Star Wars: The Disney+ Empire Strikes Again and Again and...

I think it’s worse - every actor is doing the same energy

all these jedi huffing the same force. The master/padawan energy feels distinct, but yeah, lots of jedi being jedi like. I am enjoying the jedi focus, free of the obi wan and vader main storyline shackles.

turbolasers

E3 captured the 8 year old's attention more than the first two. I think the energies of Ahsoka, Sabine, Hera, and Huyang are absolutely distinct. However, I may be missing some of the Rebels story that establishes Sabine as so distinct as a candidate for Jedi training (beyond being Mandalorian). It's clear that a major arc of the series will be Ahsoka's teaching approach, less chisel and more collaboration. But I'm guessing the Big Problem of Training Sabine is clearer if you come in with Rebels backstory.

My 8 year old tapped out halfway through the first episode and told me to call him in when there was another fight scene.

tbf Sabine felt the same way

zero interest in this even w rosario starring

i just do not care abt Rebels at all & all these other sideverses - it was annoying when they dragged so much Rebels crap into Mandolorian, it’s so dull to me i hate it

Oh wow. I feel the opposite. I am enjoying the sideverses so much more than the series closer to the mainline. Rosario seems particularly suited to this role. She can project an inner frustration or determination without much changing on the surface.

My 9yo and I had been watching Rebels for the last few months—he’s seen it all before but wanted me to watch it. We got almost through the second season befor le Ahsoka started. He claimed to be super excited about it but he seems to have completely bailed on it after two episodes. My 13yo on the other hand is totally hooked. He is a huge Thrawn fan—read all the books over and over—and he is full of anticipation for the reveal.

All three of us are united in thinking the space whales are dumb.

Aw I like them whales.

I keep seeing Wes Chatham turning up in the cast list in the early episodes. Is he a character yet to appear and they only wanted to set up one set of opening credits or something.

Think I need to refresh my memory of Rebelsand work out what the interval is.
Her a has obviously had time to climb the ranks in the armed forces.
Not sure how much older Sabine has got.

Also trying to think when Resistance was set.

This has been ok so far, but it is curiously flat. The script can be a bit clunky, but the main issue is with the direction and editing. Filoni really drags scenes out - lots of extended shots of people looking serious - and doesn't deliver on the action. Ahsoka going for a space walk and slicing up ships with her lightsaber should have been a WOAH moment, but it didn't quite land. The Mandolorian really benefitted from strong action directors coming in, but this feels like Filoni is starting to make the same mistakes Lucas did with the Trilogy. Even if he doesn't direct every episode, it's very much his baby.

Prequel trilogy that is.

Filoni really drags scenes out - lots of extended shots of people looking serious

Lol there was a scene in the latest episode where the main evil Jedi directed his minions to do something and then he just stood there with his arms folded. I just thought “I’d you’ve got time to stand around you’ve got time to sweep the floors”

if you've got time to scowl at Sabine, you've got time enough to clean

Haha, yeah. One of the previous episodes had him standing looking at the star map for a few moments, which worked dramatically and also gave the audience something to pore over, but the scene you describe felt like a half-assed attempt at creating an ominous mood. Are they going to end every episode with him standing around brooding? Should clarify the latest episode wasn't directed by Filoni, but between the scripts and baggy editing there's a certain lack of energy.

It looks and sounds fine but a lot of it really *really* feels like cosplayers trying to bring the gravitas.

what beyond sight and sound provides this feel? Smell?

ACTING!! (in Jon Lovitz voice)

Love me a shiny Coruscant cityscape and a hearty droid “Blerrp” but these things alone do not a thrilling Star War make.

I, too, enjoyed a padawan's dogfight in whales

in Wales

Can someone explain why the third episode in these types of shows is so often the only one under 40 minutes? Maybe sometimes it's the second ep. And yet this still felt padded at times - e.g. that needlessly lingering shot of Skoll at the end seemed to offer nothing.

Cool to finally see a space walk of sorts in live action SW tho.

"Once an Inquisitor hunting Jedi for the Empire, the mysterious Marrok now works as a mercenary hired by Morgan Elsbeth to carry out dark deeds. Fully encased in battered battle armour, the warrior still carries a red double-bladed saber with a circular hilt."

they're going to keep being mysterious about who the masked guy is for most of the season, right?

their own Karl Ruprecht Kroenen

hah

we’re supposed to think it might be Ezra, right?

I have a long shot theory as to what his connection to an existing group would be but I’d rather just watch the show and find out

Haha it literally didn’t even occur to me to wonder who might be under the mask. I just figured it was yet another dark Jedi.

No way is it Ezra.

Ezra or Qi'ra but certainly a 'ra

The lightsaber is Maulish

the lightsaber is straight-up one that the inquisitors used in obi-wan, rebels, etc

it was very goofy when some of them used it like a little helicopter blade to fly off in rebels and i hope they do that in live action. mostly because i am a bad person and like when shows do goofy things for people to complain about

ok i’ll say it: it’s some rando who used to hang with the knights of ren motorcycle club

(it isn’t but the helmet reminded me of them)

he volunteered at the Knights of Ren fish fry

I was looking at their wookieepedia page (why do I do this to myself) and 99% of the knights of ren info is from comic books. each of them has a name and some sort of violent kink

the funniest part is that Ren is just the name of their leader. so if you kill the Ren you become the Ren

who is the Stimpy then?

lol I have also been on the wookiepedia, doing my own research

I think I have fallen behind, but at one point I had read every adult/young adult piece of media that belongs to the current Star Wars canon and watched all the shows as well

I have no rational explanation for why I would do such a thing

Took the kid to a 40th Anniversary screening of ROTJ (w/ live orchestra)… he asked, “Is that just a random guy in the Mandalorian suit, or Boba Fett?”

(Goes to show how Gen Alpha’s appreciation of the classics has been corrupted by all this new media!)

vader death choke oughta set him
straight

jk

The scene with Mon Mothma just made me wish I was watching Andor instead :/

re villains standing around looking serious: it doesn’t help that none of them are particularly menacing or compelling - they’re just saying lines and glowering. it’s all very Darth Maul in Episode 1… but at least that guy looked cool, blonde Sith girl just kind of looks like she’s fresh off a shift at some place that serves deconstructed coffee.

I know it’s probably because they’re all separated right now and it’s all building up to the moment where the gang is back together but show seems to be missing that Rebels energy, where they’re constantly squabbling and arguing but you know it’s all out of love and they’re about to kick some Empire ass. The tension between Ahsoka and Sabine isn’t quite the same…

their own Karl Ruprecht Kroenen

― cracked fixed view mire (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, August 31, 2023 2:56 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm

This from Wikipedia cracks me up:

Kroenen is a popular Hellboy villain, who appears on a variety of merchandise.

Was groaning a bit at A Star Wars Carol, but it was ultimately effective

It was, the episode didn't go the direction I expected and the slower pace landed well.

Enjoyed these last two. Even de-aged Hayden looked good.

On behalf of my son, who LOVES Thrawn and has read all the books about him and just thinks his whole backstory is fascinating and deep - I am annoyed at how long it’s taking to reveal him. There’s just not going to be enough time in the show for him to absolutely rule.

On behalf of myself, who has never seen a show with Thrawn and have nothing invested in him whatsoever - I’m annoyed at how it’s taking them to reveal him. There’s not enough time in the show to truly demonstrate how seriously I should be taking him as a threat.

Thrawn is a ball. If they get him into the goal, there will be war. The threat seems mostly political.

Yeah the predictable withholding of Thrawn makes it hard for him not to disappoint now.

Whereas the prospect of Anakin really being there in the world between worlds was exciting but they did stamp that out rather too quickly.

that was great, and the first time this show really did feel like live-action Rebels (also great seeing that small bit of live-action Clone Wars - young Ahsoka was terrific).

seems Hayden Christensen's reputation among SW fans has been thoroughly rehabilitated by these past few appearances. personally thought he still seemed a bit wooden, but it mostly worked this time around.

young Ahsoka was terrific

Turns out it's the daughter from Barbie! Good summer for her.