The Star Wars Thread

[Julius]

Yeah, the first two episodes of Ahsoka were great. Loved the opening, Baylon, Kiner's score (hearing Sabine's Theme backing live-action is goosebump-inducing!), and it sets the rest of the show up nicely. Crazy how much of the marketing footage we've got through already. Chopper absolutely stole the show. 

Thought the end credits were fantastic too. That font they used is 100% inspired by Princess Mononoke's alternate English title logo (I see you Dave Filoni), with a little Nordic and Star Wars inspiration thrown in for good measure too:

Edited August 24, 2023 by Julius

[Julius]

Watched Part Three of Ahsoka over lunch. 

A solid episode, definitely felt like it was setting up the next, and a great Anakin/TCW-type moment from Ahsoka too, with some very Ahsoka dialogue to boot. Rosario and Natasha have both done a great job of embodying their characters with little moments here and there so far (for Sabine, the table and the cup comes to mind as a veeeeeeeeery Sabine moment), look forward to seeing them fleshed out and their relationship explored more in the coming episodes. Kiner OST on point as always. Oh, and also a totally subtle reminder that politicians suck. What they're doing with certain creatures and the plan to follow them seems like a very natural way for us to get elsewhere, hopefully they deliver on that and it doesn't feel shoehorned in, as I was a little worried it might. 

The explanation for the dramatic establishing wide shots of a planet as a ship comes out of hyperspace got me  

[EEVILMURRAY]

How many episodes are planned for this season? Will jump in once a sufficient amount have appeared

[Happenstance]

  On 8/31/2023 at 7:13 AM, EEVILMURRAY said:

How many episodes are planned for this season? Will jump in once a sufficient amount have appeared

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Looks like it's 8 episodes

[FalcoLombardi]

I thought episodes 1 and 2 of Ahsoka were just okay. And then I thought episode 3 was an improvement.

I just got done watching episode 4 and think it's the best of the series so far.

[Julius]

Yep, totally agreed @FalcoLombardi: Part 4 is easily the best episode so far imo. 

Parts 1 - 3 were solid set-up and reintroductions to characters, but didn't feel like too much more; this is the first episode to feel like it had some serious stakes, and boy oh boy did it have them! 

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Despite knowing Thrawn would obviously be in the series given the trailers and everything else, Sabine holding a gun to the map and Baylan slowly walking me over just had me going "JUST DESTROY THE THING! JUST DESTROY THE MAP! SABINE! DESTROY IT DESTROY IT DESTROY IT"  but seriously, that's how you know this show has something at stake: I know they get the map and get to Thrawn, and I'm still shouting at my TV screen! 

Loved the duels. Marrok being a Nightsister magic machination I didn't really see coming, but thank goodness that finally shuts up the "oh it's Ezra/Barriss/whatever" crowd. Baylan kicked ass. 

Huyang throwing hands. 

That shot transitioning from the cliff to the waves to The World Between Worlds was beautifully done. 

And then: Anakin. Was expecting him next episode and a cliffhanger this one, and while we still kind of got a cliffhanger (wait a minute...did they just pull a TFA on us again with the literal cliff?! Also haha the episode being called Fallen Jedi, damn it Filoni!) this was still more than I expected. CG touch up of Hayden's face I was not expecting, but bring it, bring all of it. The "Hello Snips"? 

Also, ending on a drawn out, half take on the Imperial March. Love it. 

Swear there's only 10 seconds or so from footage in trailers that we've yet to see, and those are mainly the shots with Thrawn in them. And there are 4 episodes left! 

Oh, and to say it outside of the spoiler tags: Baylan is awesome. I knew I'd love him as soon as we saw his design, feels great to have a physically imposing and worthy antagonist. Like Anakin if he'd never Vader-suited up, hands down my favourite villain to come out of Disney Star Wars since Kylo. 

You can really tell Ray was giving his all to this role, his physicality and weight is seriously intense. I have no idea if his character survives the series, but I'd imagine he does, and can already foresee a bit of what Dave would have had in mind, just considering the potential future of this show/the New Republic period and the planned film. 

GAH, can't wait for next week! 

Edited September 7, 2023 by Julius

[Julius]

Next week's episode is going to be showing in select theatres in the US (I'm putting it in a spoiler tag as there's a new poster with a spoiler for this week's episode):

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Interesting to have a mid-season event like this, but based on this week's episode it makes perfect sense to me...

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Filoni directing.

Ahsoka meeting Anakin, I'd imagine a good chunk of the episode spent with Anakin. 

And, you know, it likely being the first episode in which we see Thrawn (even if it's the closing shot). 

 

[FalcoLombardi]

No screenings in my area. Boooo!

[FalcoLombardi]

Just finished watching Episode 5 of Ahsoka. Better than 4.

First 30 minutes were something like 9.5/10 for me. The next 20 or so were a 7/10. And then the end/anticipation for what's next were 10/10.

[Julius]

Stayed up late to watch Ahsoka when it dropped...and I have zero regrets. 

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Anakin in TCW armour. Anakin duelling again. First time we see live-action Phase I clones (and 501st at that). Rex in both Phase I and Phase II armour (shame it wasn't Dee voicing him but whatever, the stance is clearly Temuera for live-action and Dee otherwise). Think we get 332nd on Mandalore?

Anakin jumping around and deflecting blaster bolts pretty much exactly as he does in TCW. Hayden portrayed such a great balance between his and Matt Lanter's take on the character in TCW, perfection. The flourishes and aggression in his duelling in flashbacks vs in the duels with Ahsoka felt so different and accurately portrayed the slight differences in his styles in TCW and III. De-aged Anakin looked SO SO SO much better this time around, AND ALSO HOLY DAMN THE FLASHES BETWEEN ANAKIN AND VADER. 

I feel like I finally got to see Episode III/TCW era Anakin again. I could cry rn. That ending when he's wielding the red lightsaber feels right out of III's alternate ending in its officially licensed game, as well as some of the promotional teaser stuff for III. 

Having Arianna Greenblatt as young Ahsoka really drove home how young she was during TCW and at the end during the Siege of Mandalore. She did a solid job. Pretty sure that was Ryloth and then, obviously, Mandalore for the Siege. 

Felt super weird seeing Ahsoka's "nude" look when she wakes up at the end, I'll admit (the fade between her face and togruta feels so wrong to see). Also don't think her white outfit looks that good here, but whatever, it's a minor complaint at best. 

Thought Jacen was actually one of the highlights of the episode, do find it funny how much the actor looks like a young Adam Driver though. The scene where he senses the duel (which confirms that it wasn't all a dream, thank goodness!) and the Force theme swells, just... 

And wow, that ending. The Purrgil were anything but loved when first introduced in Rebels, but man, did they turn that around in the finale and now here with some beautiful music and amazing shots. I was swearing off my TV when I realised we were about to hyperspace jump into credits, though! 

I'm pretty sure the only trailer footage left are shots of Thrawn now? After that shot of the NR cruisers coming out of hyperspace. Three episodes...I'm a little nervous we don't see Thrawn until the very end, but I hope those are squashed in the next episode. Let's see some live-action Ezra already! 

This is, by far and away, the best episode I think Dave has delivered since transitioning into his role as a live-action storyteller. 

I don't want to wait another week for what's next, I want it now

EDIT: also @FalcoLombardi yeah, I think Part 5 is my favourite too (for veeeeeeeeery obvious reasons in my case!). I'm trying to think about it, but Part 4/Part 5 of Ahsoka might be my favourite double-hitter of live-action episodes outside of Andor? Which I think is a bit unfair to compare this show (purely because of how it's set up in arcs so arc-ending double-hitters have a lot built up going into them)

Edited September 13, 2023 by Julius

[FalcoLombardi]

New episode tonight! No clue what to expect but I do hope we see Baylon and Shin (spellings?) again.

[Julius]

  On 9/19/2023 at 10:58 AM, FalcoLombardi said:

New episode tonight! No clue what to expect but I do hope we see Baylon and Shin (spellings?) again.

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I've had to check so many times over the months on the spellings, Shin is right but it seems like they've gone with Baylan (source: Star Wars Databank); don't think it helped that they said their names on-stage well before spellings were confirmed in printed press. 

As for expectations, I don't really have many, but what I hope...

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...is that we see Thrawn by the end of the episode.

I've been a little worried about them leaving his appearance until the final episode of the season, which is how I think most creatives would handle it, but I think Filoni is better at payoff in Star Wars than most, and I think the fact that we've seen him in marketing, he was name-dropped in Episode 7 of Mando S3 (and so we don't need another tease!), and had Lars on-stage and give interviews is enough evidence for me that he'll turn up before the final episode. For casual viewers, they have no idea who Thrawn really is, and I think giving him a couple of episodes to show off why he should be feared would be the smart move – before the season finishes with his return to the known galaxy. 

On the flipside, given that he has not given interviews or been in any marketing outside of an aged holo recording, I think it's more likely that they save Ezra's appearance for last (i.e. after Thrawn, not necessarily the end of the season), especially considering that Elsbeth is seemingly beelining for Thrawn, and unless he's been taken prisoner, I imagine Ezra split from Thrawn and any surviving Imperials the first chance he got, so is unlikely to be found in the same place (even if potentially on the same planet?). 

I actually think this season could end with Thrawn returning to the known galaxy and Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra all being left behind in the new galaxy, leaving the New Republic in an even more weakened state when you then also consider that Hera et al are likely to be the ones to then go pick them up? 

Also, we've heard hints of it already but it's been in brass and only the secondary leitmotif: if Thrawn turns up, I expect Kiner's theme - on organs - to be played at full belt. 

Very excited for tonight's episode, whatever it may bring! 

[Julius]

I'll update with some more cohesive thoughts on Ahsoka Part 6 in a bit, but for now:

Man, I love Star Wars 

[FalcoLombardi]

I think I'd put this episode on par with episode 4.

[Happenstance]

I actually found this episode way too easy and convenient.

[Julius]

Yet another fantastic episode of Ahsoka. That's four in a row of Ahsoka (Parts 4 to 7) that have been top tier Star Wars, as far as I'm concerned! 

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• that might be my single favourite C-3PO appearance...ever? Actually served a purpose - a great one, at that - and put a huge smile on my face, but didn't feel like it was being played up. You can tell this scene was crafted by people with experience utilising the character. Excellent response from Chop, as always! 

• Eman's performance as Ezra in the last episode was great, but it was even stronger this time around. The hand motions, the quips, dude's clearly done his homework. 

• Baylan sending Shin out to figure out her place in all of this is... interesting. Seems he's keen to stay on Peridea/in this new galaxy, curious to see if we get any answers about him this season or if we're left waiting. 

• Shin seems very lost, shame that we haven't done much digging into her past, but in the next episode or another show/season, it's clear that they have more planned for her. 

• this episode is EXACTLY why I thought Thrawn needed to turn up in Episode 6 or 7 instead of just being a last minute cameo: it legitimises the threat of Thrawn to more casual fans, and fleshes out so much more of his character than I think Part 6 managed to do by itself. His approach to battle has been perfectly conveyed. Be scared of what's to come. 

• feel like that was soft confirmation that the Night Troopers weren't just zombified remains and are indeed legitimate and living servants of Thrawn, with how they spoke/reacted/fought/retreated. I think the magic of the Great Mothers might only go so far as helping them keep together/stage off potential weakness, more like a stat buff than a revive. 

• MORE CHRISTENSEN MORE GREAT STAR WARS TIMES

Loved every second of it. 

  On 9/20/2023 at 1:45 AM, Julius said:

I'll update with some more cohesive thoughts on Ahsoka Part 6 in a bit

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I can update this post with some thoughts on it now, though 

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• Thrawn's return and the reveal of the new galaxy were both masterfully done, as it gave us reactions before the main course: characters reacting to the arrival of The Chimaera, the initially outward-facing pan from the ring to Peridea. 

• music was awesome, loved the organs, but his theme has only been briefly hinted at or played, but not in complete form bombastically. I think it's being saved for the final episode and his potential return to the known galaxy. 

• Ezra's reveal was great, man, hearing that theme nearly brought me to tears. Over 5 years of waiting and PERFECT payoff! Eman was awesome, eyes are a bit distracting and the lack of blue hair is unfortunate, but yeah, great stuff. 

• Baylan really is turning into what I wanted Luke to be in the sequels going into TLJ: someone looking for a way to break the cycle, and be active in doing so. Love every second he's on screen. Ray giving one hell of a performance, RIP; one of my favourite new and original characters in Star Wars for a long time! 

• I said it a while back, but I think Ezra and Sabine being romantically involved at some point seems more and more on the cards. Some of the shots here - in particular, the shots of only their legs and the lil hermit crab dudes - is a go-to shot to convey companionship/romance. Also think it makes sense to go that route more than introducing an original relationship for the Mandoverse, just considering how little time eight episodes feels like - piggybacking on a pre-existing relationship seems the smarter writing move, at least. Huyang also saying that this might be the only choice for Sabine gives me "so love has blinded you?" vibes from Episode III. 

Just one episode left...

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Been saying it for a while now: I think the finale ends with Thrawn making it back to the known galaxy, his theme belted out in full. 

Meanwhile, I think it's an Empire/Infinity War-like ending for our heroes. They fail to stop Thrawn's return to the known galaxy - added stakes in that Ezra doesn't even know about that yet, I wonder if he knows what's aboard the crates and has an inkling as to what Baylan is looking for? - and may even end up stranded (if not just left a good chunk of the way behind) for someone else to pick them up. Potentially Hera and co., potentially leaving the only New Republic general taking this seriously - and with knowledge of it - out of the picture. 

What I'd love to see is a recreation of the closing shot of Empire...

but this time Thrawn looking out at the known galaxy, or our heroes looking at it from afar in the new galaxy. 

Cannot wait for next week's episode! Crazy to think there's only one episode left...and then the long wait begins 

Edited September 27, 2023 by Julius

[EEVILMURRAY]

I've only just watched up to episode 5, but if someone told me it would end with Space Whales queefing their way into Hyperspace, I would've told them to fuck off

[FalcoLombardi]

Yep, liked the finale as well.

Kind of a weak first 3 episodes but after that I really enjoyed it.

 

[Ahsoka talk]

[Julius]

Damn, what a finale for Ahsoka. Some scattered thoughts:

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• Holy. Shit. The Mortis Gods. The freaking Mortis Gods!!! Between those statues (and the missing daughter...hmm), the Purrgil, and the Dathomiri Mothers, it certainly seems like this is new galaxy is where all of the weird, magical, and unexplainable stuff in Star Wars originates. I love that it is so deeply rooted in Western medieval fantasy, given that so much of the known galaxy is very heavily samurai/spaghetti western/etc. outside of the use of the Hero's Journey. 

• yeah, in case it wasn't apparent before, a Baylan recast is afoot. As for what's calling to him? It's obviously Mortis related...but is it going to be a new element, like The Mother? I've seen some theories about it being an Abeloth-type being, which I could see playing out. Trying to break the cycle of light/dark is super interesting, too - curious if he's looking to use the doors/time travel in The World Between Worlds to go back and change things. 

• the only statue having crumbled being The Daughter and us seeing Morai again is definitely anything but a coincidence. Seems like Ahsoka still has some unfinished business. 

• Loved that the undead ability of the Night Troopers were activated after they died - meaning that they keep the typical loyalty to Thrawn trope of Legends, but have a trick kept up their sleeve. Saving that for the last episode and Ezra not seeing that in his 10+ years on Peridea? Holy hot damn was Thrawn playing the long game there. 

• One of my favourite dialogue callbacks of all the Star Wars anything in this show (Do or do not, there is no try):

Ahsoka: Have you kept up with your training? 

Sabine: I try...I do. 

• haha as soon as they got to the ISD taking off I was like "are we about to see a Force pushed leap?!" and am still surprised at how hyped I got. Good stuff. 

• bro those Thrawn Death Troopers are sickkkkkkkkkkk, can't wait to see some cosplay of those! 

• the Blade of Talzin?! Hell yesssssssss

• super weird cuts/shots when Ahsoka, Ezra and Sabine face off against the Night Troopers at the bottom of the tower

• Thrawn going scorched earth knowing that he's absolutely f'd if Ahsoka makes it aboard lmao, dude has definitely learned from his time against Force users in Rebels.

• assuming that Thrawn knows about the death of the Emperor...he's almost certainly reuniting the Imperial Remnants, but to what end? I think he's more interested in what the Empire represents: security. He specifically mentions the security of the galaxy. Wouldn't shock me if there's an ulterior motive to it - I hope it's that, not just some blind allegiance to a man dead for over half a decade at this point. 

• one last shot of Force Ghost Hayden 

• lmao that stupid ass Narnia title 

• Ezra and Chopper being reunited got me emotional. No Hera hug, though? 

Definitely my favourite season set in the New Republic/Mandoverse era, I agree with @FalcoLombardi that the first three episodes were a bit weaker than the others and a lot of (necessary) set-up, but every episode thereafter - from Parts 4 up to and including the finale in Part 8 - came with moment after moment of payoff, and even more so if you've watched Rebels before this...and even more so than that if you've watched The Clone Wars before this. 

And I don't think that's down to the show being a continuation of where Rebels left off, or having some great fan service moments, but genuinely because the show had moments they were constantly building towards. I love Mando having it's standalone episodes, but in an eight-episode season, having only half - at best - of those episodes actively move things along can definitely result in a weird pace to the season, ESPECIALLY with how short some episodes end up being; Boba Fett was an interesting origin story before it wasn't and turned into Mando S2.5; and Kenobi, well, weirdly lacked direction and just felt very bloated too. 

So, I think this is maybe my second favourite live-action Star Wars show overall, behind Andor, but that five-episode stretch from Part 4 - Part 8 is my favourite five-episode stretch in any of these shows so far. It's just beat after beat of payoff for someone like me, and I loved every bit of it.

Shout out to: Baylan and Ray Stevenson's (RIP) performance, my favourite new character introduced in the show and it's not even close; the visual effects, this is BY FAR and no question the best visual effects we've seen in any of these shows, a couple of shots in The Volume which were obvious but otherwise it looked like a massive bump in budget; and, lastly, a special shout out to the Kiners for their music this season. Hope they get their chance to score a live-action film with Dave's movie – I say I hope, but I have no real doubts that they'll be along for that ride. 

Right then, now the long wait begins. It could definitely be a while before the events of this show are picked back up, so for now...maybe it's time for a Clone Wars or Rebels rewatch? 

Edited October 4, 2023 by Julius

[Happenstance]

I enjoyed the series overall, probably enjoyed the first few eps more than the rest of you but I feel like I was coming from a different position where I only had a small amount of knowledge of Clone Wars and Rebels so it was a nice catchup. The finale was good and about what I expected.

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The one thing I did expect that didn't happen though was some kind of quick confrontation with Thrawn when he got back to the galaxy. The show did a good job showing the kind of tactician he is but I felt like it needed to show the New Republic getting absolutely trounced by him to emphasise why people were right to fear his return. I'm sure we'll get that at some point either in maybe series 2 or the movie but this felt the right moment to show it.

Sabine sure is confident in her force abilities after only moving a lightsaber once isn't she? If I was Ezra I would have been a bit more worried about her throwing me across that gap 

Such a shame about Ray Stevenson, he was the standout in this show and I'm sad we won't get to see him continuing this story.

It's been nice seeing Anakin again in the Star Wars universe. I don't think the prequels really had the time (or good writing) to build up what a fall he actually had when he became Vader so seeing him talk as Anakin and having Ahsoka be able to talk fondly of him again is nice.

I'm reading the New Republic Legends Omnibus at the moment for my Star Wars fix but after that I might have to move back to some current canon books. I never did finish the first Thrawn trilogy.

[bob]

Would you say that Asoka is a good series to watch as a fairly neutral viewer? I.e. is it a standalone good series, or does it rely on being a fan of Star Wars and require knowledge of watching Rebels and the other shows?

Debating whether to watch it, but I've been burned by previous series. Andor was good, but Obi Wan and Boba Fett were a bit crap etc.

[Julius]

  On 10/5/2023 at 7:35 AM, bob said:

Would you say that Asoka is a good series to watch as a fairly neutral viewer? I.e. is it a standalone good series, or does it rely on being a fan of Star Wars and require knowledge of watching Rebels and the other shows?

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I certainly think it can be enjoyed without having seen The Clone Wars and Rebels, but with zero knowledge of those series at all, I think it might take a minute to figure out what's going on with some of these characters – it was kind of marketed as being a sequel series to Rebels. 

For that reason, I'd recommend watching a couple of videos from Star Wars Explained intended to catch people up who haven't seen those shows. I recommended these videos to some of my friends who hadn't seen Rebels or The Clone Wars, and had only watched the live-action Star Wars shows, and I don't think I heard a question from them since, so I'll recommend the same to you: 

SWE also has some character videos released in the build-up to Ahsoka; if you plan to watch any of those, I'd recommend the ones for Thrawn, Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra (in order of how important I think knowing about them is to enjoying the show). 

I still think that even with watching those videos, some of the bigger fan service moments don't have the same amount of payoff if you haven't watched Rebels and The Clone Wars – but it should be more than enough to not feel totally lost while watching the show. 

  On 10/5/2023 at 7:35 AM, bob said:

Debating whether to watch it, but I've been burned by previous series. Andor was good, but Obi Wan and Boba Fett were a bit crap etc.

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For me, I think it's one of the best live-action shows they've released so far - probably behind Andor - and I think preferences will probably decide if you enjoy it more than Mando S1 and Mando S2; if you're one of those people who isn't a huge fan of the episodic adventures not really related to the main story in Mando and want one continuous story, then I think this will be right up your alley, as the show has a clear premise from beginning to end which every episode feeds into. 

Personally, if you've watched all the other live-action Star Wars show up to this point, I think you should watch it because it sets up a lot more of what's to come in future shows. 

Hope that helps, look forward to hearing some of your thoughts if you do get around to it! 

Edited October 5, 2023 by Julius

[EEVILMURRAY]

  On 10/5/2023 at 7:35 AM, bob said:

Would you say that Asoka is a good series to watch as a fairly neutral viewer? I.e. is it a standalone good series, or does it rely on being a fan of Star Wars and require knowledge of watching Rebels and the other shows?

Debating whether to watch it, but I've been burned by previous series. Andor was good, but Obi Wan and Boba Fett were a bit crap etc.

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I would say no, as someone who hasn't watched Rebels and about 5 episodes of Clone Wars, I felt a little confused about what I was expecting to be blowing my load over and giving a shit about compared to stuff they've done just for the show.

  On 10/5/2023 at 12:41 PM, Julius said:

SWE also has some character videos released in the build-up to Ahsoka; if you plan to watch any of those, I'd recommend the ones for Thrawn, Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra (in order of how important I think knowing about them is to enjoying the show). 

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If stuff like needs to be recommended, then either they've failed at making a program, or we've failed by not watching enough of their stuff.

 

As mentioned, as a non-committed consumer to all the  spin offs, this finale felt like an absolute mess to me. Part of this is on me for thinking there would be at least an attempt at some form of resolution, instead it left open about 5 narrative threads with zero things being resolved. From queefing space whales to just adding in witches and magic for reasons I assume are "just because", and of course they gave the Asian lady a katana - I don't feel in any rush to see how it ends. But Hera and Ahsoka certainly have the "standing there with arms crossed" look down.

Side note - why do people in Star Wars like to bugger off far away and it's a quest to find a star map? If someone could explain how/why Thrawn decided to zoom off to a very distant part where his location could only be discovered by long undiscovered ancient artifacts would be super.

[bob]

Hmmm, drastically differing opinions.

Maybe I'll have to just watch the first one and see if it grips me.

Thinking about it, I can't remember if I finished Mando S3? I think I stopped when my D+ subscription ran out, and I can't remember if I ever went back and watched the rest...

[EEVILMURRAY]

  On 10/6/2023 at 8:12 AM, bob said:

Maybe I'll have to just watch the first one and see if it grips me.
 

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It starts off strong I would say. But later on I think it relies too much on you knowing enough about Rebels etc

 

When they introduce Sabine I can imagine Rebels fans going "classic Sabine", whereas everyone else is going "what a selfish bitch"

 

EDIT - Can't believe I forgot the zombies, and suddenly lightsabres aren't capable of cutting limbs off anymore, which was the obvious solution but we had to deal with 3 idiots banging their head against a wall.

Edited October 6, 2023 by EEVILMURRAY