#and so he chooses kanan now the way he never chose anakin

[ooops-i-arted]

ahsoka still calling anakin a 'good master' after everything he fucking did to her oh my god, ENOUGH!

cowboy hat man won't give it a rest. he wants to throw ahsoka in everything and have her ascend to glorified creator's pet status, but he still can't figure out how to feature her without making her whole worth and existence about anakin. a two year relationship that ended with the master nearly murdering his padawan gets to be highlighted repeatedly, as if it was the most emotionally resonant thing to ever happen to ahsoka and anakin. instead of literally any other relationship that could be explored more.

screw ahsoka's other relationships from the jedi temple or the clones. she can hang out with rebels characters who are reduced to hollow husks of themselves while she has the charisma of a plank. but let's remind everyone how special and awesome she is because anakin was assigned to her for a short time. ahsoka is almost fifty years old now, were the options really that limited? screw respecting anakin's kids who achieved their own legacies and played important roles in the rebellion, defying what he chose to become. luke and leia are barely present in these galactic events and it's rare for their names to be mentioned at all. and who the hell is padme at this point?

ahsoka's writing has been unimpressive for a while now and i haven't cared about her story beyond fandom osmosis. but her show probably isn't even servicing people who actually liked her from tcw anymore, it's about whatever caters to filoni's warped perception of these characters.

Not only is it egregious because we know Anakin is a child murderer, Ahsoka NEVER moves on or comes to terms with it! She just keeps wallowing in it so Filoni can wank off to Anakin licking Ahsoka's butthole. Also: two years. There's no way she's near as speshul to him as Padme (the woman he was in love with for 10+ years and his wife) or Obi-Wan (his Master who was like a brother to him, again for over a decade) or Shmi (his freakin' mother and likely his one point of stability in a chaotic childhood as a slave). Don't even tell me that if Anakin was dropped in the World Between Contrived Time Travel he would save Ahsoka over any of them lmao. Or drop her like a hot potato if he had to choose between Ahsoka and Luke, his son and the last remnant he has of Padme (her son), Obi-Wan (guarded and trained by), Shmi (her grandson) and pretty much the one person he was able to commit an act of true, unselfish love for (killing Palps).

I do feel bad for the fans since I've seen plenty of comments that it's "not her" and that RD's portrayal is just so flat and devoid of smirky smugness/cheekiness/whatever. I personally may hate it but it is part of her character. And you're right, why is it only people she isn't connected to? She barely knew the Rebels crew and mostly as Fulcrum, so a professional relationship, not a friendship. Not to mention Sabine being forced into a Jedi Padawan role despite NEVER showing Force sensitivity or any interest in being a Jedi, and she lived with two of them for years. She had plenty of opportunity to ask Kanan if she wanted to be trained! But nah, we gotta give Ahsoka a Padawan and throw in some forced girl power stuff on the side. (As a former little girl who deeply craved female representation in the male-dominated stories I loved, I can tell you, little girls can tell when it's forced.) (Also Sabine choosing to force herself into a Jedi role out of grief for missing Kanan and Ezra instead of actually being into it or confronting her feelings of loss could've been a really interesting character moment. But nah.)

Side note but I also find it interesting that Rex is barely in this show. Wasn't Rex Ahsoka's clone counterpart? They're very close friends? He's still alive and kicking and could help her out? That would be a really cool relationship to explore? Or did Filoni realize he can't whitewash a real Māori man the way he can animated clones?

(Also I saw this ask before bed and woke up thinking about Mara Jade and Jaina Solo, a female teacher-student relationship that was so badass, and now I want Mara Jade being Rey's teacher and helping her confront her relationship to Palpatine and Rey having the guidance of someone who Gets It, can you imagine. We could've had it alllllllll)

#deeply in my mara jade feelz now lmao #asks #anon #anti ahsoka #anti ahsoka tano #anti filoni

[helbertinelli]

What are your thoughts on the Jedi and their stance on familial and romantic love? I see posts about the Jedi allow love and they Kanan is an example of how the Prequel Jedi did allow it. What they were against was Anakin’s unhealthy love for his mom and Padme.

I read these things I have have trouble understanding it because of Attack of the Clones. Isn’t it supposed to be a forbidden love movie?

I don't know why the fandom thinks the Jedi allowed any type of love. I mean sure we got a lot of material from Disney where Jedi break the Code and are showing love to their padawans, but it was not the Jedi way. The Jedi didn't allow familial love or romantic love. Parents were not allowed to contact their children once they were taken by the Jedi and Jedi were not allowed to have romantic love. It's said pretty clearly in the movies, but I guess people choose to ignore them. Or they choose to bring up Ki-Adi-Mundi. He was only allowed a family because his species waas dying off. All he did was to produce offspring for his species but he didn't stay or interact with his family, like a normal husband/father would. He was an exception to the rule, not the rule. The Jedi were against all kinds of love. I think people like to pretend that the Jedi were okay with love as long as it was not "selfish" because they wanna tear down Anidala. But Anidala wasn't a selfish love. It's not selfish to form attachments, this is literally how humans function when it comes to relationships (to any relationships) and it's not selfish to not want your wife and unborn child to die, especially when they're the only family you have left in the entire world. And especially when you've been told all your life about how powerful you're supposed to be, but damn it turns out that you're still not powerful enough to save them. There was nothing wrong in the way Anakin loved Padme. The tragedy of their relationship wasn't that he loved her, it was that the system he was a part of forbid love of any kind. The problem is that people see the Jedi as the good guys of the movie and since Anakin is breaking their rule about love, then his relationship with Padme has to be wrong. But the Jedi were never supposed to be the good guys. If that was the case, then Luke (way before PT) would have chosen the Jedi way and he would have killed Vader. But Luke chose love instead, he rejected the Jedi way, and we all saw that was the right choice. The Jedi are meant to just be a faction that's deeply flawed. There are good guys in the order, like Anakin (before he joined Palpatine), Qui-Gon, and even Obi-Wan. But the Jedi were not meant to represent the absolute good and they did forbid all kinds of love. Now about Kanan, if the Jedi were still around, Kanan would have had to keep his relationship with Hera a secret because the Jedi code would forbid it. Kanan, after Order 66, he did a lot of things that the Jedi would freak out about and would probably try to get him expelled. He was afraid of the Force. He stole. He joined a thief/smuggler and helped him. He became an alcoholic. He would have sex with any woman who offered it or accepted it. He didn't exactly live by the Code. And his love for Hera? That was against the Code too. His love for Ezra, Sabine, Zeb, and Chopper? That was also against the Code. Him not being able to let go of Depa? Against the Code. Also, people like to act like Kanan was so perfect and blah blah blah and how Anakin was creepy. But like when it came to flirting with Hera and Padme, respectively, Kanan kept pushing himself on Hera despite her not being interested and refusing all of his advances. Anakin stopped when Padme would tell him to. I'm not saying that Kanan was a creep for doing what he did. His flirting was actually funny because of how over the top and cringe it was. All I'm saying is that Anakin is getting a lot of hate for something he didn't do, while other characters get a free pass. But it's popular to hate Anakin and not understand his story. I'm tired of the comparisons between Kanan and Anakin and how people act like Kanan is the perfect Jedi and Anakin is nothing but evil. Their stories aren't even remotely similar. The only similar thing is that both of them had a woman they loved and they couldn't be with her in the end and raise their children together. Anakin and Kanan served different roles in their stories and they were written to fulfill those roles. You can't compare them more than you can compare

Bail Organa and Count Dooku. Sure they're both wealthy guys with an affinity for goatees, but that's as far as their similarities go. But anyway, I love Kanan (he's my favorite guy in SW after Anakin), but he was far from being a perfect Jedi or even a good Jedi. And to pretend he was, is to erase all the interesting parts of his personality. Kanan was a fuck-up with a big heart and a lot of questions. He didn't really care about the Code, he only cared about loving his family (which was extremely against the Code).

#anidala #anakin skywalker #Meta #Anonymous #ask

[noddytheornithopod]

Before I get to writing about the actual Bad Batch premiere, time to write another weird ranty post. This time... about overwriting canon. If you know what I mean, click the readmore to see what I have to say. If you don’t... well, don’t click, duh.

Yes, I’m talking about Caleb Dume’s inclusion.

Is canon something we hold too sacred? Yes. Am I still going to ask why they change things and wonder if it’s justified or not? Also yes.

I’m not super attached to the Kanan comic like some people are, but even as the episode played, I still took issue with the decisions they made? The reason ended up being surprisingly simple: I just preferred the story that was told in the comic than what we got on screen.

I definitely get why Filoni and co decided to feature this moment. Having a major character from one of your other shows get one of the most formative moments of his life portrayed is an opportunity too tempting to pass up. Honestly, when they made that Caleb model for the Siege of Mandalore opening, they were probably already thinking to themselves they should use it for something else.

As a scene in general, I do like what we got. I do like that we got to see Depa and Caleb together, and that we then saw everything go down, and how Caleb was already panicking and reacting to any clone with intense fear. Only real issues I have are that Freddie Prinze Jr (as great as it is to hear him again), as much as he tries to pitch up his voice clearly isn’t a 12 year old so it’s kinda distracting and even unintentionally hilarious (does anyone else think he even sounds a bit like Ezra at points?). That and, uh, the fact that Caleb’s design is whitewashed for some reason, but I talked about that before. The reason I’m not too into the scene and prefer the comic version though? Well, to put it simply, this isn’t Caleb’s story here.

Kanan: The Last Padawan is a story about Kanan Jarrus, back when he was still Caleb Dume. It’s focused on him and his relationship with Depa Billaba, what he’s like as a padawan, how he got along with clones like Grey and Styles, and of course how all of that comes together to impact him during Order 66. It’s a story about him.

Aftermath on the other hand isn’t a story about Caleb. It’s a story about the Bad Batch. This could’ve been any Jedi padawan escaping, any master that could’ve died, and it would’ve been the same story because it’s about how the Bad Batch react to Order 66 and what decisions they choose to make. They just chose to feature Caleb escaping Order 66 because they wanted to show that scene for Rebels fans. As a result, I was more focused on Hunter and Crosshair’s feelings and motives than what Caleb was going through.

Like, it’s not that it’s wrong to not feature Caleb here (...whitewashing aside, yeah sorry I’m gonna be salty for a while), it’s just that the more personal and impactful version of the story is I feel the comic for the reasons I stated, and now the more “official” version of the story is the one that’s less focused and personal for Caleb.

Oh yeah, there’s another thing that bothers me, but I find it more hilarious than anything: so much is changed from the comic, like yes putting the scene in new context is one thing, but changing things that wouldn’t even impact the story is another. Allow me to explain:

Captain Grey? He’s a commander in the comic, and there’s no Styles. I guess this was to be more efficient but you couldn’t be bothered to paint one more clone in some re... wait, green?

Yes, Grey’s armour is green, but in the comic it’s red. I’ve seen people suggest that it could be to avoid confusion with the shock troopers or even the Bad Batch themselves, but like... is it really that hard to discern? The red is a different shade and pattern. The shock troopers have WAY more red. Eh, what do I know.

On the topic of colours... why is Depa’s lightsabre now blue? It was not only green in the comics, but in freaking live action too (well, at least for promotional photos, IDK if they count as full canon). Let me guess, it’s something like Grey’s armour now being green means we can’t tell the difference now. Is there something I’m missing here? Something as small as a lightsabre colour feels like it’s changed for the sake of it.

Kaller is completely different: much snowier, and we see everything happen at daytime.

Like, stuff like this I just don’t get? Why make such insignificant changes when they don’t really impact the story? Did Kanan talk about how snowy it was when he watched his master die or something? :v I am aware this stuff that doesn’t matter, but that’s EXACTLY why I’m confused as to why they’re changing this stuff.

I think a lot of my confusion at this also comes from the fact that Lucasfilm promised when they rebooted canon under Disney, they would make a more unified and cohesive one to follow, one where everything would feel connected and that any errors would just be that, small mistakes that can be corrected or overlooked. But like, Filoni is clearly doing his own thing. The Siege of Mandalore is different to the Ahsoka novel (and implies some retcons to Son of Dathomir for that matter, an actual TCW story adapted lol). There’s differences with Cobb Vanth in The Mandalorian to his story in the Aftermath books.

The reason I wasn’t as concerned there was because well for one, Cobb Vanth’s written material is something I haven’t read, so I can’t really compare. But for the stuff in the final Clone Wars season, it’s either small things, but even for bigger stuff like how events play out it’s because they told a better story, I felt. That, and all the changes I felt made sense or were at least justified (for example, Ahsoka now having blue lightsabres adds character to her and Anakin). I also felt I was able to reconcile what didn’t fit through unreliable narrators - something I’ve seen suggested for the Kanan comics because those ARE his flashbacks, but again, the issue I have with Kanan is I prefer the story in those comics to here. If it is how they justify things then fair enough, but that’s still gonna make me wonder about things.

Something I also find kinda weird was that the comic was written by Greg Weisman, who was a writer on the first season of Rebels, and for that matter the story editor (a position that in some cases is equivalent to head writer, even if I don’t know if that’s the case here) on said season. So not just some random comic writer, one of the main writers who helped get the show off the ground wrote it. I just feel like it’s really weird that you’d have one of your main writers write this origin story, only to then go and overwrite it yourself like it never existed? IDK what Greg Weisman feels on the subject, but it’s an odd situation. It’s basically taking your co-worker’s work and going “okay but we’re gonna do it MY way instead just to serve my new story because I’m in charge even though you worked with me and you have insights and discussions with me that make your contributions not that of just any writer”).

So yeah, even if canon is something we fixate too much on in fandom, I don’t blame people for sometimes feeling like they’re told the stories they like matter less, especially when you’re being told things are SUPPOSED to be more connected now. Even not being strongly attached to this story as much as others, I feel like making this version more prominent can’t help but bum me out because I feel the story in the comic was more in-depth and impactful.

#star wars #the bad batch #kanan jarrus #caleb dume #tbb spoilers #sw spoilers

[cross-d-a]

Why Anakin is still the Chosen One

Here are some tired thoughts before I go to sleep:

Anakin literally tells Rey to bring balance to the Force like he once did. He defeated Palpatine in episode VI and brought balance then. Yeah, Palpatine apparently lived but that doesn't mean Anakin didn't bring balance.

Ever since Force Awakens I can't help but think that this whole sequel trilogy is an allegory for our current political state, specifically: Neo-nazism. The Empire is modeled after Nazis. There's no question. Fascist totalitarianism wrapped up in a genocidal Empire?? Yeah, no thanks.

But then we've got the First Order. They're trying to revive past ideals, trying to revive the Empire. They're a whole mix of people: born into a fascist family like Hux, original Empire loyalists like Pryde, children stolen and brainwashed into it like the stormtroopers-- racism and hate comes from a lot of different backgrounds (it can be taught, it can be learned), but they all tend to latch onto certain beliefs and political structures. It helps the First Order that (from what I can tell) the New Republic was a copy of the first. From the prequels it's easy to tell that it's a broken system. The Empire didn't just spring up out of nowhere. Palpatine was a crafty son of a bitch but even he couldn't sway billions upon billions of people to his side. Those feelings of hate and prejudice and greed had to already exist- Palpatine just took advantage of it and stoked the flames (not even gonna go into real world parallels here).

There is a reason why I'm talking about this. I'm talking about Anakin, who was raised a slave. Who was already a victim of hate and all the evils in the galaxy because he was a SLAVE. A little boy who only wanted to help people, who wanted to break the system that allowed him and the rest of his people to suffer. Then he was freed and thrust into a position of privilege within the system that made it possible for Anakin to be born a slave. And there he was, told over and over that he was the Chosen one. That he must bring balance. But it wasn't the kind of balance he sought since he was a little boy. I think Anakin just wanted everyone to be equal, and the kind of balance the Jedi believed in didn't necessarily mirror that since they were an integral part of the Republic.

But I digress.

I'm bringing up Anakin's childhood in slavery (and arguably, his whole life of slavery) because Anakin is was folded into this Nazi-like Empire which went against everything that he believed in as a child. Everything his mother believed in. Palpatine and the Empire twisted him and yes I love Anakin to death and he is such a victim of circumstance (and he is such a nuanced, interesting character), but he did some pretty terrible things as Darth Vader. He became everything that he ever wanted to fight against.

And then he said no.

He watched Palpatine torture his son. He watched Palpatine try it use his son. And we all know how much Anakin values family. Anakin chose to end fhat circle of hate and suffering. He was the first one to stand his ground and save the person he loved and actually succeed- and with that action he became the catalyst for defeating the Empire.

The thing about Anakin is that he has always been the catalyst. His birth was a seemingly impossible thing. The Jedi discovering him set in motion both Palpatine's plan and the Jedi's defeat. And then Palpatine's eventual destruction.

I'm not discounting every single other person in the Star Wars universe who has suffered or fought for what is right (shout out to Ezra 'spark of the rebellion' Bridger). But there is no doubt that without Anakin we would not have a Star Wars series. Everything revolves around him, whether it's believing he's the chosen one, believing he is the villain we must defeat, or knowing he is someone we must live up to and emulate.

Without Anakin's sacrifice, without him remembering what's truly important (family, love, freedom), the Empire would not have been defeated. Luke would have died. Leia probably, too. Palpatine would have utterly destroyed the galaxy (maybe we'd see some actual Dark!Rey way down the line). Anakin stood up, stood his ground and said No.

The real reason why Anakin is the Chosen One is because he IS that catalyst. Because he did rise from oppression and servitude and had the strength to say No.

I'm going to bring up the Neo-Nazism again: the New Republic rose up to replace the Republic. The First Order rose up to emulate the Empire. I would argue that the First Order became so powerful because the structures that allowed the Empire to rise in the first place still existed.

Yoda says in the original trilogy: There is another. (Yeah you know what like I'm talking about) You could argue that it's Leia (it certainly meant to be at the time). You could argue that it's baby Yoda (my boy!!). But I would argue that it is the next generation.

You see, you can't just defeat evil once and be done with it. We certainly hoped we would when WWII ended, but the fight is never done. Neo-Nazis still exist. Terrible, terrible people still exist. And maybe it's learned, maybe it's passed down through the family-- you can learn to hate in a lot of different ways. The structures that allowed Nazis to rise up like they did still exist today. We still face racism and homophobia and anti-Semitism. The battle is not over.

That's why I think these sequel movies are important (despite my problems with it, but I won't go into that here). I would love to think that after episode VI everyone lived a happily ever after. There was no more evil, no more suffering and slavery and thoughtless killing. But it doesn't work like that. Even though that's the ending I want, even though that's the ending I sometimes need-- every generation faces its own threat. Its own call to the past.

I have my own confused reservations about Rey parentage, but I adore that she rejects the legacy of hate. We see what she is capable of. We see that (just like Anakin) she could give in to what she thinks is the lesser of two evils. (It's okay as long as the people I love get to live, right?') We see that she is fully capabale of it even. She struggles with it, much more (I would argue) than either of the other two movies. She struggles to reject that part of herself and she struggles to acknowledge that she is born from that legacy (as so many would). Who would be proud to know they came from a family of Nazis? Not many people I hope.

And maybe it's because her parents chose to "be no one" that she is able to find the strength to think "maybe I don't have to go down this path." I would love to know more about her parents and how they chose to completely defy expectations, but I'll content myself for now with this:

Rey chose to reject the legacy of hate, and instead followed Anakin's own defiance. She's choosing her own legacy: combatting of hate and violence. Embracing love and hope. Learning from the mistakes of the past.

In a way, Ben Solo is right: let the past die. We must destroy the hatred and intolerance of our past. We must tear down the structures our forefathers put in place that allowed this hatred to arise and take over the galaxy. But he's also wrong. We have no way to know how to be better than our forefathers if we don't remember their mistakes. If we don't remember what they fought for and believed in. That's why "a thousand generations live within [Rey] now." She chose to follow the legacy of love and hope that the Jedi embody. And yes, the Jedi have their own problems, but that doesn't change the fact that they did their best to fight for what they thought was right. And, this is something to remember:

Yoda said: We are what they grow beyond.

Luke and Leia continued on that legacy of hope where Anakin and Padmé and Obi-Wan were unable to continue. They succeeded where those three failed. And, I hope, Rey (and Finn and Poe) will be able to succeed where Luke and Leia and Han couldn't. Where the Jedi couldn't.

It's up to everyone that comes after us to remember where they came from and discover how to grow beyond where we failed.

And now I'm back to where I began: Anakin. He tells Rey to bring balance to the Force like he once did. We hear many other voices (Luke's, Yoda's, Ahsoka's, even Kanan's and Ayala Secura's), but to me Anakin's was by far the most prominent. I love that we hear Obi-Wan's voice first ("These are your final steps"), and perhaps this is a parallel to Obi-Wan trying to call Anakin back to the light so many years ago. But Anakin's is so prominent. Ben and Rey are extremely important each other (and there is so much to unpack there), but Anakin's final push is what gives Rey strength and hope.

Anakin reminds Rey of the past. He reminds Rey that He broke free from that cycle of hate and that she can, too. Anakin is so, so important. He's the prime example that you can end the hate. End the violence. You don't have to be a Nazi like your shitty grandfather.

"Be with me. Be with me," she repeats over and over and over again. She trying to connect with the past. She's trying to understand her position in the universe. And she does, once she accepts her heritage. Once she accepts where she came from. And Anakin is there to help her take those final steps.

This whole sequel trilogy is about legacy. It's about repeating the mistakes of the past. It's about desperately trying to live up to expectations and failing them. It's about desperately trying to forget where you come from and trying to find yourself amidst the echoes of a chaotic past.

And, as always with Star Wars, it's about finding hope in the darkest of places. It's about love and family and saving the people who can't save themselves. This is the legacy that Anakin Skywalker left behind when he saved Luke from Palpatine, and this is the legacy that will continue to be remembered for every generation to come after that.

So Anakin Skywalker is still the Chosen One. He's that bright little slave boy who grew up twisted and lonely and got beaten into submission, yet still found the strength to claw his way back to the light. We all have that strength within ourselves to be better people, and now Rey can carry on that lesson and pass it down from generation to generation.

#tros #the rise of skywalker #meta #anakin skywalker #star wars #rey #long post #the chosen one #prophecy #tros spoilers #i spent way too long typing this up after texting my friend #luke skywalker #leia #i apologize for any typos #racism

[joracalltrise]

I’ve fallen in love with the 7th season of the Clone Wars, but in the same time this season… disappointed me so much. Do you, guys, feel the same? Or are you fully satisfied?

I warn you, that I’m going to more or less skip the good things and get to the bad things – not because I’m a complaining person, but because I believe a lot of people have already listed all positives about the last episode and season 7 in general (especially <url> www.gffa.tumblr.com </url> – dude, I really love your blog!), so me talking about the things I had loved in the latest season, would be… repeating what other people have already said.

I think we all (or most of us) agree, that the 7th Season was totally amazing, if not THE BEST season of the Clone Wars. We got that clear? Okay, now let’s get to the “buts”.

1. Not enough episodes

I’ll sound a bit whiny here, but… I really don’t get it, why couldn’t we get full 20 episodes for the Final Season of the Clone Wars. Or even more than 20. Maybe there are people in Disney, who are smarter than me, and they know the answer to that question, but STILL… if Star Wars is such a good brand, why not making more of the Clone Wars?

Of course, there are also advantages of producing only 12 episodes.

The whole season feels more like a movie than a TV series. Or, rather – like three movies. Instead of “small stories” we were given three solid Arcs, which are very smoothly connected to each other. That’s a good thing. It’s not the same case as “the Legend of Korra”, where 12 episodes would give us a feeling of an enormous pacing.

BUT. Because I was given only 12 episodes, I got to miss some of my favorite characters.

2. Lack of some important characters

We didn’t see Dooku in the last season the Clone Wars – not even ONCE!

We didn’t see Grievous in the last season of the Clone Wars – not even ONCE!

We didn’t see Ventress in the last season of the Clone Wars – not even ONCE!

We BARELY saw Obi-Wan (sniff! sniff!) – poor guy got some bigger scenes only in “Good friends not forgotten” and “Phantom Apprentice”. And some short (but really good) lines in “An unfinished business”.

Padme got ONE scene (one that confirms, that Anakin is, in fact, blind, since he didn’t comment on her baby bump).

Now, someone would roll their eyes and say – yeeeeaaaah, but Dooku, Grievous, Obi-Wan and Padme got PLENTY of TV time in the Revenge of the Sith, duh! If you want more of them, just watch RoTs, again. Okay, I agree, but… that was the whole point of me watching the Clone Wars. I liked it so much, because prequel trilogy was not enough for me. I wanted MORE of my favorite characters. What’s wrong with that?

And what about Ventress? She was supposed to have such a great Arc with Quinlan Vos!

Than brings us to the next case…

3. Abandoned and Non-existing Arcs

Utapau Arc… oh, I’m NEVER gonna forgive them for Utapau Arc!

I believe it was actually the best Arc in the Clone Wars. I’ve watched those unfinished episodes sooo many times, and they have brought me more joy than ANY full-fledged episodes. So many good moments in those episodes!

So much of Obi-Wan and Anakin dynamics (I’m sorry, Ahsoka fans, but no matter how much Felloni and Co will try to persuade me otherwise, OBI-WAN is a Jedi who has the closest relationship with Anakin, NOT Ahsoka. Quarrel, if you like, but that’s how I feel, sorry).

Anakin interacting with animals (outrageous, cute and absolutely beautiful).

Anakin’s great plan “ups, I’ve fallen asleep… ah, no, it was my plan from the beginning!”

Scorpion creature playing with Anakin’s lightsaber, and Anakin killing the creature “by accident”.

And FINALLY two best moments:

“Awww, got yourself captured again, Old Man?” (I’ll NEVER get tired of Anakin calling Obi-Wan “old man”, okay?”

And Obi-Wan merrily waving to Grievous, when he and Anakin escape with the cristal.

Ventress and Quinlan Arc – even if they didn’t follow a comic, they could have made an amazing Arc out of this.

Small Padme Arc? Like… how she was dealing with her pregnancy, while working for the Senate? Anything? Pretty please?

Some Arc involving Ayala Secura or Kit Fisto or Ki Adi Mundi or Plo Koon – just to say goodbye to those characters before Order 66? By the way, it’s kind of weird, Ahsoka didn’t think or talk about Plo Koon even a little bit, during the WHOLE season. That’s the disadvantage of having only 12 episodes, yup!

The last Padawan Arc aka Caleb Dume turning into Kanan Jarrus Arc aka One of my biggest disappointments for the last season. Why… WHY they didn’t do it?! The trailer gave me soooo muuuch hope! I really, REALLY wanted to see Kanan interacting with Depa and the Clones. Yes, I know, comics and stuff, but comics is not TV, and I love watching my favorite characters with nice soundtrack and great voice actors and everything. R.I.P. my expectations for Caleb Dume’s Arc in Clone Wars… sniff sniff!

Of course, there’s more, but those are the ones that come to my mind firsts.

4. Ahsoka’s character in this last season

Now, let’s talk about the character who got the most of the TV time in the whole season (if not the whole series).

Ahsoka’s greatest fans will probably get angry at me, but I’m still gonna say this. Not because I dislike Ahsoka, because I DO like her, and I think she’s an amazing character. Actually, before I start throwing my “accusations”, I’ll say some nice things about Ahsoka, so that you know I’m not trying to be mean here.

What Ahsoka did in the 7th season, can be mostly explained by her young age. She’s clearly at the rebel stage, she’s got through some really awful experiences (getting accused of treason, when you’re INNOCENT can really leave someone pretty shaken up, I think we all agree), and before Martez Sisters Arc for the first time in her life she was really, really ALONE.

Also, we all know that Ahsoka will be more mature in Rebels. It kind of makes sense, that you need to become an angry and proud teenager first, before you become an experienced and charismatic leader.

BUT, even knowing that, I’m really annoyed at Ahsoka after the last season. I’ve liked her during all 5 seasons of the Clone Wars, she was one of my favorite characters, but after season 7, she really got on my nerves. And honestly? I’m starting to think, it wasn’t even her fault. Maybe it was just the Clone Wars creators turning her into to some sort of… agenda? Using her to prove something? About the whole Jedi Order, maybe? Or about Anakin?

But, anyway, to the point…

Ahsoka’s actions in season 7 basically resulted in three groups of fans.

Group Number One (that’s NOT me) – people who started to think Ahsoka is some sort of saint, the only good (ex) Jedi in the rotten Order, the very best person, and oh, if only other Jedi could act like her, then maybe nothing bad will happen. And, oh, Obi-Wan and the rest Council sitters could REALLY learn from this amazing woman!

Group Number Two (that’s me) – people rising an eyebrow to Ahsoka’s behavior and being slightly annoyed at her.

Group Number Three (I don’t know who’s there, but there are some people) – people hating Ahsoka, getting really angry at her for acting the way she acted, and also blaming her for not using her knowledge about Sidious wanting to make Anakin his apprentice.

Who’s right? Maybe no one? Maybe partly everyone? I don’t know, so I’ll just proceed to explain my own subjective point of view.

I’ve already said some things about Ahsoka in this post:

<url> https://joracalltrise.tumblr.com/post/615743227991031809/ahsoka-versus-obi-wan-where-did-that-even-come </url>

I’m going to say more, but it’ll be much shorter.

What I disliked about Ahsoka most in the latest season was the fact, that she wanted to have a cookie and eat the cookie and she started to lecture people smarter and more experienced than her how to do their job.

Let’s start with the first one, by looking into Ahsoka’s particular words and actions. So…

She doesn’t want to be a Jedi, but she wants Republic to support her actions (siege of Mandalore) and let her participate in important Jedi-only discussions (Mace Windu talk). Kind of like some Brexit supporters, don’t you think? “Let’s leave the EU, but let’s keep all the privileges of the country belonging to the EU, because we are so smart, we deserve it and that’s it”. Oh, come on! You either leave of not – make up your mind, Ahsoka (Britain could, so why can’t you?).

She wants Anakin and Obi-Wan to help her but she doesn’t want to ASK them nicely and try a little bit to act like a person asking for help. She just expects them to agree, because they… what? Owe her? Owe her WHAT? Not supporting her ENOUGH, when she was accused (let me remind you: Obi-Wan sided with Ahsoka during Council meeting, and Anakin was litteraly running around Coruscant to prove his Padawan’s innocence)?

Her being angry about Anakin and Obi-Wan choosing Coruscant over Mandalore – I’m not even commenting that, because I’m tired of talking about it. But I’ll add just one more thing here – did it occur to anyone that Trace and Rafa are still on Coruscant, when Coruscant is attacked? What a great friendship you have formed, Ahsoka! Not even a single worry about whether or not your new friends will be in danger? But wait, they don’t need you, cause people in Mandalore need you more. Cool (sorry about the sarcasm, guys, but I couldn’t resist).

And now, the second thing.

If you want to change some huge organization, especially one like a Jedi Order, the best way to do it, is from the inside. Qui-Gon Jinn was like no other Jedi, and he was probably tempted to leave, but he chose to stay, and his presence benefited the Order in many many ways! He didn’t really change the Jedi – died before he could – but there was a chance. Perhaps Anakin could have changed the Jedi, had he not turned to the dark side? I think he would! Maybe, if he would mature even more (although, in Clone Wars he matured A LOT – look at the “Old friends not forgotten” episode) and join the Council a bit later, when the time was right… just imagine it! The Jedi Code hasn’t ALWAYS forbidden marriages and love. The Order could have come back to its old ways. Good thing, stuff like fanfiction exists ;)

But anyway, coming back to Ahsoka. If you LEAVE an organization, and then you start lecturing its members about morality and choices, it’s kind of obvious, they won’t take you seriously. And yeah, I fully support Obi-Wan’s statement “but Ahsoka is no longer a part of the Republic Military”, and I totally agree with Mace calling her “a citizen”. It’s all about Ahsoka wanting to keep and wanting to eat at the same time. What she wanted in the final season, basically, is doing all the good things she remember doing in the Order (helping people selflessly, supporting friends), but without having to deal with difficult (but necessary) things (like making difficult choices and dealing with consequences, duty versus emotion, all of this so called “playing politics”, etcetera). It’s like wanting to have a pet, but leaving all the problems – going to the vet, curing the animal, when it’s sick, maybe even making the decision of “putting a friend to a sleep” to keep it from suffering – to somebody else. Do you get, what I mean?

And before I leave the poor girl alone, I have one more thing to add.

I don’t like making Ahsoka “another Rey”.

Strong female characters are very much needed in the popculture. I’m a girl too, so I understand. But, for Force’s sake, don’t upgrade somebody’s skills ex-machina!

Okay, fine, they’ve made Rey a Force prodigy because she’s *********’s granddaughter and apparently she was already good in martial arts before she has left Jakku. Some people like that.  I don’t. I prefer an actual skill development instead of sudden skills upgrage.

But Ahsoka didn’t held a lightsaber for a long time, and first time she grabs her new pair, she becomes a one person machine. I wouldn’t say it makes me particularly upset, because it was nice to watch. But it DID disturbed me. And I couldn’t help the feeling, that canon was a bit shifted to match Ashoka fan’s expectations.

The canon got me used to the fact, that Star Wars strongest prequel fighters were Yoda, Palpie, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Mace, Dooku and Maul. I might have forgotten someone, but you get my point, right? Experienced and adult fighters, whose skills are logical and earned. Actually, I think that Ahsoka from Rebels fits that group as well.

I repeat it – Ahsoka FROM REBELS!

In Rebels she’s an adult and she’s got plenty of time to hone both her Force and lightsaber skills.

I’m not saying, I’m hating her fighting like a pro with Mandalorians and Maul. I repeat it - It WAS nice to watch. I’m just not buying it.

Like I’m not buying some other things.

5. Lack of logic (especially in Martez Arc)

It’s not a big fault, actually. We get plenty of those in pop culture shows. It gives us a lot of room for “How It Should Have Ended” videos ;)

But, seeeriiouslyyy…

Ahsoka using the Force right and left in the Martez Arc, while Rafa and Trace don’t notice A THING… are they deaf and blind, or something?

Is Anakin blind as well? Does he REALLY not notice Padme’s baby bump? Was he too busy’s with his wife’s beautiful eyes, or what?

And – AGAIN! – Ahsoka grabing Maul’s ship with the Force. Since when grabing a  (MOVING) ship with the Force became a canonical skill of anyone other than Yoda (or maybe Palpatine)? No, wait, even Palpie and Yoda didn’t grab a MOVIG ship. Why Anakin and Obi-Wan couldn’t Force grab Dooku’s ship, when he was escaping Naboo? There were TWO of them, for Force’s sake, and one of them was the Forcedamn Chosen One! Why couldn’t they? Oh, wait, I know! Because it was BEFORE “The Rise of Skywalker”. In THAT movie Forcegrabing the ships became a canonical skill, especially for prodigical women loved by the audience (again – sorry about the sarcasm, guys). As a woman who used to train martial arts for YEARS, I’d like female protagonists to actually LEARN their super skills, before they use them. Okay?

But, well, Star Wars suddenly canonizing new amazing skills after years is a material for a different article.

And, like I said, it’s really not that big of a deal. The Clone Wars were still amazing and enjoyable to watch – especially the newest season.

Besides, well, I can’t get what I want all the time, right? Felloni and Co had to CHOOSE, whom they want to make happiest, and they’ve chosen Ahsoka’s fans. I don’t blame them. Maybe they’ll choose my preferences next ;) One can always hope, right?

Conclusions?

Yeah, I think that’s all I have to say about the newest season. And I repeat – once again – that in spite all this complaining, I really loved that season. And I loved reading about other people’s opinions about it. May the Force be with us all!

Thank you for reading this long, looong post!

If anyone’s up to the discussion, feel free to contact me.

#Star Wars #the clone wars #tcw #season 7 #s07e12 #final season #ahsoka #tano #obi-wan #kenobi #anakin #skywalker #victory and death #review #long post #meta #utapau #cristal crisis #quinlan #edelgard von hresvelg #ventress #the rise of skywalker #tros #the revenge of the sith #rots #unfinished episodes #dooku #vos #caleb dume #kanan jarrus

[counterspelling]

I had a reason to catch up on Rebels so

1) Kanan

I saw some (justifiably, now) angry posts about this a while ago but the fact that Ezra and Kanan probably have had to die all along (I don’t even like this show and I still cried, also man Disney really hates couples, huh?) has been my problem with the show from the beginning and one of the reasons I never liked it, because I think the concept is wrong. There IS no good way for this show to end. The EU established the Jedi Order as having 100,000 years of history and instead of choosing literally ANY OTHER POINT in time... they instead chose to base a tv show around two jedi during the only 19 year period where there should be a jedi moratorium. And then they compounded that problem by having them meet Leia. And Mon Mothma. And Wedge. And Lando. And join the Rebellion. And run missions. And get famous within it. Luke is supposed to represent a new hope. For the Jedi, for the Rebellion, for the Republic, it’s supposed to be amazing and awe-inspiring that we’re seeing someone use the Force again. The jedi are supposed to by mystical and mysterious and fantastical because no one has seen one in 19 years. And even then, they were famous, but most people never actually MET one. But now they’ve all already experienced that. It fucks up Luke’s legacy. Oh, this farm boy showed up with a lightsaber? We already saw two dudes do that, they were with the Rebellion for a few years. Luke is A NEW HOPE and Rebels just completely fucks that up. Setting up a show so that the only two ways for to end it and not fuck up canon even more is for them to die or to exile themselves, is to me a pretty shitty way to set up a plot. And if Ezra manages to live, that makes it even worse than Yoda and Obi-wan, who at least get involved during the four years from ANH to ROTJ. Now, Ezra’s either gonna die like Kanan or else he and Ahsoka have to get stuck on a technology-less planet for the next five years to be discovered afterward.

2) AHSOKA!!!!!

I mean Rebels has continually failed to do her justice but at least we know she’ll be around for the series finale somehow. But really the time travel thing... as much as I love time travel aus in Star Wars fic, the only time I can remember it in canon is when Caedeus used it to basically torture/convince Tahiri to fall by continually showing her Anakin’s death. Which is a whole other fucking issue because everything they did with Tahiri post-NJO is pretty gross (Anakin was not the love of her life, SHE WAS 14, he could have BECOME the love of her life if they had the chance to grow up together, and of course she’s gonna mourn him but jfc I’m so bitter they just wrote her off as never being able to move past it also using men as the motivation for women uuuuuuuuuugh stop) but the whole point of that storyline was that they could WATCH Anakin die over and over again but not change anything. You couldn’t actually alter anything. But this, pulling Ahsoka out of time so that she just lost however long it’s been, ACTUALLY, PHYSICALLY changing the past.... I always hated the Mortis arc because I don’t care for the way it changes the Force mythos, so ugh. But I mean if they’re gonna use time travel for anything at least it was making sure Ahsoka lives.

#my only hope is that they will replace it with something i will.... actually like #i hope they announce what the new series will be about after the finale next week #just gonna keep screaming into the void to give me an old republic pre-rule of two cartoon with thousands of jedi and sith running around #during a period when jedi can marry #it's all i want okay #and re-introducing the original jedi code to canon!! #star wars #rebels #rebels spoilers #swr spoilers