The Star Wars Thread

[Ronnie]

3 hours ago, darksnowman said:

I got around to watching Book of Boba Fett a few weeks ago and enjoyed it plenty. Nice to see I'm not as alone on that as I thought because I made the mistake of having a look online to see what the general consensus was and was shocked to see the volume of negative feedback.  

Everyone I asked at Celebration said they enjoyed the series. I think it's just the usual online thing of the negative voices tend to shout loudest. I think there was some legit issues with the show tbf, but a chunk of the criticism of it (and Obi-Wan) is how slow and lacking in action it was/is, but I'm with you, I love the quieter moments.

Edited June 9, 2022 by Ronnie

[Ronnie]

Galaxy's Edge, Disneyland, a (mini) review.

In a word, amazing. Had an absolute blast, went over two days, and the second was much more enjoyable because it wasn't a bank holiday like the Monday was, d'oh. The place is extremely well made and I had a great time just taking it slow and hanging out the various areas.

The first of the two rides, Millennium Falcon Smuggler's Run was good fun, although they sort of rushed us through the boarding part so didn't get to spend too long looking around the Falcon itself. You go in in groups of 6 people and they assign roles, 2 pilots, 2 gunners, 2 engineers. I asked the guy if I could be a pilot which he happily sorted. The right hand position got to make the jump to hyperspace, you pull back on a lever and the effect is triggered on the screens in front of the cockpit. Cool af. The ride itself was ok. it was quite interactive and they assign you points and a rank at the end based on how well you did. The guy flying alongside me did really well so the 6 of us got quite a high score I think. The storyline was serviceable, a nice little offshoot of the Solo train heist/coaxium stealing, but honestly everything goes by so fast it's hard to keep up. 

Rise of the Resistance though, fuck me, amazing. I did it twice and had a massive grin on my face the entire time. The whole thing is pretty long, a good 15-20 minutes in total, including bits where you walk around. The storyline was fun and all the main sequel trilogy characters/actors showed up for cameos every now and then. Put it this way, Daisy Ridley, whilst definitely not bad here exactly, put in a much better performance in the films themselves  Can't say enough good things about this ride, tons of fun, with 3 or 4 different parts to it. The way they simulated blaster bolts on the star destroyer, brilliant.

As for Black Spire Outpost itself, it was a lot of fun just wandering around or hanging out. Had both blue and green milk, both tasty. Got there really early so could do a load of shopping at the start when it was quiet. All the merchandise is 'in universe' so you won't see any Star Wars logos anywhere, pretty nifty idea. Sufficed to say I pretty much emptied my bank account buying stuff.

Had a breakfast Ronto wrap and meiloorun juice to start the day off. Basically a pitta+hotdog+melted cheese+scrambled eggs (very tasty), and a ice cold fruit drink with every kind of fruit you can think of (also nice). This is where they were being served (engine was fully functional, and noisy af):

The Cantina was fun, we struck up a conversation with a couple of guys who'd just been to Celebration too, which was nice as I'd been having serious withdrawal symptoms by then. The server informed me when I was ordering my second drink that it also came in an optional Porg mug for an extra 28 credits and you get to take a boxed version home.

Spoiler

Obviously I said yes. 

There were a couple of experiences you could pay extra for, build your own lightsaber ($220) and build your own droid ($100). Everyone says the former is a must do but tbh I've never been that into lightsabers and the ones you get to build look a little cheap and plasticky plus I'd spent a fortune already. The droid building I would be very much into but again they kind of look a bit plasticky. I'm regretting not doing it now though, the place was awesome to look at. Got some fun merch from the shop though at least

The part itself has its own storyline, set between Ep 8 and Ep 9, so they had actors playing Rey, Chewie, Kylo Ren, and a couple of stormtroopers walking around + a character they created solely for the park. It was fun to listen in when they spoke to kids etc, the girl who played Rey did a great job, sounded a lot like her too.

The ships that were scattered around the place were cool af. I was geeking out over the starfighters especially.

Poe's black X-wing is even more cool in person.

There were a ton of shops, all specialising in a different type of thing. This was the coolest, the den of antiquities. Holocrons, sabres, Jedi/sith artefacts for sale. Then random stuff like galactic credits or Mon Calamari money, rank insignias etc

Finished the day getting some Batuu mix (popcorn, like in The Bad Batch). It came in an optional mouse droid holder which you could take home.

Spoiler

Shock, I parted with another 18 bucks for it. 

So yeah, all in all, had a great time. It was fun to just hang out, but I'd recommend going at a time when it's not peak holidays, it got really busy that first day, but the second was much more enjoyable with fewer people cause it was just a random Tuesday.

PS: That's so weird, I was originally coming on here to reply to your latest post about Kenobi @Julius but it's missing, did I imagine it?? 

[Julius]

Sounds and looks like you had a great time @Ronnie, lovely pics! 

On 13/06/2022 at 7:52 PM, Ronnie said:

PS: That's so weird, I was originally coming on here to reply to your latest post about Kenobi @Julius but it's missing, did I imagine it?? 

Oh haha, I deleted it. Reading it back through it just seemed very long and made it sound like what I was talking about was a much bigger deal than it was, didn't feel like it contributed anything meaningful or constructive to the conversation 

Essentially, all it said was I think Boba Fett and Obi-Wan have great parts, but I think they lack cohesion at times, as there are some decisions they've come to for both shows which I feel are at the very least divisive, and in some cases just outright not great choices. With that in mind, think they could have been made better than they are with a bit more oversight; not necessarily production through committee, but just having someone (not the Story Group, an actual storyteller, someone like Filoni) at the very least provide feedback.

These things are probably already happening to some extent (I mean, I'd certainly hope they are!), but I think most of what Dave touches turns to gold, and don't think it's a coincidence that I thing the general consensus is that the two shows he contributed less to are seen as a noticeable step down from Mando and even Rebels, The Clone Wars, and The Bad Batch (note: I know he directed Episode 6, and yeah while not quite Episode 5, I thought it was great). Having someone like that - in that Feige-esque role, a role basically invented by George in all honesty - just makes sense to me, and for example with Obi-Wan in particular, this is a character he wrote for years alongside George, so I would have hoped he had more to do with the show than his only credits being under 'Special Thanks'. 

Grass is always greener, though, and I know how busy Filoni must be. He also just doesn't strike me as someone remotely interested in the politics of wider scale production, he's here for the story, but just feel his guiding hand could be really useful elsewhere. These shows are going to do crazy well on Disney+ regardless of their quality (it's sad, but true) and so I really feel like having someone with that eye for quality, who knows the franchise well, is well-respected, and so on and so forth, should be a bit more involved in the bigger picture. 

But yeah, we'll see what happens with Kenobi. I'm increasingly nervous about how the show ends, not necessarily at this point because of my expectations being in the wrong place, but I can see, understand, and agree with many of the criticisms levied at the show so far (even though I think it has great moments), and the direction it appears to be heading is what I'm nervous about. I think it's heading towards being a missed opportunity, which would be a shame. 

Edited June 15, 2022 by Julius

[Ronnie]

13 minutes ago, Julius said:

Sounds and looks like you had a great time @Ronnie, lovely pics! 

Oh haha, I deleted it. Reading it back through it just seemed very long and made it sound like what I was talking about was a much bigger deal than it was, didn't feel like it contributed to the conversation as well as it could have 

Essentially, all it said was I think Boba Fett and Obi-Wan have great parts, but I think they lack cohesion at times, as there are some decisions they've come to for both shows which I feel are at the very least divisive, and in some cases just outright not great choices. With that in mind, think they could have been made better than they are with a bit more oversight; not necessarily production through committee, but just having someone (not the Story Group, an actual storyteller, someone like Filoni) at the very least provide feedback.

These things are probably already happening to some extent (I mean, I'd certainly hope they are!), but I think most of what Dave touches turns to gold, and don't think it's a coincidence that I thing the general consensus is that the two shows he contributed less to are seen as a noticeable step down from Mando and even Rebels, The Clone Wars, and The Bad Batch (note: I know he directed Episode 6, and yeah while not quite Episode 5, I thought it was great). Having someone like that - in that Feige-esque role, a role basically invented by George in all honesty - just makes sense to me, and for example with Obi-Wan in particular, this is a character he wrote for years alongside George, so I would have hoped he had more to do with the show than his only credits being under 'Special Thanks'. 

Grass is always greener, though, and I know how busy Filoni must be. He also just doesn't strike me as someone remotely interested in the politics of wider scale production, he's here for the story, but just feel his guiding hand could be really useful elsewhere. These shows are going to do crazy well on Disney+ regardless of their quality (it's sad, but true) and so I really feel like having someone with that eye for quality, who knows the franchise well, is well-respected, and so on and so forth, should be a bit more involved in the bigger picture. 

But yeah, we'll see what happens with Kenobi. I'm increasingly nervous about how the show ends, not necessarily at this point because of my expectations being in the wrong place, but I can see, understand, and agree with many of the criticisms levied at the show so far (even though I think it has great moments), and the direction it appears to be heading is what I'm nervous about. I think it's heading towards being a bit of a missed opportunity, which sucks. 

Fingers crossed I'm wrong. I'll post another time about the music again because it's getting late (early?), but I've been thinking about it more and still have a lot more to say there 

I think getting the story-teller right is key for sure, and there needs to be a guiding voice (I certainly think Filoni is that man) who helps to guide other writers, but I suppose the trick is where do you draw the line and allow people (like the Kasdans as one example) enough free reign to tell their story. Mando was almost exclusively written by Favreau for instance, with Filoni obviously filling in the details here and there. As a random mention, Filoni made a comment after the Siege of Mandalore screening that a ton of credit for story-telling needs to go to some of the more behind the scenes people like Carrie Beck or Athena Portillo (don't quote me on the latter), and that it's a collaborative effort. 

On a separate note, in terms of enjoying SW content, I've said it before but re-watches and a bit of distance definitely help when it comes to engaging with new content in a long-running franchise that means a lot to you. It's similar to the Zelda cycle (before BOTW at least), new game comes out "it wasn't as good as the last one" + improved fan response to the previous game. In many ways that's happening with the prequels in general. Return of the Jedi was disliked when it first came out, and now it's beloved etc etc. When I watched the S2 finale of Mando I wasn't a massive fan, but subsequent rewatches and I love it now. Same with The Heiress, it (somehow) didn't do much for me at first viewing, now it's one of my favourite episodes. Star Wars Explained put it really succinctly if you have a couple of minutes and are interested (just a couple of minutes from 3:26 onwards)

[Julius]

5 hours ago, Ronnie said:

I think getting the story-teller right is key for sure, and there needs to be a guiding voice (I certainly think Filoni is that man) who helps to guide other writers, but I suppose the trick is where do you draw the line and allow people (like the Kasdans as one example) enough free reign to tell their story. Mando was almost exclusively written by Favreau for instance, with Filoni obviously filling in the details here and there. As a random mention, Filoni made a comment after the Siege of Mandalore screening that a ton of credit for story-telling needs to go to some of the more behind the scenes people like Carrie Beck or Athena Portillo (don't quote me on the latter), and that it's a collaborative effort. 

Oh absolutely, I just think it needs to be there to bounce ideas off more than anything, I think that's so vital. It doesn't always mean a better project, mistakes can absolutely still be made, just makes sense to me for the guy who's written Kenobi since the mid-2000's to be there to bounce things off of (in fairness, I think Ewan's performance as Obi-Wan is that universal point of praise for the show, so it's probably not the best example of what I mean, but think you know what I'm saying!).

Like you say, Favreau wrote Mando (I mean, before even being officially hired he was writing Mando, the guy wanted it bad!), but a huge part of that process - at least from the Gallery and other interviews they've had - really shines a light on the back and forth being vital for that show. And, while Jon did write Mando almost exclusively, from what I gather Filoni was working on his own separate Mando project to some degree (KK mentioned it in the Gallery I believe when talking about setting them up on their "play date") which I imagine was more focused on what we now see as backstory for Mando. Something huge with Dave as well I feel is beyond the back and forth, he's a storyboarder, which isn't something you frequently get from guys coming from a film or TV background as much as you do the animation side of things. 

That Yin and Yang I guess. And absolutely, there are other people from the animated series that I'd actually want to get involved (and I mean in terms of live-action, there have already been several people who have come onboard who I want to see get larger roles beyond directing a single episode, like BDH!), because they're also people who have been working on Star Wars for so long and are just incredibly experienced and well-versed in this now. I know Carrie basically works on everything Dave works on, but you mention Athena and I feel like her presence (and this is also the case for many of the writers and animators of the animated series) seems a bit underappreciated from the outside looking in, and you'd hope that they were getting shots to do what people new to Star Wars are also doing, you know? 

But yeah, this is a long way of saying I think we agree, but it's absolutely just finding that balance! It's so weird because I want Dave helming Ahsoka to do great so he can be trusted with bigger and bigger live-action projects (man, like I just feel you could place trust in the idea of a Filoni film once he's got to grips more with live-action and that's really exciting), but then I also want him around just to give general oversight/be there to bounce ideas off of. 

I think the simple solution is that we need to clone Dave Filoni 

5 hours ago, Ronnie said:

On a separate note, in terms of enjoying SW content, I've said it before but re-watches and a bit of distance definitely help when it comes to engaging with new content in a long-running franchise that means a lot to you. It's similar to the Zelda cycle (before BOTW at least), new game comes out "it wasn't as good as the last one" + improved fan response to the previous game. In many ways that's happening with the prequels in general. Return of the Jedi was disliked when it first came out, and now it's beloved etc etc. When I watched the S2 finale of Mando I wasn't a massive fan, but subsequent rewatches and I love it now. Same with The Heiress, it (somehow) didn't do much for me at first viewing, now it's one of my favourite episodes. Star Wars Explained put it really succinctly if you have a couple of minutes and are interested (just a couple of minutes from 3:26 onwards)

Oh yeah, absolutely, I couldn't agree more; it's something I do a fair bit actually, but as you know I've taken a looooooong break from Star Wars so that's been the exception to that as of late, but I'm in a huuuuuuuuuge Star Wars kick now (yet to start on any of the new books I've got as my evenings have been a mess lately, but I'm returning to a lot of Star Wars games and shows ) which has been great, though Kenobi has put continuing with going through the films on a bit of a hold as I feel like I'm getting a good fill of live-action Star Wars from that. Great clip from SWE by the way, thanks for sharing that! He's right; the path of least resistance (on these days unfortunately throwing malicious or just generally negative thoughts into the cesspit that is the internet) is often the easy thing

I'd probably say for me 8 times out of 10 returning to something doesn't really change my view massively (and honestly, when it does, its incredibly rare that I enjoy things more, but it does happen!), but that space from release can definitely relieve a rewatch of any added pressures, especially if there's just a lot going on (and I don't know about you, but I definitely feel like sometimes in the moment I might be distracted by other things going on in life but not really notice until much later on down the line; hindsight is 20-20 and all that jazz). I can't remember who it was but there was a film critic who would begin their reviews by describing their day up to watching the film (e.g. 'I woke up at 8, felt great, went and grabbed a coffee and bagel. This guy bumped into me and started swearing, I yelled back, it was a whole thing. But then on my walk over to the theatre I saw a lot more friendly faces and quickly forgot about that", etc.) just to give their reader that point of context for where they're coming from with the review. 

In fairness, Kenobi I do watch twice at the moment, and yeah, I do think it helps to enjoy the good moments more, but adversely, it can also just make me double down on "man, I really just don't gel with the decisions they've made on the music/yeah I was right, this CGI Tatooine sand sucks balls/etc.", but when I do that, it really does come from a place of 1) wanting to learn (I just love stories and absorbing them and the processes behind making them), and 2) love, for Star Wars. The sequels I watched an unseemly amount in cinemas, and I think it was on here where I straight up said coming out of TLJ "yeah, I have no idea what I think, this needs a second watch" and afterwards telling everyone "it absolutely needs a second watch." TROS had its moments, and I'm sure I'll enjoy those moments more with a rewatch now (I did watch it three times in theatres to be fair!), but I think you can watch the first act of that film and, even if you accept there are good moments, that it's going to be a bit of a mess. 

When I have issues with things in Star Wars - and I mean, any other story, or just anything else I talk about to be honest - I hope it comes across that even if I disagree or have a differing view that I by no means want to change someone else's view, or yell into the echo chamber with a drive-by thought. The only time I'll find myself doing that is when people are spewing dangerous thoughts that can harm people, and even then, you've got to be careful and respectful (for example: I think the Moses Ingram hate is disgusting. I think Reva hasn't been spectacular from what we've seen so far, but that in no way excuses the vitriol she's had to deal with); a position of confrontation loses out to a position of understanding every time, all of the time, without fail. I always want to try and have that back and forth when possible, in order to try to understand someone else's perspective; so, while I have issues with Boba and Kenobi, I think it's great that there are those on here who loved Boba, or are loving Kenobi, more than I did/have/am, as at the end of the day, I want to love these things just as much as everyone else! 

I've always been like that though, or at least I like to think so, but in fairness, it can be difficult to translate to places like this where your written word is both your opinion and the emotion behind your opinion. It's why sometimes some of my posts (like this one!) can get a little long, but I don't know, I think it's better to talk a little too much (online anyways) to try to make it as clear as I can to show that I'm open to that back and forth, and hopefully have that common ground for understanding 

[Ronnie]

1 hour ago, Julius said:

But yeah, this is a long way of saying I think we agree, but it's absolutely just finding that balance! It's so weird because I want Dave helming Ahsoka to do great so he can be trusted with bigger and bigger live-action projects (man, like I just feel you could place trust in the idea of a Filoni film once he's got to grips more with live-action and that's really exciting), but then I also want him around just to give general oversight/be there to bounce ideas off of. 

I think the simple solution is that we need to clone Dave Filoni 

Totally, but like you suggest I think that Dave benefits hugely from someone like Favreau who brings in the big screen story-telling experience, so the two work well together. I'm sure Dave will get his own film one day but at the moment I think he even admits himself he's still learning a lot. He told a funny little story about how he showed Carrie Beck a little storyline he'd been working on and she was like 'meh' (which gave everyone a good laugh) so he went back and re-wrote it. 

To be honest, personally, apart from maybe the first half of TROS, storylines has never really been an issue with me since Disney took over, I can get behind things pretty easily, including Rey as a Palpatine. I tend to focus more on the execution, the dialogue, characters when I have criticism. Or even the CGI like those T-47s coming in to save the day looking a bit dodgy. 

1 hour ago, Julius said:

I'd probably say for me 8 times out of 10 returning to something doesn't really change my view massively (and honestly, when it does, its incredibly rare that I enjoy things more, but it does happen!), but that space from release can definitely relieve a rewatch of any added pressures, especially if there's just a lot going on (and I don't know about you, but I definitely feel like sometimes in the moment I might be distracted by other things going on in life but not really notice until much later on down the line; hindsight is 20-20 and all that jazz).

Interesting! Fair enough. I wouldn't say it massively changes my view either, but I find that expectation reset helps ground my opinion a bit more.

1 hour ago, Julius said:

TROS had its moments, and I'm sure I'll enjoy those moments more with a rewatch now (I did watch it three times in theatres to be fair!), but I think you can watch the first act of that film and, even if you accept there are good moments, that it's going to be a bit of a mess. 

I enjoy TROS a lot, especially nowadays, but I wouldn't say it's a good "film". I think 7 and 8 are good films, 9 improves massively around the halfway point imo but it's mostly a collection of great moments, like you say, rather than anything more cohesive like the other two.

Found myself nodding along to the rest of your post (as opposed to nodding off!), very much agree with it and how you view things. Star Wars fandom can be a bit of minefield (in fact, this tweet made me laugh the other day) but it's nice to have sane and grounded discussion with you on here.

And that's interesting about the reviewer who would describe how his day went to give context to the review. Force Center do that when reviewing films and tv episodes, talking about their frame of mind going into an episode for instance. They do fantastic work over there, and they make me feel incredibly dumb during their deep-dives on these shows haha.

[Julius]

Watched Part V of Obi-Wan Kenobi this morning, and again just, and all I've got to say is: this is more like it. 

Spoiler

• bah, immediately on Coruscant -- flashback! Doesn't look close to as good as it looks at time in the prequels, but I'm just happy to be back, we've seen embarrassingly little of it since the Disney takeover. Anakin and Obi-Wan with their Episode II outfits - the braid!!! - are great, Anakin still has both hands so it's pre-II, so he's 17/18 in this? I've already seen complaints about the decision to not use deepfake or some other alternative to make Ewan and Hayden look younger here, but come on, they look spry as heck - even if a little gaunt when compared to their younger selves, slightly receded hairlines and tougher looking skin - so I think those are wildly misplaced, I don't think an attempt to make them look younger would look natural, and besides, the point gets across. There might also be a storytelling reason, which is that this scene is laced back and forth with Vader and "present day" Obi-Wan, so this might be how they remember it (as in, they'd put in how they remember/expect the other person to look in that memory). Long way of saying: woo flashback! 

• so it's not a big deal but the lightsabers look short, I've noticed this in the show before but I think I read the other day from some lightsaber fanatics that they're actually using replicas and not props for Anakin and Obi-Wan (maybe some work has been done to the hilts?). Their point was mostly that this is why they look so short. Also, bit of an odd decision to have two lightsabers clashing with a blue sky on a sunny day in the background. Love the reflection on the floor regardless. 

• okay, while I've got issues with the soundtrack as a whole - which I've made no secret of during the show's run so far - beyond Kenobi's Theme, I do like the little Vader theme they've got going on. It's no Imperial March, but I just love this winding and repetition of the build-up before it sort of uncoils. 

• a lot of great shots of Vader in this episode.

• love that Vader has the time for a little ceremony to promote Reva to Grand Inquisitor but knocks off Imperials like they're nothing in the OT, it's very funny to me! 

• that shot of Jabiim tells me most of this show's budget has almost definitely been saved for these last two episodes. 

• the droid that won the droid design competition! Doesn't look as good as in the design, but still, nice! 

• so I thought that shot of Vader looking out from the bridge going through hyperspace was awesome, but then the camera starts to get closer and turn towards him, and I found that it was very noticeable that they were in the Volume (looking at the "window frames" of the bridge), which makes the bridge look a bit round from this angle. Not a huge issue - look, it ain't Tatooine's sand, alright - but thought it was an interesting one to point out. 

• Lola doing her best version of an Imperial probe droid! 

• "He'll attack next, he has no patience for a siege" oh yeah, so this bit they've nailed. That's 100% Anakin and 100% Obi-Wan. Hell to the yes on this. Everything else based on this throughout the episode - Obi-Wan going on the defence and Anakin on the attack - is great. 

• oh man then going straight into a continuation of the flashback, "the goal of a Jedi is to defend life, not take it", I mean even just the grunts and the flow of the combat itself -- it's got that prequel feel to it. 

• then yet another great shot of Vader, this time his helmet reflected back in the window with Jabiim just out of focus. Lovely stuff. 

• oh man, I'm such a Star Wars music nerd. At 9:05 of the episode you get this cue after Obi-Wan splits after telling everyone the plan, and I knew it sounded immediately familiar. Could be a total coincidence, of course, but after a bit of thought I figured it out: it's very much like a sped up version of the cue you get in Revenge of the Sith when Obi-Wan says goodbye to Anakin for the last time and leaves for Utapau. 0:58 of this 

• we've heard it before, but it's repeated a whole lot more in this episode: the huge hints of the Imperial theme from A New Hope (first good example of it I think is at 09:27 with the Imperial ships descending on Jabiim, its stated a few times in succession as the stormtroopers set up outside the door). For comparison, the most simple statement of said theme in A New Hope (4:06): 

• did it bug anyone else that when Reva started strolling through, the first stormtrooper to her right wasn't in line with the rest like his counterpart that he was facing? I'm sure I can't be the only one! 

• "get her a ladder" is the Star Wars version of "get this man a shield"

• "Haja, will you keep an eye on her?" "I am not a babysitter Ben" man, comedians coming into these shows has definitely added this much-needed levity while not being totally distracting. Far as I'm concerned, Nanjiani nails the role he was brought in to do. 

• I really like the idea that Bail not hearing back means he's ready to drop everything and get Owen some backup. 

• Tala spilling her guts to Ben in the tunnels made me realise: she's totally going to be in Jedi: Survivor, isn't she? That would be great, and I'd prefer it to Obi-Wan turning up as a tie-in. 

• if last episode was basically ANH, this episode was basically a remix of TESB/TLJ. And I like it, even if it feels very familiar, think that sort of framework is very strong and so it's felt like the show has had a stronger sense of direction.

• playing Chinese whispers through the door to reveal Reva's backstory...eh. No surprise that she witnessed Anakin slaughtering people in the temple and survived, though again, like in the opening scene of the first episode, hearing about her play dead and feeling her fellow Jedi go cold hits a little too hard after recent tragedies. 

• the scene of Order 66 taking place here in the flashbacks looks...a lot smaller scale than I feel they managed in the first episode? Anakin only being flanked by two clones in a very narrow doorway, getting really close to the action and making it lack that sense of scale a bit, and then the close-up on Hayden's face just felt a bit odd in terms of the scale of things. I guess some of it is from Reva's POV? But I don't know, it just felt off a bit. 

• "do you really want Anakin dead? Where were you, when he was killing my friends?" again, just finally getting that bit of understanding as to why Reva hates Obi-Wan. It makes sense to me, why would Anakin's master not have kept him in check? Especially for a kid, I think it's really easy to where she's coming from. 

• I feel like the ensuing battle once the door is opened is just a bit too much. The shaky cam, the constant flashes of blaster bolts flying from one side to the other, it's not that it's hard to track, but it just feels a bit disorienting? 

• really like the statement of Obi-Wan's Theme here before he runs back with everyone else, that dip into darkness/despair at the end of it. 

• Leia trying to get Haja off her back is very funny to me

• it happened last episode when Tala smacked a stormtrooper's helmet and he went down, and this time she kind of just throws one to the floor? Stuff like that can feel a bit like oversight, and this is coming from someone who is fine with the idea that stormtroopers can get stoned to death by Ewoks. 

• RIP Tala, I guess if she is in Jedi: Survivor then it's slightly before this, huh? NED-B protecting her to the end was nice, and hey, her making a sacrifice here made sense here, even if super predictable. 

• "Please tell me she's close" "Leia are you close?" "Working on it!" "She's working on it" felt very much like funny, campy Star Wars dialogue to me. Dig it. 

• "Kenobi is already ours" and a flashback to show why, it's just a smart move to show that they understand eachother on a very fundamental level, especially for those diving into Star Wars for the first time here (it's crazy to think, but it is possible!). Anakin smashing down on Obi-Wan's lightsaber in what we'll call the Skywalker beatdown - Anakin does it a few times across TCW, the old Clone Wars series, and of course Luke in ROTJ - felt a bit much for sparring, but hey, I mean, it's what he'd do. 

• "you want to tell me how you're going to fight without a weapon?" "There are other ways to fight"; how civilised! 

• "You're not bringing him to me, I'm bringing him to you. This isn't over yet" and thus returns Obi-Wan "The Negotiator" Kenobi! But where's the tea?!

• oh man they get so close to the Revenge of the Sith duel choreography here and I love it! All the spins, flourishes, love it. 

• huge hint of the Imperial March when Vader approaches Reva down on Jabiim. Making me smash my head off a table over here guys. 

• okay, not even joking here, I was shouting at the screen during my first viewing when they *ACTUALLY* had Vader marching through the tunnels and didn't use the Imperial March. I mean, come on!!! By far the most egregious example of them not using the Imperial March so far for me. 

• dude, Vader grabbing the ship midair with the Force, bringing it back down, and tearing it apart had major Force Unleashed vibes. Here for it! 

• love that it was clearly Obi-Wan's plan to do pull that trick and have that closer ship set to autopilot and bounce when he's distracted. 

• okay, this is my favourite flashback in any of the live-action shows so far, and maybe one of my favourite lines too. "You're a great warrior Anakin, but your need to prove yourself is your undoing. Until you overcome it, a Padawan you will still be." It's damn great line, because it threads the needle to A New Hope with Vader saying "The circuit is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner, now I am the master" – by that point in A New Hope, Vader has completely shed any desire to prove himself; he is no longer the Padawan! 

• to then go from that to Vader vs Reva (using and even ditching her!), was awesome. The music is screaming Imperial March again but I give up at this point, honestly. Vader using the Force, toying with Reva to deflect and stop her lightsaber swings, flip her over, simply dodge her (he's a slow guy too, so that's next level taunting!), slowing her helicopter blade lightsaber, taking it, splitting it, tossing her half of it to have this duel. Do like the dramatic musical cue when that happens. And man, I love how he throws the lightsaber, she deflects, twirls at him, but he stops it and ends up with both lightsabers, he's like five steps ahead. Thought he was going to go back and pull a "Dooku" with the two lightsabers in hand, but I guess not. That shot of him lumbering towards and towering over Reva is epic as hell. 

• the top-down shot in the Order 66 flashback here was perfect, what a great nod to the similar top-down shot of the march on the temple in ROTS. 

• Reva has survived not one, but two stabs through the gut? Well, okay. 

• the Grand Inquistor's face is hilarious when he turns back up here. Returns from the dead, provides a verbal beatdown, refuses to elaborate, leaves. Good stuff.

• okay, I didn't have a huge problem in Part IV with Vader not killing Reva because she failed him, I know he's got a temper but I didn't agree with the idea that he would have killed her then and there and that it was some huge issue. While not a huge issue, I do think it's not at all like Vader to completely skewer someone and trust that they'll just die and walk off, especially given what he went through on Mustafar, what he saw with Maul in The Clone Wars, etc. Hell, the Grand Inquisitor straight up says "Revenge does wonders for the will to live", I get that it's hinting that she survives this to viewers, but in-universe it makes even less sense that they'd just leave her there. 

• first time watching the episode when Obi-Wan senses something is wrong I was like "wait, is he sensing that she's watching Bail's recorded WhatsApp video? That's a stretch", but watching it again think it's very clear that the fact he sensed her at all when he thought he'd sentence her to death by leaving her behind to face Vader alone is why something is wrong; she should be dead, now what the hell is she going to do? 

• one of my biggest fears for the show that I've shared before has come to pass with how this episode ended and has set up the final episode. I've said before why I didn't want it, though, and feel like it's been where it's heading - it just made too much sense with Reva being a factor that Luke was going to be pulled in, and her freeing him is like the only redemptive act she can pull off at this stage - but I hope it's Obi-Wan who kills her and frees her from her struggles rather than Vader. Even if it's only for a hot minute, I really, really, really dislike the idea that she might have a mini redemption by letting Luke go and Kenobi just let's her go traipsing around the galaxy (potentially even back to Vader for a round 2?). We saw what happened with Maul in Rebels, I think there's one way that this has to end, but I'm nervous that we've got this close to it that they're going to make a bad call here. 

There's no question in my mind that this is by far the strongest episode of the show so far. 

Just one more episode to go. Nervous? Of course. Excited? Very much so  oh man, why do I feel like this show could end on the binary sunset...

[Hero-of-Time]

51 minutes ago, Julius said:

Watched Part V of Obi-Wan Kenobi this morning, and again just, and all I've got to say is: this is more like it. 

Fully agree.

Fantastic episode and just what I was wanting after being disappointed by what came before it.

Spoiler

The Force Unleashed moment of pulling the ship down was awesome.  

"There are other ways to fight." 

Loved the flashback sequences with Obi-Wan duelling with Anakin. I'm surprised Disney didn't use their de-aging tech to make Anakin look younger. His age was showing in these scenes. Not a big deal, just a nitpick.

Reva vs Vader was amazing. Him using the force to deflect and avoid the blows was awesome to watch. Kinda reminded me of The Matrix where Neo has become the One and Agent Smith tries his best to land a blow but he just can't.  

Only one episode left. I swear if Qui-Gon doesn't show up at some point i'm going to be very disappointed. 

 

Edited June 15, 2022 by Hero-of-Time

[Julius]

Two things I completely forgot to mention in my last post:

Spoiler

• for a long time, and I don't imagine I'm the only one who has felt like this, I always saw Vader and Anakin as two different characters. I think a lot of that is down to how Ben talks to Luke about his father in A New Hope, but in hindsight, I think so much of that mental "decoupling" of these two characters came from his failure and wanting to treat them like different entities: what greater way to overcome trauma or betrayal than to detach it from the person or situation and pin it on someone else? But this show for me has done an increasingly good job of bridging that gap between Anakin and Vader for me, and reconciling the two. 

• I think I realised watching this episode one big thing that's common across Mando, this, and Boba, that I think Mando just does better, and I think might be a big part of why I enjoy it more consistently while following along, or at the very least am hooked from the get-go, and that's the dependency on flashbacks for backstory. I'm not talking about Obi-Wan and Anakin's duel here - I think it's brilliant, but it's also not really adding anything new to the table necessarily for those two characters, but clearly portrays them if you weren't up to speed in a way which is natural - but more specifically, Reva as one of the main antagonists of this show and Boba as the main protagonist of Book of Boba Fett. I don't have a problem with flashbacks, but compare how they're used for those characters with Din or Grogu in Mando, and while it's fleshing their backstory out, it doesn't feel absolutely essential to understanding their characters, but rather details their past troubles further, which you can pick up from elsewhere in the show. With Reva and Boba, though, it's just difficult to get an audience onboard when you don't have that connection already, not necessarily needing to see how everything played out in their past, but their flashbacks are pivotal to understanding their characters in their respective shows in a way that isn't the case for Din. Also just find it really interesting that all three shows have had flashbacks, considering how few there were in Star Wars before. 

Really glad you enjoyed it @Hero-of-Time, thought you would! On your last point...

Spoiler

I think he's going to turn up, and the only reason I can think of that might mean he wouldn't would be a potential second season. Which, personally, I don't find myself needing or wanting, but I love seeing Ewan back, so 

Liam Neeson loves the role, he came back to voice lines in AOTC and even The Clone Wars, so while I think canonically in terms of the lore it risks opening Pandora's Box a bit if he appears as a Force ghost - in The Clone Wars it's stated Qui-Gon didn't finish his training which is why he becomes a disembodied voice, but if he finishes training after death, can everyone else? - I definitely think that's where they're going. 

Hell, even if they do take into consideration the fact that he's a disembodied voice and there's a reason for that, I just don't think they'd be able to resist. I mean, it's Liam Neeson! 

I think it can be done without showing him as the disembodied voice works (could just end the show on Obi-Wan meditating, reaching out once again, and Qui-Gon responding "Obi-Wan" before cutting to black), but yeah, I just doubt they'll do it that way at this point. There are also ways to do it like having him appear in Obi-Wan's mind or what have you, but at this point they've pushed the boat pretty far out at this point with Leia and now seemingly Luke becoming so involved, so I wouldn't be surprised if he did appear as a translucent wispy blue figure. 

 

[Ronnie]

That was outstanding.

[Ronnie]

The series has been building nicely. Obi-Wan slowly getting his mojo back has been a joy to watch. He was never going to be a badass from the start like some people might have been strangely expecting.

Most important of all though the show has bridged the gap between 3 and 4 really well.

This was of the most intense Star Wars, probably ever, heart was pounding and I was on the edge of my seat throughout, which is pretty incredible given most of the episode took place in or around a cave!

Spoiler

 

Reva's awesome. Loved the reveal of her backstory. LOVED doing it through the force through the barrier. Her duel with Vader was so well done. It's a testament to the writing and the actor's portrayal that I was dreading her being killed off. Excited to see where her story goes next week, I've genuinely no idea but I'm here for it.

Haja and Roken continue to be great additions. They've nailed the casting on this show (something I can't always say about the Mando-verse)

The Grand Inquisitor continues to look a little weird, but his lines are fantastic so who cares really. I loved his no-explanation entrance 

The flashback scene was brilliant, and interspersed during the episode perfectly at just the right moment. Beautiful set too. Young Obi-Wan looked pretty much perfect, Anakin looked like they just de-aged Hayden, he definitely looked way older than he should have, but whatever, it's a small nitpick to such a well made sequence.

Some lovely shots, Vader staring into the window at Jabiim.

My only real negative was they did the Rebels thing where Stormtroopers can't hit people literally standing out in the open right in front of them. Not sure frantic action like that is quite Deborah Chow's strong suit, but maybe I'm being unfair in solely blaming her. 

And I'm still not a fan of the handheld camera, it 100% worked on that final shot of Obi-Wan, but that's an exception imo.

 

9 hours ago, Julius said:

if last episode was basically ANH, this episode was basically a remix of TESB/TLJ.

Haha that's a good point! Looking forward to an epic space-battle next week then.

9 hours ago, Julius said:

the scene of Order 66 taking place here in the flashbacks looks...a lot smaller scale than I feel they managed in the first episode?

Different purpose I guess. One to show Order 66 as a whole, the other to tell a more personal story about just Reva's involvement in it.

8 hours ago, Julius said:

But this show for me has done an increasingly good job of bridging that gap between Anakin and Vader for me, and reconciling the two. 

For sure, and it was necessary. If Clone Wars worked in the background to help give context and more respect to the prequels, one of the roles this series should be playing is to bridge the gap between Anakin and Vader, and 3 and 4.

 

 

[Mandalore]

On 6/13/2022 at 7:52 PM, Ronnie said:

Galaxy's Edge, Disneyland, a (mini) review.

In a word, amazing. Had an absolute blast, went over two days, and the second was much more enjoyable because it wasn't a bank holiday like the Monday was, d'oh. The place is extremely well made and I had a great time just taking it slow and hanging out the various areas.

The first of the two rides, Millennium Falcon Smuggler's Run was good fun, although they sort of rushed us through the boarding part so didn't get to spend too long looking around the Falcon itself. You go in in groups of 6 people and they assign roles, 2 pilots, 2 gunners, 2 engineers. I asked the guy if I could be a pilot which he happily sorted. The right hand position got to make the jump to hyperspace, you pull back on a lever and the effect is triggered on the screens in front of the cockpit. Cool af. The ride itself was ok. it was quite interactive and they assign you points and a rank at the end based on how well you did. The guy flying alongside me did really well so the 6 of us got quite a high score I think. The storyline was serviceable, a nice little offshoot of the Solo train heist/coaxium stealing, but honestly everything goes by so fast it's hard to keep up. 

Rise of the Resistance though, fuck me, amazing. I did it twice and had a massive grin on my face the entire time. The whole thing is pretty long, a good 15-20 minutes in total, including bits where you walk around. The storyline was fun and all the main sequel trilogy characters/actors showed up for cameos every now and then. Put it this way, Daisy Ridley, whilst definitely not bad here exactly, put in a much better performance in the films themselves  Can't say enough good things about this ride, tons of fun, with 3 or 4 different parts to it. The way they simulated blaster bolts on the star destroyer, brilliant.

As for Black Spire Outpost itself, it was a lot of fun just wandering around or hanging out. Had both blue and green milk, both tasty. Got there really early so could do a load of shopping at the start when it was quiet. All the merchandise is 'in universe' so you won't see any Star Wars logos anywhere, pretty nifty idea. Sufficed to say I pretty much emptied my bank account buying stuff.

Had a breakfast Ronto wrap and meiloorun juice to start the day off. Basically a pitta+hotdog+melted cheese+scrambled eggs (very tasty), and a ice cold fruit drink with every kind of fruit you can think of (also nice). This is where they were being served (engine was fully functional, and noisy af):

The Cantina was fun, we struck up a conversation with a couple of guys who'd just been to Celebration too, which was nice as I'd been having serious withdrawal symptoms by then. The server informed me when I was ordering my second drink that it also came in an optional Porg mug for an extra 28 credits and you get to take a boxed version home.

  Reveal hidden contents

Obviously I said yes. 

There were a couple of experiences you could pay extra for, build your own lightsaber ($220) and build your own droid ($100). Everyone says the former is a must do but tbh I've never been that into lightsabers and the ones you get to build look a little cheap and plasticky plus I'd spent a fortune already. The droid building I would be very much into but again they kind of look a bit plasticky. I'm regretting not doing it now though, the place was awesome to look at. Got some fun merch from the shop though at least

The part itself has its own storyline, set between Ep 8 and Ep 9, so they had actors playing Rey, Chewie, Kylo Ren, and a couple of stormtroopers walking around + a character they created solely for the park. It was fun to listen in when they spoke to kids etc, the girl who played Rey did a great job, sounded a lot like her too.

The ships that were scattered around the place were cool af. I was geeking out over the starfighters especially.

Poe's black X-wing is even more cool in person.

There were a ton of shops, all specialising in a different type of thing. This was the coolest, the den of antiquities. Holocrons, sabres, Jedi/sith artefacts for sale. Then random stuff like galactic credits or Mon Calamari money, rank insignias etc

Finished the day getting some Batuu mix (popcorn, like in The Bad Batch). It came in an optional mouse droid holder which you could take home.

  \ (Reveal hidden contents)

Shock, I parted with another 18 bucks for it. 

So yeah, all in all, had a great time. It was fun to just hang out, but I'd recommend going at a time when it's not peak holidays, it got really busy that first day, but the second was much more enjoyable with fewer people cause it was just a random Tuesday.

PS: That's so weird, I was originally coming on here to reply to your latest post about Kenobi @Julius but it's missing, did I imagine it?? 

Not really a fan of theme parks, but that look amazing!

Up to episode 4, I think the best way I could describe Obi Wan is like Star Wars comfort food. Nothing amazing but enjoyable just because I'm a Star Wars fan. Episode 5 was definitely the best so far, but I wish there was more than just 1 episode left.

Spoiler

Finally an Anakin flashback! It would have been so lame if they got Hayden Christensen back just for a Vader with mask off moment. Kind of a shame they couldn't do more flash backs in previous episodes, especially the part where Obi Wan had a nightmare that was just lazily put together movie scenes. I wonder if we will get anymore flashbacks in episode 6 or in the Ahsoka series?

 

[Julius]

Watched Part VI of Obi-Wan Kenobi this morning, and again just. Definitely enjoyed it a bit more the second time around. 

Spoiler

• man, that cloak Reva's wearing just doesn't go well with her Inquisitor outfit

• 3:06 of the episode - reusing the cue from the end of Empire after Luke is saved and the Empire gives chase

• Bonnie Piesse was perfectly cast as Beru in the same way Joel Edgerton was perfectly case as Owen. She kicks ass in this episode. 

• "I talked to her. You're welcome" never change Haja, never change. 

• "she would have wanted you to have it" "it's empty" "well I wasn't going to give you a blaster, Leia. You're 10 years old" 

• Roken in Andor maybe? Or Jedi: Survivor? Feel like that was definitely a hint that he'll be back on our screens sooner rather than later. 

• ah, a twilighted Tatooine. Always stunning. 

• Vader: no we can't destroy the Path, we're chasing Obi-Wan down. Also Vader: yo guys leave me to it. 

• Leia planting Lola so Obi-Wan has to see her again was smart, though I did half-exprvy some droid support in his duel! 

• said it several times, but one last time: I do like the Vader theme in this show. But damn it guys I was humming the Imperial March as he came down and it was perfect. Baffling decisions in this show musically. 

• location for Obi-Wan vs Vader reminds me a lot of where Aang and Ozai went at in ATLA. 

• Kenobi stance let's goooooooooo

• that wide shot as the duel starts...hell yeah

• generic action music yay (that's sarcasm)

• Owen, you had ONE SHOT. I know Reva can't die here for story reasons but I can't believe he missed, what a scuffed shot. Would've been hilarious if he killed her though. 

• love the shot going around the spire as we go back to the duel. 

• a lot of spins and flourishes, again, very ROTS. Obi-Wan doing two rolls in a row definitely took me out of it a bit, though...

• Deborah your hands get tired holding a camera so long and the camera shakes, learn to mount the damn thing

• love the lighting and abundant use of the Force in Vader vs Kenobi, but man those lightsabers sure have been bright in this show

• "you really love the boy, like he's your own" - am I reading too much into this or does this read exactly like Reva knows Luke isn't Owen's son, and implies that she does know he's the son of Anakin? 

• Beru clapped Reva over the head and it was everything. Feel like the stormtroopers in A New Hope but to completely bomb their place, as they'd never have made it back out if they went in. 

• okay, so I thought it was a good choice to use Anakin and Vader's VO to get Obi-Wan to his lowest under that pile of rocks, but I'm never a big fan of a quick-cut flashback montage to give someone a second wind. Would've loved it if they just used a line or two that someone else had said in the show or something. 

• can't believe they managed to resist the urge to have Vader say "it's over Obi-Wan! I have the high ground!"

• Obi-Wan used Anakin's behind the back twirl! 

• "I heard you don't like sand -- how about rocks?"

• okay, but seriously, love the shot of him pulling loads of rocks up into the air after using a Force Push on Vader to pin him back against a spire. Speaking of which, the spires are very Zhangjiajie inspired, always love to see natural spires like that (we kind of got a similar thing in Rogue One on Eadu). Back to the shot, it also takes me back to Aang vs Ozai in ATLA (which also takes place in a similar locale), and kind of reminds me of the alternate take we saw of the escape from Mos Eisley in the ILM Art Department Challenge:

• Vader took those rocks like a champ let's be honest

• ah, that ROTJ "I can't breathe guys I'm not joking I think my inhaler broke" breathing Vader does when he's been beat is always great

• damn, did they just explain the massive scar on Anakin's head in ROTJ here with Obi-Wan's decisive blow? I think so?

• always here for battle damaged Vader. Interesting that they went for the opposite side of his face to Ahsoka, love the cutting between JEJ and Hayden doing the VO. Hayden nailed Vader's cadence. 

• "you didn't kill Anakin Skywalker; I did" - Obi-Wan will remember that

• lighting on Hayden's face/Vader's helmet is great here, the Sith eye glow and the change from blue to red. Also swear you get a little cruel smile from him when he says he killed Anakin. The show has done a great job of reconciling Anakin and Vader. 

• "goodbye Darth", nice through line to A New Hope. 

• good job keeping continuity by not having Luke see a lightsaber here. 

• well, totally didn't see Reva's redemptive moment coming. At all. Ahem. 

• okay Tatooine in this scene is just a bit too dark for my liking. 

• I'm still not convinced we needed Reva in this show, but I like how we didn't spend too much time after her scene with Obi-Wan - correction: no time - hinting at what she does next or where she goes. We don't need to know everything about everyone. Still not sure how comfortable I personally am for the larger story with someone freely roaming around the galaxy aware of Vader's true identity and knowing Obi-Wan is on Tatooine, as well as hinting that she knows about Luke's parents to some extent, but whatever. 

• Grievous would have a field day with a metal detector on Tatooine. 

• not really surprised by the Emperor turning up, but lovely cameo nonetheless. Just love being back on Mustafar. Shame the final duel didn't take place there - probably too expensive for the scale and budget of the show if I'm being honest - as hinted at in the concept art, which does make me wonder how long that piece of concept art has been around. I'd imagine since the time when the show was planned to be a film? 

• "you seem agitated my friend" bruh he gave Anakin another scar to add to the collection. 

• the Emperor tightening that leash on Vader. 

• okay, honestly, low-key pissed the first time watching and the Imperial March played. I mean, are you freaking kidding me? It wasn't that powerful a scene for it, there were tons of other opportunities to use it throughout the show (honestly, in this episode alone), grrrrrr. 

• Leia donning that Luke Skywalker 1977 look, hell yeah. Loved her outfits through the show, like her Padmé-styled one at the start, or the green pullover she gets similar to her Endor get-up. 

• "well if you ever need my help, you know where to find me" "let's hope that day never comes" looks around at the rest of the scene...

• "Princess Leia Organa, you are wise..." oh man, the mirroring of his goodbye to Anakin in Episode III before leaving for Utapau. Leia's Theme, freaking finally! Of the returning themes, it was the only one I was properly happy with in terms of how it was used. 

• ...because they then have one of the weakest uses of the Force Theme in the entire Star Wars story -- I mean this in the sense that it wasn't necessarily called for, but was used in a way which suggested it had been used exactly that way throughout the show, because it was used so nonchalantly for a bit of a nothing scene when it came to stating the Force Theme. This episode has me even more convinced that we should have had more legacy themes throughout, not having the Force Theme when he caught Leia way back in Part II, or heck, even in this episode, when pushing the rocks back. 

• Obi-Wan now rocking that Star Wars #15 look!

Looks very similar to the Sideshow Mythos statue from a few years ago too. 

• hahaha why did I half expect a cut to black and ending the show on "Hello there", would've been hilarious! Obi-Wan's completely nailed channeling his inner Alec Guinness there, pretty much spot on for how his original "Hello there" in A New Hope sounds. 

• okay, it does feel like the show could've ended at several different points in its final 10 minutes or so. 

• Qui-Gon, shocker! That first shot as he turns around and you don't see his full face looks perfect, honestly hadn't though Liam Neeson hadn't aged a day from TPM for a moment before we got that shot that was a bit closer. Still think him being seen here could have some wider implications and there's a lot to discuss from a lore POV on his return as an actual Force ghost, but I'm just glad to see Liam back. "Took you long enough" was pretty much perfect. 

• okay I'm glad he's back but seriously: no Qui-Gon Theme?!

• WHY DID THEY CUT FROM LIAM TO THE SHOT OF OBI-WAN RIDING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT THE BOBBING AND SAND LOOKED SO BAD

• that final shot though. 

• thank the Force they didn't add an "Obi-Wan will return" at the end. Jury's still out for me on whether I would like to see a second season. 

Overall, I can't help but be left feeling a little disappointed and underwhelmed by the show, even if it had some great moments, particularly concentrated in its latter episodes; Part V was pretty easily my favourite episode of the show. It did the most for the key characters in terms of growth and confrontation, but being so late in the show, we don't get to spend too much time with the development that spins out of the episode - this hurt a lot of the characters, but especially Reva, who didn't really get a chance to come to the forefront properly until the latter stages of the show. As a result, I found Part VI to essentially be us just trying to wrap everything up as neatly and as briskly as we could. 

I think I'll need to sit down at some point and watch the whole thing through again in a single sitting, because I think the pacing of the show for a weekly show was just incredibly off, and I imagine that's a hold-over from the initial plan to have the Kenobi project be a film. And, honestly, I do think this could have been a film, because in the end it felt to me more like a film stretched out to be a miniseries but with the budget of a TV show. Yes, there are some great looking shots, and some great set pieces, but as I've been saying since before it aired and will double down on now: this should have been shot on location, and with a bigger budget to boot.

Deborah Chow directed some great episodes of The Mandalorian but I just don't think she was a great fit here, and good lord, they really need to give the shaky cam a rest, as it turned some potentially interesting action sequences into a bright and flashy blur. 

I've been rambling on this whole time about the show's music, and I stand by every word. I think it's got the weakest OST overall for me of all of the major Star Wars projects since Disney bought Lucasfilm, with only Obi-Wan's Theme and Vader's Theme (which, still, just wasn't the Imperial March; they could have kept the theme but used it in tandem with the Imperial March, in my opinion) the real standouts. It's such a shame, because musically, this was the project after The Force Awakens that really should have aimed to bring it, which mirrors my comments about production values before. I think this should be yet another warning that trailers can be deceiving, and the music used in trailers especially so. I genuinely think there's some evidence here that things didn't go smoothly behind-the-scenes in terms of the music, but I'll save putting that tinfoil hat on for another day. 

I'm very much on the fence about whether or not I want a second season of the show. There's stuff they could do and explore, and while I'm over the moon that we got to see Hayden and Ewan back these past six episodes, some stories are just better left untold. And I think what comes next is one of them.

Edited June 22, 2022 by Julius

[Hero-of-Time]

Spoiler

Kenobi kicked Vader's backside and then some. That's all I wanted to see.

Baffling why he didn't finish him off, especially when you consider the death and destruction he has caused over the years. Kenobi could have saved millions of lives had he just chopped him down.

It was great to see Qui-Gon but the reveal was also disappointing. I think it would have been far better for him to have appeared to awaken Kenobi's fighting spirit. 

Some of my thoughts mirror yours, @Julius. The series had a few good moments but overall I thought it was pretty disappointing. It's probably the weakest out of all the SW series. I think this is down to my own expections and also Disney hyping it up. 

I think the pacing was all over the place, with certain segments early in the series dragging on and then it was a mad dash to the finish. 

I don't think there is a need for a second season. It was fun seeing Ewan play Kenobi again but unless they can come up with a better narrative, I'd rather they just leave it as it is now.

[Ronnie]

Great finale, great season. Wrapped everything up so elegantly. Seeing Obi-Wan's transformation from episode to episode has been a real pleasure, and it expertly connects ROTS and ANH. Fantastic work.

My only negative, omfg someone at Lucasfilm please ban Deborah Chow from using a shaky-cam ever. again. Horrendous. It worked in one, maybe two, instances throughout the series, but the rest of the time, just no. 

Spoiler

 

The shots of the Star Destroyer were absolutely stunning, looked like a miniature rather than CGI it was that good. Similar to Gideon's cruiser in Mando. And even a bit of turbolaser fire, man these Disney+ shows have really been lacking in terms of space-battles, though tbf Mando season 3 certainly seems to have a big one

Vader Anakin duel was pretty much perfect, though I'm not sold on the new lightsaber style. It worked in the sequel trilogy, but here they just seem waaaaay too bright.

Enjoyed Reva's arc a lot, great to finally get a redeemed character who doesn't die instantly, and we can imagine (see?) what atonement looks like for once.

Owen and Beru were great. 

I was smiling throughout the last ten minutes, just a pitch perfect ending. And some beautiful visuals.

Qui-Gon's brief appearance? *chef's kiss*. Perfect.

 

Roken and Haja, fun, relatable, down to earth side characters (something the Mando-verse is in desperate need of).

Vivien Lyra Blair, top notch work. Channeled Leia (and Padme?) really well.

I'll have Obi-Wan's theme stuck in my head for days.

I went into this show excited but not particularly hyped, and I ended up really loving it, perhaps because of that.  

God I love Star Wars. 

[Happenstance]

I think the series maybe had a few pacing issues but overall I really enjoyed it, especially Obi Wan's journey from where he was at the beginning to where he ended up. Good stuff.

[Julius]

John Williams has officially announced his retirement from scoring films. It seems like his final film score could potentially be Indy 5:

Quote

The music composer told the Associated Press about his journey while hinting at Harrison Ford who is reprising his role as Indiana Jones in the fifth installment of the franchise, being his last movie. Though, the actor hasn’t mentioned anything officially regarding the same.

“At the moment I’m working on ‘Indiana Jones 5,’ which Harrison Ford — who’s quite a bit younger than I am — I think has announced will be his last film,” he stated. “So, I thought: If Harrison can do it, then perhaps I can, also.” The composer himself is not sure about anything, sharing that he just needs a change of pace, “I don’t want to be seen as categorically eliminating any activity, I can’t play tennis, but I like to be able to believe that maybe one day I will.”

John Williams understands that the big movies require lots of his time which he can invest in something else as “at this point in life is a long commitment to me.” Thus, the composer is focusing on composing concert music, including a piano concerto he’s writing for Emanuel Ax.

The composer reminisced his accomplishments and his remaining ambitions while recalling the Kennedy Center event and shared what music has meant to him. He shared, “It’s given me the ability to breathe, the ability to live and understand that there’s more to corporal life.”

He added, “Without being religious, which I’m not especially, there is spiritual life, an artistic life, a realm that’s above the mundanities of everyday realities. Music can raise one’s thinking to the level of poetry. We can reflect on how necessary music has been for humanity. I always like to speculate that music is older than language, that we were probably beating drums and blowing on reeds before we could speak. So it’s an essential part of our humanity.

According to him, music is an important part of him as “it’s given me my life.”

My question is what the hell this God amongst men eats to still be composing at 90. 

Edited June 24, 2022 by Julius

[Mandalore]

Whoever composes the next Star Wars trilogy has some very big shoes to fill!

[bob]

Watched the Obi Wan finale last night.

Spoiler

Overall, i wasn't that impressed with the show. It has some cool elements in it, but the writing and dialogue were such crap that it made it difficult to care about the rest of it.

I guess the main problem with having essentially a prequel series, is that you know exactly who is going to live. Every time they tried to make it seem like Leia, or Obiwan, or Luke was dead, it felt like such hollow tension because you knew they weren't.

How many times does someone 'kill' someone, and then just walk off and assume they are dead, only for them to pop back up again? 4? Maybe even 5 times? It seems like such a lazy way to end a fight without killing anyone off. 

The whole Leia/goon chase. Could they seriously not come up with a better way for her to evade the goons rather than just have her run through a forest? They said how clever she was, couldn't she have bested them somehow by using her wits? Or even just disappear through a gap none of them could follow or something. 

I wish Star Wars would try and find a different plot line beyond "We're going to have to go into this impenetrable fortress/space station, and save/steal this guy/girl/object". Because every time, they magically have the blue-prints for the fortress, and there is a special, barely-guarded door, and they end up pretty much just walking in, grabbing the person and flying out again. Sounds like a pretty penetrable fortress to me. It's happened so many times now, it's just boring.

The tragic death of Wade the pilot. Who? I thought I must have missed an episode when this random dude shows up to save the day and promptly dies. Cue the sad music and tears from his teammate, but did either of them even have any lines before this? It felt like a weird parody.

Leia suiting up at the end to look like her 1977 older version? Yes, it was a cool Easter egg, but does she really choose an outfit at the age of 10 and never wear anything else for the next 15 years?

Good bits:

The fight between Vader and Obi Wan was badass. Obi Wan throwing all those rocks at Vader with the Force was awesome.

I liked the Haja character. He was a good dose of humour which the show really needed. 

I liked Reva's storyline - shame it didn't really go anywhere, but having a Youngling hell-bent on revenge was a good twist. 

 

 

[Happenstance]

It's dangerous enjoying a new Star Wars show, it's always puts me in the mood for more which means I end up spending money. Just ordered another 2 Star Wars omnibus'

[Ronnie]

Celebration London tickets on sale on Thursday

[Julius]

20 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Celebration London tickets on sale on Thursday

Yeah, saw this and I'm surprised they're going up so early! I know it was like this pre-COVID, but we're still kind of in COVID! Definitely caught me off guard as I've been telling my friends when trying to sell them on this that tickets would likely be up towards the end of the year 

We'll see how it goes. You going for the Jedi Master VIP ticket or just a 4-day? 

[Ronnie]

13 minutes ago, Julius said:

Yeah, saw this and I'm surprised they're going up so early! I know it was like this pre-COVID, but we're still kind of in COVID! Definitely caught me off guard as I've been telling my friends when trying to sell them on this that tickets would likely be up towards the end of the year 

We'll see how it goes. You going for the Jedi Master VIP ticket or just a 4-day? 

It looked like Covid was a much bigger deal in the US than over here when I was over, so if a big convention can go ahead there, the UK will have had zero worries I think.

I'll probably aim for VIP, if it hasn't sold out, but I won't be too bothered if it does. My nephew and sister are joining me next year on 2 or 3 days so that kind of complicates things. Hope you can make it too!

[Julius]

6 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

It looked like Covid was a much bigger deal in the US than over here when I was over, so if a big convention can go ahead there, the UK will have had zero worries I think.

I'll probably aim for VIP, if it hasn't sold out, but I won't be too bothered if it does. My nephew and sister are joining me next year on 2 or 3 days so that kind of complicates things. Hope you can make it too!

Oh yeah, definitely. Just a bit of whiplash I guess to already get back to the pre-COVID standard, even if it's over here! 

And nice! I think I've managed to talk it up enough to some friends enough that they'll want to go too, so that would be neat, but them coming probably means I won't be going for a VIP pass. It's probably too expensive for all of us to get one, plus, while I'm confident I might be able to snag one, getting multiple I imagine will be nigh-on impossible  would also just be awkward to dip in and out of the group too as panels come and go

[Ronnie]

15 hours ago, Julius said:

Oh yeah, definitely. Just a bit of whiplash I guess to already get back to the pre-COVID standard, even if it's over here! 

And nice! I think I've managed to talk it up enough to some friends enough that they'll want to go too, so that would be neat, but them coming probably means I won't be going for a VIP pass. It's probably too expensive for all of us to get one, plus, while I'm confident I might be able to snag one, getting multiple I imagine will be nigh-on impossible  would also just be awkward to dip in and out of the group too as panels come and go

When you get to ordering tickets, this prob won't be necessary unless you want VIP, but I'd suggest opening the link 5 mins early on 2 or 3 different devices (on different networks). The way they do it is randomly assign you a place in the queue and it's complete luck where you end up. 

It was the same at the convention itself when it came to reserving a spot in the smaller panels, the first 3 days it took over an hour for me to get through the queue and by the time I did all the places were booked, but on the last day I was in in 5 minutes when people around me were struggling.