If by a hot take you mean absurd. Star Wars is one of the most important and groundbreaking movies in history, and Empire Strikes Back is widely regarded as somehow actually improving on in. They both hold up amazingly well even 40+ years later.
The Mandalorian is a well-done and fun TV show. But better than the movies that set the standard for science fiction for decades? Please pass me the bottle of whatever you all are drinking.
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I would argue it's still a Star Wars series, not simply "set in".
It's an amazing depiction of what's going on in that massive universe that doesn't involve laser swords and a few heroes.
When a story can make the Empire look more compelling, competent, menacing, and straight up evil then when they were straight up blowing up planets...it's a Star Wars series.
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The Mandalorian and Andor...are better than any of the actual SW 9 main movies.
AGREED
ESB is right there
Maybe it's because I was born years after RotJ, and knew that Vader was Luke's father before ever seeing the movies, but I never thought ESB was that great. It felt incomplete and that always irritated me. Probably why RotJ is my favorite of the movies.
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Darn tooting i did. Filoni/Favreau doing some heavy lifting to contextualize for casual fans what we assume will be the major plot of Ahsoka later on this year
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Yes, the purrgil. They are basically hyperspace-enabled space whales and they play a key role in rebels -- and to this point, have only appeared in rebels
edit: rebels is absolutely worth watching. art style is different and the story takes a little bit to get into, but boy are the highs of that show VERY high and it does help build lore of mandalorian culture
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There was a moment when the wife and I were watching this and we saw the outlines to the Space Whales in hyperspace and it took a bit for us to connect them. Not gonna lie at first we thought it was a reference to the space whales in Doctor Who and I was confused, yet excited, at the cross-over. Then I remember the purrgil from Rebels.
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They are whale creatures that travel through Hyperspace and I think are force sensitive (somebody double check me on that), so they're rarely seen. In Star Wars Rebels: the main character (Ezra) summons them in the finale and he and the main villain get sucked away by them somewhere into hyperspace.
Rumors are that the plot of the Ahsoka show will be Ahsoka and some other characters from Rebels trying to find Ezra
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I think it's more that any living thing that can navigate hyperspace is force-connected to a degree. Canon thrawn trilogies seem to confirm that, so i was wrong. Initially i was thinking Ezra bonded with them the way he bonded with the Loth Wolves (and like how weve seen grogu "tame" animals like the mudhorn, rancor, etc)
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I'm pretty sure he's force connected. there would be no reason for the purrgil to do what they did when the took Thrawn unless Ezra was connected and made it happen.
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A lot of the more recent SW shows they've been debuting with double episodes, so it was especially jarring when this new season just had a standard 1 episode (30 min) debut.
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I also would have loved for it to be twice as long, yet it does some really good contextualizing after such a long time since S2 ended
reinforces Din's drive to atone for removing his helmet (or establishes it for those who skipped BOBF), reinforces the Darksaber's importance to Mandalore and specifically what it meant to Bo-Katan, illustrates the Nevarro revival and sets the stage for conflict there. From what we've seen in the trailer, could the Mandalorian covert find a home in Nevarro to protect them from the pirates? perhaps most importantly, it retcons the existence of Babu Frik
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Good episode. While not groundbreaking it does effectively set the course for S3 and I feel like we as the audience have direction on where this is headed. Also I continue to love the Wild West influences (shootout at the Greef Karga Saloon).
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I enjoyed the episode, especially the hyperspace critters bit.
I also really enjoyed that they showed hyperspace taking time. The last three movies really implied this idea of instant hyperspace travel which causes all sort of story problems if distance is meaningless and didn't align really well with how it was portrayed elsewhere in Star Wars.
My only real gripe is that the pirates felt bolted on. Kind of wish there had been a little more setup to that (both school and space). I get the feeling it will pay off later though.
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I'm with GGC on this one about the pirates. I don't think we've seen the last of Gorian "Mossface" Shard and his merry band of miscreants, but I will admit they felt "old school stormtrooper inept" both on Nevarro and in space.
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Excellent episode, so many developments. Grogu defeating an enemy, showing responsibility in a task to get help, overcoming fears and working with BK. Mythosaur. Mandalore is breathable. Peli Motto speaking Jawaese!!!!!
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The context: Mandalore in the Clone Wars Era was ruled by Dutchess Satine Kryze (Bo Katan's older sister, and Obi-Wan's love interest) who had a pacifist, nonviolent, nonpartisan stance on The Clone Wars -- neutrality to a fault. The pacifist ways were an overcorrection to previous inter-clan violence that was laced into Mandalorian history.
Some radicals, The Death Watch (later becoming known as Children Of The Watch), effectively became terrorists in trying to push Mandalore back into warrior ways from its nonviolent, neutral-to-a-fault stance. Bo-Katan was one of them, once upon a time
Darth Maul recognized the power of Mandalorian warriors, and Death Watch aligned themselves with Maul's Shadow Collective during the tail end of the Clone Wars era in an attempt to fully overthrow Mandalore. These events are shown in S7 of The Clone Wars animated series.
The answer to the your question: After the Clone Wars ended, Mandalore did not agree to fall in line under Palpatine. He decided that total destruction was necessary. So far, that has not really been explicitly shown in tv/movie canon (i am unsure of any books or graphic novels), aside from flashbacks and references and explicitly shown aftermath (as in this episode).
Why is there fake news? Probably to keep the mandalorians scattered and fighting with each other rather than forming into a unified fighting force to be reckoned with. Keeps them "the example" of the empire's might and retribution.
Fully recommend The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series to get into the details of the Manda-lore.
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Okay, what's the timeline (relative to the movies) for all this? I thought Darth Maul dies at the end of Phantom Menace and the Clone wars are between Episode 2 and 3?
Also, presumably (based on Boba Fett's aging throughout all the episodes) there's about 50ish years between Episode 1 and the start of the Mandalorian? Bo Katan looks like she's at most 40, how old was she when she ruled?
Finally - how did Palpatine destroy Mandalor? If the planet is still there, he clearly didn't use the death star.
Fully recommend The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series to get into the details of the Manda-lore.
Sigh... I just can't get into the animated TV series. They just feel like I'm watching children's cartoons. I've tried and just shut them off after 5 minutes. Have a 2nd kiddo joining the fam in July, maybe this will be my boredom TV until CFB season starts...
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I thought Darth Maul dies at the end of Phantom Menace
oh my sweet summer child
I just can't get into the animated TV series.
all im going to say is that the style of the animated shows may be childish, but man some of the themes and episodes are HEAVY. Even The Bad Batch (also recommend, S2 airing now) has a lot of grappling with what it means to be human etc.
Between The Clone Wars and Rebels, the characters are compelling. Ahsoka's introduction and coming of age to become imo the most compelling character in-universe, seeing Anakin's heartbreaking and slow descent as the second most-compelling character in-universe, and the entire story arc of Maul as the next-most compelling character
[Edit: imo, the final arc of S7 of The Clone Wars is the perfect interplay of the stories of these three characters, and until Andor came out, S7 of The Clone Wars was my pick for "best Star Wars content". It's THAT good imo]
Bo Katan looks like she's at most 40, how old was she when she ruled?
BK late 40s now, i'd have to check on her actual timeline
Finally - how did Palpatine destroy Mandalor? If the planet is still there, he clearly didn't use the death star.
Rebels explores an imperial weapon that is effective even against Beskar, but that was prior to the destruction of Mandalore. Newest ep of Mando says "fusion bombs". The destruction of mandalore hasn't been explicitly shown or exposited, just alluded to and the aftereffects shown.
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Andor is the best SW content in ages but to me S7 of clone wars is the best since the original trilogies. The story alone is brutal but told so well it's perfection. But in order to fully appreciate season 7 you need to watch the whole series to emotionally invest in the characters before season 7. Pretty sure the weapons hinted in rebels is probably how the empire did it but I'm not sure on the timeline there is all.
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I thought Darth Maul dies at the end of Phantom Menace and the Clone wars are between Episode 2 and 3?
[Narrator]
Welcome to Star Wars, where getting cut in half and falling down an incredibly deep hole is just the beginning of a new chapter in your life! Cast off those silly lower extremities and replace them with cybernetics - hey that stuff worked for Vadar, right? Armed (or legged) with your new limbs and bucketful of hatred, you can venture forth to take over crime syndicates and even entire planets! And after all your galactic shenanigans are done, you can always return to the desert where apparently everything in the Star Wars universe begins and ends.
Hurry and sign up today! If you order now, we'll include another bonus life*, you just pay for shipping and handling.
* - or a spurtle, depends on inventory.
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I suppose technically getting cut in half, but the wound being cauterized immediately, your main functions of life (heart, brain, lungs, central nervous system in general) would still continue to function for a time.
The shock would kill you of course, but if you were an extremely powerful space wizard...I can buy it.
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Do yourself a favor and watch clone wars and rebels and you will learn Maul was a bad bad man who played a big role in the clone wars and beyond. Even makes a cameo in solos movie as well.
He might be my true favorite villain in SW after all the clone wars arcs. He figured out so much as was devastatingly powerful.
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I would assume putting the two (three) of them together for the season will have big effects on what happens with Bo-Katan and the hardline Mandolorian faction, and what she does with the mythosaur information.
Also, I don't think it was a throwaway line when she said that was "way too many for an Imperial warlord". A certain blue alien perhaps
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Also, I don't think it was a throwaway line when she said that was "way too many for an Imperial warlord". A certain blue alien perhaps
with a plan to use TIE Interceptors (!) to chase Bo Katan away from the bombers carrying out their mission to hit the (current) place of most importance to her (!) and then draw her into an expertly devised trap (!)
that's high key of way more galactic importance (aka Star Wars Cinematic Universe) than BK-Din-Grogu becoming a de facto family. Even any news on Moff Gideon is very small potatoes comparatively
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That was good stuff. It started strong and ended strong. Admittedly the plot with the doc wasn't entirely captivating until the end, but I'm now very curious where that's going to lead.
And it's always great to see Coruscant.
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Yeah the comms officer had me sketched out af really quickly and at no point did i buy the friendliness... but why exactly is she up to what she's up to? Apparently we are watching the beginnings of the shift from New Republic to First Order
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I'll be honest the whole story with the doc and the comms officer might be one of the weaker bits of storytelling this show has had.
It was obvious immediately that she was up to something, and helping the New Republic was not it. But there were also no hints or clues as to what it actually was. I'm assuming she resisted whatever they did at the reintegration camps, and she's still making moves for Moff Gideon, and is just really good at pretending. Wiping the doc's brain completely would certainly be a good start to hiding what else the remnants of the Empire are up to.
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I dug this week's episode. I really like seeing glimpses of the "everyday" life in SW universe so those scenes just walking around Coruscant were awesome. Also getting some perspective on what people and the New Republic were up to post Empire cool too
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I'm of two minds on this week's episode (which I enjoyed quite a bit).
1. The story with the remnants of the Empire acquiring cloning technology was interesting as a Star Wars fan.
2. Much like Book of Boba Fett spent an entire episode on Mando side stories, this episode really felt like it didn't belong in the current (very exciting) storyline and pulled me out of it. Hopefully it will still connect like BoBF did.
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i think the connective tissue with both of your points is just how much the show runners in this series are using it as a vehicle to try and contextualize the (awful) sequel trilogy. There needs to be some sort of stage set for how the New Republic turns into the First Order, there needs to be some sort of explanation for whatever tf Snoke was (clone experiment?), there needs to be some sort of explanation for the "somehow" that caused palpatine's return etc etc etc
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To clarify, the New Republic doesn't "turn into" the First Order. The context of the The Force Awakens is that the New Republic doesn't take the First Order seriously, hence Leia establishing the Resistance. The First Order literally obliterates the New Republic with Starkiller Base to destroy the Hosnian system (nerd alert)
The movie did a shit job of giving any context for all of that, but the two are separate entities. It's more likely they are laying the groundwork for how the Imperial remnants become the First Order.
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I thought this episode was meh, but not great. The intro and outro were fine, but the bit in the middle suffered from a lot of things I think.
I don't mind the side story or the premise of it, but my main gripes were:
the music, especially in the wander around the city section, felt really generic and canned. Like video game loop music
There are not nearly enough people on Coruscant. Every place feels empty. Thats fine in some shots, but everything felt that way
The acting in the whole sequence felt wooden. No one really seemed to have any emotions about anything. The dialog really didn't help this
On the plus side, the duplication of the droid interview section worked really well. The whole idea of the reintegration program and how it is flawed works fine story-wise. The concept sketches in the credits showed a much better look/feel than the sets we got, costumes too. I think this is first time I can recall where the end credit images differed so significantly from what we got in the show.
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Amen - my criteria is "did I enjoy this?" and it's usually a yes.
I loved TFA and TLJ (we shalt not speak of Ep 9). Love Mando, Rebels and thought Andor was the best thing I've seen on Disney+. Can't wait for Ahsoka and I'm super intrigued with Acolyte.
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After BK saves DD, she ass him if he saw anything alive in the water. She was very interested in this. Feels like foreshadowing, and/or context I'm missing?
Are we supposed to know who this doctor is? He seems vaguely family but I don't recall.
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1) She wanted to know if he saw the Mythosaur, which is the creature she saw when she rescued him at the end of the last episode. It could (likely will) have implications going forward because one of the legends says the person who can tame the Mythosaur will the leader of all the Mandalorian people. She already lost the Darksaber, which is another way to be the leader, that's why it might factor in later.
2) He's the doctor from season 1 that was leading the clone research whose Imperial remnant outfit was trying to capture Grogu.
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I think they intentionally left it a little vague. One hand, its like you said, maybe she wasn't quite sure she saw what she actually saw. On the other, she knows its the Mythosaur and wants to keep it to herself so she can use it to reclaim control of the Mandalorian people.
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I know this is a wild, science fiction universe with hyperspace travel and mind control but the idea of jumping off the back of a speeding train and landing safely on a soft stack of cloth made me audibly groan. There *has to be* a better way to write their exit from the train.
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I didn't like that whole sequence. So the "plan" was to hope the droids didn't come around to check tickets until late enough that you were by the first station and it was "slowing"...but still going fast as hell?
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You do realize that Pershing was being set up from the start, right? Everything Elia did was to get the doctor caught so she could get him into that machine. Yeah, it was stupid because Pershing was gullible and needed to get that bit of thrill and overconfidence. This was a sting operation and the Coruscant police(?) were in on the whole thing.
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Good episode, not great. Some necessary plot development to set up Bo-Katan ultimately leading the Mandalorians I think. I did enjoy that they brought the 3 baby raptors back as Foundlings.
Favorite part by far was Grogu flashing back to Order 66. We've seen that on screen so many times now, but that perspective was one of my favorites. And the Smith making armor for him, and the same Mudhorn crest as Mando, was cool
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Plus filling in the question of the Jedi who saved him, who was played by the same guy who played Jar Jar and got a lot of hate for it.
Edit: another big thing imo is the continued inclusion of scenes that show grogu having some disposition to control animals/wildlife. It's not just whimsy, feels purposeful
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Lots of prequel vibes from that moment to jar jars actor playing the savior Jedi along with the naboo cruiser as well. Curious for more of Grogus background on who and how he escaped and id love some why he was deemed a big necessity to save from order 66.
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It did seem he had more "security" than the younglings they showed in Revenge of the Sith who were just hiding, but maybe that's just where everyone one was when the attack came. (?)
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Also, loved the father/son vibes through the episode. Mando just saying "hey kid you got this" in effect during the training was great. But tying that into the fact that the young one they were rescuing being the son, that's good writing. It helps future things that I feel like are going to happen make sense
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I too loved the father/son vibes. Especially Paz having his son kidnapped and being like "Nah, its cool. We'll just camp here for the night. No rush. I'm sure he won't die or anything"
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Interesting if we will see a return to Naboo and if that is where he was initially hidden after order 66....
Kelleran Beq
"The Foundling" finally reveals who rescued Grogu during Order 66: Jedi Master Kelleran Beq, a character introduced on a kids' game show of all places called Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge.
Kelleran is also played by Ahmed Best, the actor who portrayed Jar Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy. Best has previously opened up about the fact that he received so much hatred for playing Jar Jar, a divisive character, that he contemplated suicide. Almost 25 years later, though, Star Wars fans celebrated his return to the franchise.
And the return of Jar Jar himself could potentially be around the corner. Kelleran mentions he's bringing Grogu to friends of his, and he's aided by security forces from Naboo, Jar Jar's homeworld.
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At the end of "The Convert," Dr. Pershing tells a Mon Calamari doctor that "it was a trap," which sure seems like an intentional reference to Admiral Ackbar's infamous "it's a trap" line from Return of the Jedi.
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I'm with you. I love the dark HBO-ification of TV these days, but sometimes I want a show I can just watch without the fear of missing a crucial detail if I step away to take something out of the oven. It's just a fun watch, and I'm here for it.
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Yeah I wouldn't even say implies. I thought it's been quite clear that you have to actually challenge the holder of the Darksaber directly in order to be recognized with authority for having it.
Didn't Bo-Katan take it when it was offered before, and that ended in disaster? It's why she doesn't take it when Din offers it to her in the show, and gives it back to him freely after he recovers.
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Comments
This is the way.
This is the way.
Just finished andor last week. This is perfect timing!
Season premiere scratches even the itches i didnt know i had lol
The Mandalorian and Andor...are better than any of the actual SW 9 main movies. ESB is right there, but other than that...
If by a hot take you mean absurd. Star Wars is one of the most important and groundbreaking movies in history, and Empire Strikes Back is widely regarded as somehow actually improving on in. They both hold up amazingly well even 40+ years later.
The Mandalorian is a well-done and fun TV show. But better than the movies that set the standard for science fiction for decades? Please pass me the bottle of whatever you all are drinking.
That's because Andor isn't a Star Wars series.
It is a series that just happens to be set in the Star Wars Universe.
It's Blade Runner in the Star Wars universe.
I would argue it's still a Star Wars series, not simply "set in".
It's an amazing depiction of what's going on in that massive universe that doesn't involve laser swords and a few heroes.
When a story can make the Empire look more compelling, competent, menacing, and straight up evil then when they were straight up blowing up planets...it's a Star Wars series.
This is how I see Mandalorian and Andor:
Mandalorian = Saturday morning cartoon
Andor = HBO Sunday night drama
Two entirely different shows, but I strongly prefer Andor
AGREED
Maybe it's because I was born years after RotJ, and knew that Vader was Luke's father before ever seeing the movies, but I never thought ESB was that great. It felt incomplete and that always irritated me. Probably why RotJ is my favorite of the movies.
I know my fellow Rebels fans got REAL excited when they were in hyperspace
Darn tooting i did. Filoni/Favreau doing some heavy lifting to contextualize for casual fans what we assume will be the major plot of Ahsoka later on this year
Are you guys referring to those giant hyperspace creatures that were moving alongside them?
Yes, the purrgil. They are basically hyperspace-enabled space whales and they play a key role in rebels -- and to this point, have only appeared in rebels
edit: rebels is absolutely worth watching. art style is different and the story takes a little bit to get into, but boy are the highs of that show VERY high and it does help build lore of mandalorian culture
There was a moment when the wife and I were watching this and we saw the outlines to the Space Whales in hyperspace and it took a bit for us to connect them. Not gonna lie at first we thought it was a reference to the space whales in Doctor Who and I was confused, yet excited, at the cross-over. Then I remember the purrgil from Rebels.
Can you explain this to a fairweather starwars fan?
I'll take a stab.
They are whale creatures that travel through Hyperspace and I think are force sensitive (somebody double check me on that), so they're rarely seen. In Star Wars Rebels: the main character (Ezra) summons them in the finale and he and the main villain get sucked away by them somewhere into hyperspace.
Rumors are that the plot of the Ahsoka show will be Ahsoka and some other characters from Rebels trying to find Ezra
Dont think they're inherently force sensitive but ezra did form some sort of connection to them. Don't remember if it was force-y or not
Ezra was force connected with them and used that connection to remove Thrawn.
I think it's more that any living thing that can navigate hyperspace is force-connected to a degree. Canon thrawn trilogies seem to confirm that, so i was wrong. Initially i was thinking Ezra bonded with them the way he bonded with the Loth Wolves (and like how weve seen grogu "tame" animals like the mudhorn, rancor, etc)
I'm pretty sure he's force connected. there would be no reason for the purrgil to do what they did when the took Thrawn unless Ezra was connected and made it happen.
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Purrgil if you want the deep dive on where they show up in the canon storyline
If we're gonna have giant alien alligators, I'm gonna need an alien Troy Landry yelling "Choot em!"
My biggest complaint about this show is that every episode feels like it ends about 5-10 mins too early.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, the show is excellent, it just always has a bit of a frustration when the end credits come up
This couldn't have been expressed any better. Watching that episode yesterday, I just wanted...more.
Every episode feels like it takes a few mins to really hit its stride, and once you're settled in, its just.... over
A lot of the more recent SW shows they've been debuting with double episodes, so it was especially jarring when this new season just had a standard 1 episode (30 min) debut.
I also would have loved for it to be twice as long, yet it does some really good contextualizing after such a long time since S2 ended
reinforces Din's drive to atone for removing his helmet (or establishes it for those who skipped BOBF), reinforces the Darksaber's importance to Mandalore and specifically what it meant to Bo-Katan, illustrates the Nevarro revival and sets the stage for conflict there. From what we've seen in the trailer, could the Mandalorian covert find a home in Nevarro to protect them from the pirates? perhaps most importantly, it retcons the existence of Babu Frik
Good episode. While not groundbreaking it does effectively set the course for S3 and I feel like we as the audience have direction on where this is headed. Also I continue to love the Wild West influences (shootout at the Greef Karga Saloon).
FTFY
Ok, IG crawling around with 1 arm was a total homage to the end of the original terminator. It even looked like stop motion.
I enjoyed the episode, especially the hyperspace critters bit.
I also really enjoyed that they showed hyperspace taking time. The last three movies really implied this idea of instant hyperspace travel which causes all sort of story problems if distance is meaningless and didn't align really well with how it was portrayed elsewhere in Star Wars.
My only real gripe is that the pirates felt bolted on. Kind of wish there had been a little more setup to that (both school and space). I get the feeling it will pay off later though.
I'm with GGC on this one about the pirates. I don't think we've seen the last of Gorian "Mossface" Shard and his merry band of miscreants, but I will admit they felt "old school stormtrooper inept" both on Nevarro and in space.
Inept definitely. But worse, just corny. Like Sleestak levels of corny.
Ya know, I can almost see it...
It's hard to be effective when you're bound by The Pirate's Code!
More Bo Katan and the mythosaur alive? Yes please, me likey!
Excellent episode, so many developments. Grogu defeating an enemy, showing responsibility in a task to get help, overcoming fears and working with BK. Mythosaur. Mandalore is breathable. Peli Motto speaking Jawaese!!!!!
After a fairly slow, table setting start in episode 1, they really kicked things off this week. That was great.
This episode felt less rushed than the first, and by that I mean it didn't feel like it ended 10 mins too early like so many before it.
That said, gotta love a good cliffhanger. Sets up for a great opening act next week.
Can someone give a background on why Mandalor is destroyed and why there's lots of fake news around it?
The context: Mandalore in the Clone Wars Era was ruled by Dutchess Satine Kryze (Bo Katan's older sister, and Obi-Wan's love interest) who had a pacifist, nonviolent, nonpartisan stance on The Clone Wars -- neutrality to a fault. The pacifist ways were an overcorrection to previous inter-clan violence that was laced into Mandalorian history.
Some radicals, The Death Watch (later becoming known as Children Of The Watch), effectively became terrorists in trying to push Mandalore back into warrior ways from its nonviolent, neutral-to-a-fault stance. Bo-Katan was one of them, once upon a time
Darth Maul recognized the power of Mandalorian warriors, and Death Watch aligned themselves with Maul's Shadow Collective during the tail end of the Clone Wars era in an attempt to fully overthrow Mandalore. These events are shown in S7 of The Clone Wars animated series.
The answer to the your question: After the Clone Wars ended, Mandalore did not agree to fall in line under Palpatine. He decided that total destruction was necessary. So far, that has not really been explicitly shown in tv/movie canon (i am unsure of any books or graphic novels), aside from flashbacks and references and explicitly shown aftermath (as in this episode).
Why is there fake news? Probably to keep the mandalorians scattered and fighting with each other rather than forming into a unified fighting force to be reckoned with. Keeps them "the example" of the empire's might and retribution.
Fully recommend The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series to get into the details of the Manda-lore.
Okay, what's the timeline (relative to the movies) for all this? I thought Darth Maul dies at the end of Phantom Menace and the Clone wars are between Episode 2 and 3?
Also, presumably (based on Boba Fett's aging throughout all the episodes) there's about 50ish years between Episode 1 and the start of the Mandalorian? Bo Katan looks like she's at most 40, how old was she when she ruled?
Finally - how did Palpatine destroy Mandalor? If the planet is still there, he clearly didn't use the death star.
Sigh... I just can't get into the animated TV series. They just feel like I'm watching children's cartoons. I've tried and just shut them off after 5 minutes. Have a 2nd kiddo joining the fam in July, maybe this will be my boredom TV until CFB season starts...
oh my sweet summer child
all im going to say is that the style of the animated shows may be childish, but man some of the themes and episodes are HEAVY. Even The Bad Batch (also recommend, S2 airing now) has a lot of grappling with what it means to be human etc.
Between The Clone Wars and Rebels, the characters are compelling. Ahsoka's introduction and coming of age to become imo the most compelling character in-universe, seeing Anakin's heartbreaking and slow descent as the second most-compelling character in-universe, and the entire story arc of Maul as the next-most compelling character
[Edit: imo, the final arc of S7 of The Clone Wars is the perfect interplay of the stories of these three characters, and until Andor came out, S7 of The Clone Wars was my pick for "best Star Wars content". It's THAT good imo]
BK late 40s now, i'd have to check on her actual timeline
Rebels explores an imperial weapon that is effective even against Beskar, but that was prior to the destruction of Mandalore. Newest ep of Mando says "fusion bombs". The destruction of mandalore hasn't been explicitly shown or exposited, just alluded to and the aftereffects shown.
Andor is the best SW content in ages but to me S7 of clone wars is the best since the original trilogies. The story alone is brutal but told so well it's perfection. But in order to fully appreciate season 7 you need to watch the whole series to emotionally invest in the characters before season 7. Pretty sure the weapons hinted in rebels is probably how the empire did it but I'm not sure on the timeline there is all.
[Narrator]
Welcome to Star Wars, where getting cut in half and falling down an incredibly deep hole is just the beginning of a new chapter in your life! Cast off those silly lower extremities and replace them with cybernetics - hey that stuff worked for Vadar, right? Armed (or legged) with your new limbs and bucketful of hatred, you can venture forth to take over crime syndicates and even entire planets! And after all your galactic shenanigans are done, you can always return to the desert where apparently everything in the Star Wars universe begins and ends.
Hurry and sign up today! If you order now, we'll include another bonus life*, you just pay for shipping and handling.
* - or a spurtle, depends on inventory.
I suppose technically getting cut in half, but the wound being cauterized immediately, your main functions of life (heart, brain, lungs, central nervous system in general) would still continue to function for a time.
The shock would kill you of course, but if you were an extremely powerful space wizard...I can buy it.
Do yourself a favor and watch clone wars and rebels and you will learn Maul was a bad bad man who played a big role in the clone wars and beyond. Even makes a cameo in solos movie as well.
He might be my true favorite villain in SW after all the clone wars arcs. He figured out so much as was devastatingly powerful.
57 min total run time this week should squash some of those complaints. Verrrrry interesting developments!
Holy crap, that opening sequence. All I've had a chance to see so far
in terms of "omg the implications here", that opening scene is UP THERE in this series
I would assume putting the two (three) of them together for the season will have big effects on what happens with Bo-Katan and the hardline Mandolorian faction, and what she does with the mythosaur information.
Also, I don't think it was a throwaway line when she said that was "way too many for an Imperial warlord". A certain blue alien perhaps
with a plan to use TIE Interceptors (!) to chase Bo Katan away from the bombers carrying out their mission to hit the (current) place of most importance to her (!) and then draw her into an expertly devised trap (!)
that's high key of way more galactic importance (aka Star Wars Cinematic Universe) than BK-Din-Grogu becoming a de facto family. Even any news on Moff Gideon is very small potatoes comparatively
That was good stuff. It started strong and ended strong. Admittedly the plot with the doc wasn't entirely captivating until the end, but I'm now very curious where that's going to lead.
And it's always great to see Coruscant.
Yeah the comms officer had me sketched out af really quickly and at no point did i buy the friendliness... but why exactly is she up to what she's up to? Apparently we are watching the beginnings of the shift from New Republic to First Order
I'll be honest the whole story with the doc and the comms officer might be one of the weaker bits of storytelling this show has had.
It was obvious immediately that she was up to something, and helping the New Republic was not it. But there were also no hints or clues as to what it actually was. I'm assuming she resisted whatever they did at the reintegration camps, and she's still making moves for Moff Gideon, and is just really good at pretending. Wiping the doc's brain completely would certainly be a good start to hiding what else the remnants of the Empire are up to.
I dug this week's episode. I really like seeing glimpses of the "everyday" life in SW universe so those scenes just walking around Coruscant were awesome. Also getting some perspective on what people and the New Republic were up to post Empire cool too
I'm of two minds on this week's episode (which I enjoyed quite a bit).
1. The story with the remnants of the Empire acquiring cloning technology was interesting as a Star Wars fan.
2. Much like Book of Boba Fett spent an entire episode on Mando side stories, this episode really felt like it didn't belong in the current (very exciting) storyline and pulled me out of it. Hopefully it will still connect like BoBF did.
i think the connective tissue with both of your points is just how much the show runners in this series are using it as a vehicle to try and contextualize the (awful) sequel trilogy. There needs to be some sort of stage set for how the New Republic turns into the First Order, there needs to be some sort of explanation for whatever tf Snoke was (clone experiment?), there needs to be some sort of explanation for the "somehow" that caused palpatine's return etc etc etc
Filoni and Favreau Manure Services: Cleaning Up Other People's Dumb Shit
To clarify, the New Republic doesn't "turn into" the First Order. The context of the The Force Awakens is that the New Republic doesn't take the First Order seriously, hence Leia establishing the Resistance. The First Order literally obliterates the New Republic with Starkiller Base to destroy the Hosnian system (nerd alert)
The movie did a shit job of giving any context for all of that, but the two are separate entities. It's more likely they are laying the groundwork for how the Imperial remnants become the First Order.
FTFY
I thought this episode was meh, but not great. The intro and outro were fine, but the bit in the middle suffered from a lot of things I think.
I don't mind the side story or the premise of it, but my main gripes were:
On the plus side, the duplication of the droid interview section worked really well. The whole idea of the reintegration program and how it is flawed works fine story-wise. The concept sketches in the credits showed a much better look/feel than the sets we got, costumes too. I think this is first time I can recall where the end credit images differed so significantly from what we got in the show.
Yeah, the dialogue is weak and the acting poor. But it's hard to show emotion when everyone is wearing a mask.
Here's a pretty crippling indictment of Season 3:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMoaSzUijIQ
Eh, take it with a grain of salt. Few things are more toxic than SW fans on youtube posting "explained" videos
Yeah, I clicked that link and rolled my eyes. And then remembered nobody hates Star Wars more than Star Wars fans.
Amen - my criteria is "did I enjoy this?" and it's usually a yes.
I loved TFA and TLJ (we shalt not speak of Ep 9). Love Mando, Rebels and thought Andor was the best thing I've seen on Disney+. Can't wait for Ahsoka and I'm super intrigued with Acolyte.
Okay, enjoyed the episode but have questions:
1) She wanted to know if he saw the Mythosaur, which is the creature she saw when she rescued him at the end of the last episode. It could (likely will) have implications going forward because one of the legends says the person who can tame the Mythosaur will the leader of all the Mandalorian people. She already lost the Darksaber, which is another way to be the leader, that's why it might factor in later.
2) He's the doctor from season 1 that was leading the clone research whose Imperial remnant outfit was trying to capture Grogu.
Thanks! Regarding the Mythosaur - so BK saw the Mythosaur in the previous episode, but probably (literally) didn't believe her eyes?
Also, could they not come up with a better name than 'Mythosaur'? Reminds me of the rare metal in Avatar being called 'unobtainium' or whatever.
I think they intentionally left it a little vague. One hand, its like you said, maybe she wasn't quite sure she saw what she actually saw. On the other, she knows its the Mythosaur and wants to keep it to herself so she can use it to reclaim control of the Mandalorian people.
Episode 3 quick thoughts:
I love seeing TIE Interceptors and TIE Bombers.
I know this is a wild, science fiction universe with hyperspace travel and mind control but the idea of jumping off the back of a speeding train and landing safely on a soft stack of cloth made me audibly groan. There *has to be* a better way to write their exit from the train.
I think the train was slowing down as it approached the station, but yeah, it was pretty unrealistic.
I didn't like that whole sequence. So the "plan" was to hope the droids didn't come around to check tickets until late enough that you were by the first station and it was "slowing"...but still going fast as hell?
You do realize that Pershing was being set up from the start, right? Everything Elia did was to get the doctor caught so she could get him into that machine. Yeah, it was stupid because Pershing was gullible and needed to get that bit of thrill and overconfidence. This was a sting operation and the Coruscant police(?) were in on the whole thing.
It seemed like an overly complicated way to erase someones memory when you could just kill them
Good episode, not great. Some necessary plot development to set up Bo-Katan ultimately leading the Mandalorians I think. I did enjoy that they brought the 3 baby raptors back as Foundlings.
Favorite part by far was Grogu flashing back to Order 66. We've seen that on screen so many times now, but that perspective was one of my favorites. And the Smith making armor for him, and the same Mudhorn crest as Mando, was cool
Plus filling in the question of the Jedi who saved him, who was played by the same guy who played Jar Jar and got a lot of hate for it.
Edit: another big thing imo is the continued inclusion of scenes that show grogu having some disposition to control animals/wildlife. It's not just whimsy, feels purposeful
Yep, the mythosaur and Grogu have a date later this season I believe.
I had not even thought about that, Grogu and his affinity with wildlife.
But rewatching that particular scene, it wasn't that he couldn't move the "rocks". It was that he was keeping them from moving.
I cackled at this. It's the kind of scene that wouldn't work in Andor but played perfectly in Mando.
Oh snap. It just got real.
THERES ALWAYS A BIGGER FISH BOYS.
Lots of prequel vibes from that moment to jar jars actor playing the savior Jedi along with the naboo cruiser as well. Curious for more of Grogus background on who and how he escaped and id love some why he was deemed a big necessity to save from order 66.
I think it was less about needing to save him in particular and more about he was one of the few (only?) ones to be saved.
I guess it's my curiosity if we're going to get more of the why as he is definitely has a strong connection to the force but I need more backstory.
It did seem he had more "security" than the younglings they showed in Revenge of the Sith who were just hiding, but maybe that's just where everyone one was when the attack came. (?)
The reason I think the effort was to save as many as possible was based on the guard's (at the ship) question of where are the rest?
Redemption
Also, loved the father/son vibes through the episode. Mando just saying "hey kid you got this" in effect during the training was great. But tying that into the fact that the young one they were rescuing being the son, that's good writing. It helps future things that I feel like are going to happen make sense
Also the vagueness of whether Ragnar was Paz's birth son or an adopted foundling
I had this thought myself and if it's birth son... well i have some questions about the creed
Well now I certainly have questions.
I don't even want to know what search term you out into Google to find this.
Or do I....
It went something like this.
Just do yourself a favor and go watch Naked gun to refresh and so you dont have to pollute your search history.
I too loved the father/son vibes. Especially Paz having his son kidnapped and being like "Nah, its cool. We'll just camp here for the night. No rush. I'm sure he won't die or anything"
Here is a great rundown of some of the Easter eggs so far this season.
LINK
Interesting if we will see a return to Naboo and if that is where he was initially hidden after order 66....
The further this show goes, the more I am convinced that "The Mandalorian" in the title does not refer to Din, but refers to Grogu.
I know that watching a bunch of people in full armor doing cult things isn't gonna cut it for many Star Wars fans, but I could watch this all day.
I'm with you. I love the dark HBO-ification of TV these days, but sometimes I want a show I can just watch without the fear of missing a crucial detail if I step away to take something out of the oven. It's just a fun watch, and I'm here for it.
So why isn't Bo-Katan wielding her spiffy new dark sabre?
She didn't win it in combat from Din.
Ah, but she did win it in combat from an opponent that won it in combat from Din.
i got downvoted to bolivian on reddit for suggesting this, evidently it can't be an ambush you idiot moron dummy everyone knows that duh
Stay away from Reddit and only comment here so you can acquire the all important turkey legs.
The show implies it must be a direct challenge. I don't think it works like the elder wand in Harry Potter.
Yeah I wouldn't even say implies. I thought it's been quite clear that you have to actually challenge the holder of the Darksaber directly in order to be recognized with authority for having it.
Didn't Bo-Katan take it when it was offered before, and that ended in disaster? It's why she doesn't take it when Din offers it to her in the show, and gives it back to him freely after he recovers.