. I... Maybe Kepler's right. Maybe I'm not in control of what I'm doing.”

Ultimately, Lovelace is forced to live her basic fear, again and again, to begin to overcome it. Her arc culminates in her worst possible scenario- Cutter, the manifestation of the insidious control she has been raging against throughout the series, gaining direct control of her by manipulating the psi-waves that affect her alien physiology;

“If you have enough psi-waves in the air … you can control all sorts of things. What do you think, Isabel? Pretty neat, isn't it?”

Lovelace can’t wrest herself from Cutter’s control entirely- she shoots Minkowski, and is unable to fire at Cutter. She is, however, able to distract him for long enough for Minkowski to kill him. Not only is this a direct confrontation of Lovelace’s basic fear, with her being forced to accept that sometimes the situation is out of her control, this scene forces her to eschew her basic desire, and instead, rely on someone else to protect her; as an Eight, this is the logical conclusion to her arc.

Basic Desire: To protect themselves (to be in control of their own life

and destiny)

“There’s something I needed to remind myself of. That you're not just what you were made. That you can grow. At least... when you assholes don't interfere.”

Repeatedly, Lovelace cannot stand seeing others allowing their destiny to be decided for them- even when she particularly dislikes the person in question. When Eris announces her intention to self destruct on behalf of Goddard, she is furious;

“You can't just let these people delete you! You should fight this! ...Just because someone made you something doesn't mean that's all you're going to be. You can be more.”

She reacts similarly, if far more explosively when Hilbert is unfazed upon discovering that Goddard were planning on betraying him;

“What... the hell... is wrong with you? (BEAT) I will never understand you. How are you not angry? How are you not revoltingly angry? They were going to leave you up here. To rot … Listen to me, you despicable waste of a soul: that's not how you react to this. Humanity 101: when someone lies to you, when someone betrays you, when they leave you to die, alone, in the cold, you DO NOT FIND IT PERFECTLY EQUITABLE! You get angry, and you do whatever you have to in order to show them they have made the worst mistake of their lives. It doesn't matter what you have to give up, who you have to hurt, how far you have to go -”

Indeed, Lovelace goes to every length to be the one in control of her own destiny and to protect herself and those that she cares about. Aside from her dead man’s switch, there’s her response to Kepler’s game of “eeny-meeny,” when he is deciding who to shoot in Desperate Measures- she interrupts him with a “fuck you,” and then proceeds to insult him and spit at him. What could be mistaken, though, for an outburst of pure aggression and resentment is clearly shown to be an attempt to deliberately provoke him and thus control the situation in the only way she can, and an attempt to protect Eiffel; 

EIFFEL: “Captain... why did you - you didn't have to - 

LOVELACE: “Yes, I did. I did. It's fine.”

She smiles at him. Sadly. 

Inaction- and particularly, feeling helpless- drives Lovelace to distraction. She’s desperate to try to take control of the situation in Pan-Pan, repeatedly dismissing Minkowski’s plan to make a distress call, “The only way we're going to get off this station is if we do it ourselves.” On the other side of things, Lovelace’s mini episode, Greensboro, is markedly different from those for each other character. Critically, she doesn’t interact with Cutter, who has a pattern of exploiting the cast’s basic fears, and in reflection of this, it’s her basic desires that Rachel, who is interviewing her, praises and tempts her with;

“You. Deep space. Mission command. You've got … Glowing recommendations from practically everyone you've given an order to. And when you're multiple light years away from your superiors? It's probably good to have someone who can think for themselves.”

It’s easy to understand why Goddard took this unique approach with Lovelace specifically; threatening to control her would result in automatic pushback and rebellion from her, whereas promising her a degree of the control that she so craves was the perfect way to ensure that she agreed to work with them. 

Disintegration to Five:

“I invented being paranoid on this station.”

Enneagram Institute describes deeply disintegrated Eights’ actions as “vengeful, barbaric, murderous.” This is particularly true of Lovelace- the first time she flees the Hephaestus, she leaves behind a message promising to exact revenge against Goddard:

“So if you're listening to this: Run. And. Hide. Because by the time that I'm done you will feel more helpless and more alone than all the innocent people you've ever hurt. See you soon.”

Like an unhealthy Five, she is secretive and fearful, leaving her paranoid. She initially admits to turning on Hilbert without proper cause;  “I was so paranoid by that point, I think I would have turned on anyone who was with me.” This indiscriminate destructiveness is a hallmark of a disintegrated Eight, and when Minkowski confirms, “You attacked him?” Lovelace simply answers, “Best defence.” She goes on;

“I figured it was just a matter of time before he tried to kill me. So I incapacitated him and I ran. I got on the ship we'd constructed and left him behind. (beat) Not my proudest moment.”

Her violence continues when she returns to the Hephaestus- pouncing on Hilbert on sight, choking him and bashing his head against a wall. Like an unhealthy Five, she is suspicious and information obsessed- planting a gun with a hidden listening device so that she can eavesdrop on Minkowski and Eiffel. 

In addition, Enneagram Institute says of disintegrated Eights, “If they get in danger, they may brutally destroy everything that has not conformed to their will rather than surrender to anyone else.” This repeatedly holds true of Lovelace;

““I hope you don't think we'd go down without a fight.”

Indeed, she threatens to invoke the “Taking You With Me,” trope on multiple occasions, to the point that it becomes something of a running joke for her; 

“Believe me, kids, right now I'm up for killing everything and everyone on this boat.” 

Perhaps the most serious example, though, is the explosive she wires to activate should her heart stop or increase too much which she reveals in the episode aptly named Mutually Assured Destruction, a failsafe she describes, unfeelingly, as “insurance.” When Minkowski doubts her, “You’d be killing yourself. I don’t buy it,” Lovelace simply answers; “Then you’ve never been as scared as I have.” This neatly demonstrates Lovelace’s complete unwillingness to surrender or be subjugated, willing to completely self destruct in order to avert this outcome. Additionally, she uses this threat as a means of seizing control of the station, becoming the ruthless, dictatorial disintegrated Eight;

“There's a new sheriff in town, and I am not taking suggestions, complaints, or objections. Here’s what’s going to happen… Whatever game Command is playing with this station is over. Welcome to my Cold War, kids. Fasten your seat belts, stay out of the way, and don’t try me. Any questions?” 

Integration to Two:

“I realized something. The whole epic rampage of revenge thing? Isabel Lovelace wouldn't do that. The terrible wretch that you people made Isabel Lovelace into? Oh, she'd do that. But... I'm not going to be that person anymore. (BEAT) I'm going to be Isabel Lovelace again. Even if I never have before.” 

When integrated, Lovelace’s has the sincere care for those around her of a healthy Two, using her own strength of character to support them. A good example of this is when she quite generously agrees to take over for Minkowski when she feels unable to command the station. It’s significant that Minkowski convinces her by appealing to her own respect and need for control;

“ I... I did what I did because I lost control. And until I get it back, I don't think my hands are the best ones for this crew to be in.”

Also notably, Lovelace is demonstrably reluctant to take control, establishing it only happens, “on the very clear understanding that this is a temporary situation, and that [she is] going to sort [her]self out and kick [her] out of [her] chair ASAP.” This Lovelace, genuinely looking forward to ceding control to a person she respects and trusts, is a far cry from the control obsessed woman she is introduced as. Additionally, she uses her strong authority with the goal of actually meeting the needs of her entire crew- for instance, in Theta Scenario;

LOVELACE: “I'm not making that call for everyone. We're voting, and we're not doing anything until we have a unanimous decision.”

EIFFEL: “Fine, lets v-”

LOVELACE: “No. We're not gonna make an informed decision until we know as much as we can about what the hell has been going on here.”

EIFFEL: “Why?”

LOVELACE: “Because I'm the Captain, that's why. That call I will make.”

As aforementioned, Lovelace is also able to depend on Minkowski during her most dire moments during the finale. Early in the series, Lovelace clearly felt that it was her destiny to personally take revenge on Cutter on behalf of her crew, with her promising that outcome to him as an inevitability;

“I'm going to really mess you up someday. You know that, right?”

Allowing Minkowski to be the one to take him down instead is a subtle but incredibly important demonstration of her growth- she thoughtlessly sacrifices an opportunity she would have been unlikely to have given up on without a fight earlier in the series. This courage and self-sacrifice is far more along the lines of what one would expect from an integrated Eight. 

w7:

“Let's just say that I am very eager to be a private citizen again.”

Maintaining her own freedom and happiness is a big priority for Lovelace, which is indicative of her Seven wing. She dislikes ruminating on painful subjects, and while she generally copes by being action-oriented; her refusal to confront her grief is explored in Variations On a Theme, where she has no tolerance for herself slipping into present tense when speaking about her past group;

“No. Focus. Work. Be here. Be now. Don't stop to remember. Don't stop to think. Stay away from the ghosts.”

And, in Need To Know it’s revealed she was deliberately getting high on painkillers after the disastrous events of Who’s There?;

“I got a broken an arm trying to save one of my crew members. It was a very difficult time.”

Turning to addiction as a form of escapism is not uncommon for a Seven in disintegration.

Additionally, despite her extreme fury towards Goddard, Lovelace is also driven for much of the series by an extreme desire to return home; 

“I want to go back to earth.”

It’s only in her internal monologue- presented as fragmented and scattered, as many disintegrated Sevens can feel and behave- that she acknowledges the painful truth that returning to earth won’t truly fulfill her desires- earth is longer home, and home is gone;

LOVELACE: “I will do this. I'll do it faster. Better. Deal with crazier. Won't die harder. Fix this goddamn engine. Get them out. Go home.”

SECOND LOVELACE: “You can never go home. You were home.”

THIRD LOVELACE: “And now you're back. And you can never go back.”

LOVELACE: “I know. I know.”

In fact, Lovelace’s powerful desire to get off the station is more reminiscent of the blind claustrophobia of a disintegrated Seven- the desire to escape a painful atmosphere- than a draw towards a compelling, satisfying one. Towards the very end of the series, this changes. Significantly, she mentions earth not just in the context of revenging on Goddard or escaping the Hephaestus, but as presenting the opportunity for revitalizing, healing experiences, with something close to the optimism of a healthy Seven;

“Oh, there are so many choices. Look up some old friends, take apart Goddard Futuristics brick by brick... maybe go to Disneyland? But first, I'm going to take a long vacation, somewhere warm and quiet, where nobody has any idea who I am.”

Ultimately, though, her wing isn’t very developed- she’s more than willing to stay on the station late in the series to try and learn more about the aliens and their wants (and by association, about their control over her), and doesn’t try to flee the situation in the same way that Eiffel wants to at that point. Similarly, she’s willing to die to protect him in Desperate Measures- her core desires and fears as an Eight will always overpower the aversion to pain associated with her wing whenever both come into play. 

[legobiwan]

Are there any instances of Obi-wan being overly protective of a Anakin, by the Jedi’s standards? Or is he pretty ‘he’s got it’. about anakin all the time? Are there any times he’s gone against the council to go save him or protect him? I don’t mean with keeping secret about amidala though

So I wouldn’t say that Obi-wan is necessarily “over-protective” of Anakin. In fact, I doubt Anakin would allow it, as he is so eager to be independent, so intent on proving himself from the very start. I feel that no matter how much Obi-wan would want to keep Anakin safe, keep him unharmed, he would eventually be thwarted by Anakin’s energy, his will, as we saw in the newest Age of the Republic comic. 

It’s interesting you mention the Council. There are only three times we ever see Obi-wan going directly against the Jedi Council’s orders, at least to my knowledge (Obi-wan certainly skirts around their Orders, negotiates himself around their words, but open defiance? That was better left to Anakin. Or Qui-gon.) And they all involve Anakin in one way or another. 

Firstly, Obi-wan completely defies the Council when he goes in and demands to have Anakin trained after Qui-gon’s death. (I mean, what level of devotion did he have to that man to carry out this monumental task? Here’s Obi-wan, not even Knighted, his Master killed in front of him, Qui-gon having just nonchalantly cast him off in front of the Council for this wonderchild, and still Obi-wan goes in and fights for him. Just…wow) And you could argue that Anakin’s entire Padawanship is a big middle finger to the Council and their desires, although the Council (well, most of them) certainly took to Anakin quick enough once Obi-wan rammed him through their initial walls.

After that point, Obi-wan plays nice with the Council, at least in his own way (I mean, there’s a reason he’s considered the Jedi, why he was appointed to the Council at such a young age. Or maybe it was to keep an eye on him, to keep him in line. He was Qui-gon’s Padawan, after all, and despite Obi-wan’s seeming obedience to the Council, the mere fact that he demanded Anakin’s training meant that an Obi-wan left to his own devices with the Chosen One could be…dangerous. Anyway.) 

In fact, Obi-wan plays so nice that we really don’t see him break until much later in the war, until Maul begins to stir, and we have the debacle on Mandalore. And what I find fascinating about the whole Maul arc is that Anakin never once crosses paths with Maul. And that is, possibly, due to the combined efforts of Obi-wan and (*gasp*) Palpatine.  

There are some deleted scenes from “Revival” that are very interesting and might support this theory. Transcript goes roughly like this:

(Obi-wan and Adi Gallia are about to leave to investigate Maul and Savage’s 

Anakin: Hey wait..I thought I was going with you

Obi-wan: So did I.

Adi Gallia: The Chancellor requested that you stay behind.

(Adi boards the ship)

Anakin: Why?

Obi-wan: He has other plans for you.

Obi-wan: Qui-gon would never want this from you, Anakin. You are going for the wrong reasons.

Anakin: Speak for yourself. I want to finish this as much as you do.

Obi-wan: The decision has already been made.

Anakin: You want me on this run. I know you do. Come with me and talk to the Chancellor.

Obi-wan: There’s nothing I can do. You’ll have to take this matter up with the Chancellor yourself.

—-

(Later, Anakin is with Palpatine in his office.)

Anakin: Why take me off this mission?

Palpatine: You are to oversee my security until this threat passes. By order of the Jedi Council.

And like, yeah, Palps is not to be trusted but given the nonsense with Rako Hardeen that had gone down not that far before, it’s not totally inconceivable that the Council might actually make this order. 

And, to be honest, I don’t think Obi-wan actually wants Anakin on this mission. Let’s rewind for a moment and look back at the episode “Witches of the Mist,” from Season 3.

Poor Obes.

What is also notable about the episode is that it is the only time Anakin tangles with anyone tangentially related to Maul. And Obi-wan, as someone else has pointed out, is super-touchy feely in this episode. Holding Anakin back. Not wanting him to engage. Stating that they’ll take Savage “together” (unlike another time Obi-wan was partnered with someone who decided to run off and take on a Zabrack Sith alone can you imagine the flashbacks Obi-wan was having at this moment?)

Anyway, I’m getting away from myself. The point is that given his reaction to Savage, it wouldn’t be totally out of the question that Obi-wan perhaps went to the Council before the whole Mandalore mess and put his foot down. Anakin would want revenge, and Obi-wan knows how badly he himself failed at keeping it together the last time he and Maul met. So yeah, Obi-wan could be protecting Anakin and himself, to a degree. And, of course, Palpatine would prefer to have Anakin have nothing to do with Maul, so it seemed to work out “well” *coughcoughcough* for everyone involved. 

So, the last time Obi-wan defies the Council to protect Anakin is in RotS. Or, at least, what was left of the Council. I mean, Yoda did tell Obi-wan to kill Anakin outright, and Obi-wan kiiiinda left it to chance. Which, is sloppy on his part. Uncharacteristically so. Attachment and the like. 

Sad hermit Obi-wan/Ben in the desert spending all day alone ruing his decisions makes me emotional, I am not going to lie. 

And these three times aside...Obi-wan tries to interfere on Mortis after the fact, goes with Anakin to Ondeorn to keep an eye of his terrorist...I mean rebel training. But I never get the sense that Obi-wan is over-protective. He covers for Anakin so many times (especialy when it has to do with Padmé), tries to leave Ankain an opening to talk about, well anything, more than once. But I think one of Obi-wan’s issues is that he didn’t push. (And that’s a whole other can of worms.) But then again, if Obi-wan had pushed too hard, Anakin would have balked, so Obes was left in a relatively impossible situation when it came to Anakin. I think he did his best to protect him, and gods know he loved him as a brother, but Obi-wan also let Anakin make his own decisions, in the end, which...I mean, Anakin was an adult. A flawed, disturbed adult who needed an intervention. And I think Obi-wan’s whole relationship with Qui-gon perhaps caused him to back in a few places where maybe he could have tried to poke a little harder instead. 

[ventingblacklist]

I've always hated Tom so the fact I hate him even more this season is not surprising but I'm so curious about what are the casual viewers's feelings about him now because I might be crazy and hopeful but the show is just not putting him in a good light. Tom calling Red dishonest and dangerous after all he's doing it, has to be on purpose to show us how horrible he is. I can't believe that the show's plan is for the viewers to root for him.

Oh, to be a casual viewer. Must be nice.

This is the thing that has surprised me the most so far about Tom this season. They do seem to be going out of their way to make him look bad.

He is running around risking his neck based on zero information. I always assumed Tom had reason for hating Red and wanting Liz away from him, some information he hadn’t shared. If he doesn’t? Then he really is just stupid. 

I honestly have no idea what he’s thinking. What on earth does he hope to accomplish? 

Something I posted awhile back: “Tom is the brilliant bumbler, driving the story by having seemingly no concept of the minefield he’s playing in.”

And he apparently never learns. 

This is a problem with the Tom and Kaplan arcs overall. Just this blind desire to get Liz away from Red while we’re sitting there like, ‘why?’

There is danger that comes with being an FBI agent, with working on the Reddington task force. Meera and Cooper are dead and living proof of that (they’ve all been almost dead at one time or another). But apparently Liz is the only one who must be treated like a child and protected from her own life. No one’s trying to get Aram to walk away. lol

Kate speaks of grave danger in the 4x22 deleted scene, but Tom apparently doesn’t know anything about it. So….

Liz: We were wrong. My family wasn’t safer away from Reddington….You hate the fact that he always thinks he knows what’s best for me, and now you think you do instead. I have a right to think for myself.

Kate: You have the right, just not the capacity. You can’t possibly conceive the danger he brings to your life. 

Kate saying basically that if Liz had full information, she’d walk away. But did Kate even have full information? Tom apparently doesn’t need any information at all to risk everything to get Liz to walk away. Telling Red he hopes he rots in a ship prison as far away from Liz as possible. So maybe Kate was just randomly bitter too.

Anyway, yeah. They’re definitely going back to the season one feel and not even attempting to paint Tom in a good light. He’s making the same blunders he made in Gaia by not trusting Liz. The same blunders he’s made over and over with trying to get Red away from Liz, no reasoning behind it. They’re making him look bad. No forethought about the ramifications of what he’s pursuing.

This is the thing that has me wondering if they’ll actually do it this time. End it the way season one almost did. With a bullet in Tom’s head. 

[tigerlover16-uk]

I accidentally deleted an anon ask about whether GT or Super handled Piccolo’s death better. Whoops, sorry. I’ll just answer it in this post.

GT definitely had the more grandiose, quote-unquote “Emotional” death scene. It was beautifully animated and through the music and dialogue, especially that final goodbye, it really sold the tragedy of the situation.

But the context and everything around that death was terrible.

You can look up my “My Thoughts on the Baby Saga” For a full rant on this, but to cut it short, the Black Star Dragon Balls were an ill conceived contrivance and Piccolo sacrificing himself to deactivate them violates Z’s rules regarding the dragon balls, where the normal ones deactivated after Kami merged with Piccolo. Between that and a lot of other story beats, it felt like this situation was contrived specifically for the purpose of killing the guy off.

It really does feel like they killed Piccolo off JUST to be dramatic and for that one part in the next saga. Which is a TERRIBLE reason to kill someone off. If you want to kill a major supporting character, ESPECIALLY one as iconic and beloved as Piccolo, you need to do it in an appropriate manner and have their death mean something in the grand scheme of things, for how it affects other characters going forward and how the deceased characters absence changes the way things work for the overall story.

We don’t see anyone really mourning Piccolo after he dies, that one moment with Gohan crying out his name after Piccolo contacted him about his decision was all we got. We don’t see how the other characters cope with his loss afterwards. Even if it was brief and not enough really done with it, we at least saw Mr Satan feeling down in the dumps and doubting himself over Buu’s loss. No such thing from one of Goku’s best friends and Gohan’s honorary uncle.

Life just goes straight back to normal in the episode immediately after Piccolo’s death. No one really acknowledges him outside of Goku when he meets Piccolo in hell. Piccolo at least has some plot relevance there helping Goku get back to earth, though that repeated joke from the Black Star saga honestly just made him and Dende seem a bit incompetent and that they still needed Goku’s help to do anything to me.

And then Goku just leaves him in hell. And despite Goku casually mentioning he hopes the guy gets out eventually at the very end of the show, we never find out if Piccolo does. As far as we know, he could just spend the rest of eternity as the ogres whipping boy keeping the unruly villains stuck in hell in line.

And frankly, that’s insulting. The character gets nothing useful to do for half the series, shows up once and then immediately disappears after doing literally nothing of value at one point in the Baby saga, and then shows up at the end of that JUST to die, over a plot device that shouldn’t have existed in the first place. And then as a reward for all the character development he’s had to make him a good person and all the effort he’s put in to help keep the earth and even the universe safe over the years, he gets dumped in the deep dark pits of hell to rot just so Goku can be convenienced.

It’s incredibly disrespectful to Piccolo as a character and not a satisfying way to end his own story for people who were invested in him. It robbed him of any potential to develop further and be useful to the story, just to try and tug on people’s heartstrings while not respecting him or his legacy. It’s even worse since anyone who’d just tuned into GT because Z was such a big deal and hadn’t watched the previous series wouldn’t know who the heck Piccolo is or why his death is a big deal other than he apparently matters to Gohan. While him dying would be a big deal to people who had been following Dragon Ball for a while and knew his story, GT’s refusal to actually do anything with him just makes the death feel more hollow than anything for people who might not have watched Z.

It was just overall horribly handled and a slap in the face to fans of the character.

Super’s death scene for Piccolo in the RF saga wasn’t nearly as grand or had as much focus that made it dramatic like GT’s death scene, but it served it’s purpose for what it was. It was a shock moment at the end of an episode where Gohan was being tortured. It’s a cliffhanger that grabs your attention to make you want to know just what the heck just happened, it even shocked people who’d seen the movie and thought they knew everything that was going to happen.

And then we did see the impact that Piccolo’s death had straight after. It spurred Gohan into action again to charge up his energy enough for Goku to teleport him and Vegeta to earth, while we also got to see Gohan’s and the other characters shock and horror over Piccolo’s death, including Dende. We saw Goku being rightfully angry at Frieza and taking Piccolo’s body somewhere safe, showing his friend respect and then trying to reassure Gohan that they could fix things with the namekian dragon balls, showing that they all care enough about Piccolo to try and find a way to bring him back. And unlike the film where Goku was mostly just using the fight as an excuse for fun, in Super seeing the damage Frieza had wrought and especially Piccolo’s death made Goku take the fight largely seriously.

And yeah, they did bring him back afterwards. But instead of rendering his death pointless, Piccolo dying was one of the things that spurred Gohan to start training again, which that has slowly started to pay off with the Great Saiyaman two parter and now with the Universe Survival Saga, even if we only saw the training between them briefly. And his death also emphasizes that yeah, the Z fighters ARE risking their lives when they go into battle and that there are horrific consequences if they don’t pull through and save the day. It may not have been done as expertly well as with all the deaths in the saiyan saga, but they were adapting a movie with a plan already laid out for the next story arc. The writers did the best they could do with the situation.

It also helps that Piccolo got a lot more screentime before hand in Super. While he didn’t do a ton of plot crucial things, we got plenty of fun scenes to show that Piccolo has a personality and character to him, and that he’s clearly an important and close friend to the Son family and especially Gohan, so even someone who’d only watched Super or just the RF saga up to that point could still feel the weight of him potentially being killed off like that. Especially important since in Japan at least, there are bound to be kids watching a Dragon Ball show for the first time who wouldn’t know a lot about the previous shows aside from pop cultural osmosis since Dragon Ball is a pretty big deal. Context is a very important thing for selling these things.

So, yeah. GT may have had the grander death scene, but Super’s death scene for Piccolo served a better story purpose and wasn’t as insulting in the long run to his character, nor did it remove most potential for him for future stories.