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cienie-isengardu · 2 years

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@blue-mint-winter commented post:

Your welcome and I completely agree about TCW changing important characterizations, especially Anakin's. Also Barriss, I will never forgive that shit. They definitely did that. That's why my favourite eps were about Jar Jar LOL

I spent the whole day debating with myself should I go on and scream about the unfairness done to Barriss and Jedi as a whole or not since talking negative about TCW at times feels like opening can of worms, but my frustration with current star wars content already hit acceptable limits and is waaay past them so I decided to screw all consequences, it is time for a mini-rant. I hope you don’t mind me bringing that up as separate post (or if you don’t wish to be tagged in that post, lemme know :))

Okay. Where do I even start? Anyone who would sort posts through my blog will know that I love analyzing stuff and more often than not, I’m critical toward the Jedi Order (especially Order as the institution) and that through the years I have a lot of critical things to say about the new canon, with the emphasis on The Clone Wars.

TCW has literally been a thorn in my side for years and although the show had its good moments (storyline wise and artistic effects/music) that I want to acknowledge, the longer the show was run, the more it felt to me as the Triumph of Form over Substance. The creators needed to go from point A (post AotC/clone wars) to point B (RotS / Order 66) but as it was proved, they did not need to actually keep Legends (old canon) elements in the original form and things were used or discarded as they wanted. Some choices made more or less sense, some were turning our knowledge totally 180 degrees with various effects or fan reactions. Like I will never agree with chip in clone brains storyline (x)(x) nor implying domestic abuse toward Anakin and Padme (they were meant to be tragic, doomed lovers, not being in abusive relationship for Force’s sake) or erasing Prequels/Legends characterization of Anakin for the more common action macho idiotic one (something that creators themselves admitted to do, which is why Skywalker is more mix of Han & Luke because apparently some people aren’t capable of accepting introverted / emotional man as main hero? Riiight). At the same time, I’m willing to defend changes done to Mandalorians, because the story has a great potential but sadly the show focused mainly at the pacifism vs. terrorism angle. Which I guess makes sense from U.S.-centric perspective, but for someone like me, whose country/nation actually lost its independence for over 123 years (1795 -1918) and then suffered through the Nazi occupation (1939-1945) and survived the communist regime (1945-1989) before finally feeling like free country again, then Death Watch, however brutal or incoherent at times, rings a different bell. It is not about nationalism itself but wanting to have your culture back despite all the damage done through the years of forced expulsion / displacement or warriors (those not fitting into New society) and be independent from Republic / Empire. And this hits me more closely as a Pole than terrorist narratives done to DW (and Bariss).

But the thing that irritates me the most is how characters and their powers aren’t incoherent in a sensible way. They can use Force for great action and dueling, but Anakin can’t feel Obi-Wan’s presence when the man worked undercover (sorry if the show actually explained it for I do not remember it was ever addressed?). Anakin at first was shown as a self-sacrificing type of person (e.g. Jedi Crash) but for some reasons sometimes doesn’t do anything to save clones from certain doom even if he could use Force to stop them from falling down into lava or whatever it was in Citadel? And it is not just him? Ahsoka killed clones infected by worms but didn’t kill Bariss because they were best friends or whatever? But she is the bestie with clones! She cares! She is after all the protagonist who acts smart and all while all adults suddenly lose their brains. Like Anakin, a Jedi General, does not study maps before an attack on an enemy position, but Ahsoka did and saved the day. What a hero! And whatever she will do, it is all right at the end of day. Bo-Katan willingly supported Pre Vizsla/DW who destroyed the whole village and killed an innocent girl (whose Ahsoka befriended) but does it matter? Nope. Because she is now besties with Bo-Katan, a beloved freedom fighter, a noble lady and all the jazz.Pre Vizsla? Anyone remember him? No? No wonder, a persona non grata who would drag Bo-Katan (and Ahsoka by extension) in bad light so the show and other current sources are literally erasing him from the Mandalorian storyline. Because it is better to not remember the past than face a consequence of characters (creators) choices.

It feels like yeah, Jedi care if the episode needs it but don’t care if the show needs some shock value or feeling of danger. Mace cares for clone troopers and even offers droids a chance to surrender but isn’t somehow bothered when 12 year old Boba was put in prison for the worst ADULT criminals. Sure, it is very reasonable. Anakin cares for clones, unless the show needs a high death toll or jokes (throwing Rex off the dam without warning). Jedi will literally jeopardize an important mission just to give one of them a proper burial but will not give a shit about dying or dead clones. And so on.

I understand that the show was made for kids, but if we go into dark themes - and the show went into pretty dark stuff, mind you - then at least it should be addressed properly. Slick accused Jedi of keeping clones slaves yet it doesn’t matter. What a bad clone! Totally forgotten for the rest of the season. Bo-Katan’s past crimes don't matter since you can just erase Pre Vizsla from her narrative. Does the story need emotional impact? Create female characters (Satine, Steela, Tryla, Teckla Minnau) to kill off, so someone else (Obi-Wan, Ahsoka & Padme) could use it for either development or making political statements and either turn dead ones into some saints or forget them all. Or just kill off clones, there is so many of them anyway, who cares how competent soldiers they were or if you make them act idiotic. Jedi lead an army made of people with no legal right, but the clones *love so much them they have nightmares about order66* so everything is right. All makes sense, right?

This doesn’t just influence how fans see Anakin (turned into a typical action male lead) or how Ahsoka is literally everywhere now. The show, as I’m seeing it, did a great disservice to Jedi. And Barriss… Barriss is just the tip of the iceberg. The authors literally twisted every established clone wars storyline around a new character - Ahsoka Tano - so there was no real reason to use Barriss since they could simply introduce us to original Ahsoka’s friend. She already interacted with so many original Jedi characters but instead the team took one of the most known Legends!Jedi Healers and turned into terrorist? Killing innocent people to prove Jedi lost their ways? It really feels disrespectful, both to fans and Jedi.

And you know what TCW did not show us? Jedi Force-healing their troopers. Something that Barriss did on various points in Legends sources. She literally worked in various Republic Mobile Surgical Units (Rimsoo) as was seen in Republic comics series & Medstar duology or helping at triage unit(s) and as Jedi healers would not abbadon the wounded during enemy attack. Like when fire spread around them and cut away from safe way to evacuate, her first worry was about the injured people (Republic #65)

I’m really supposed to believe a person with such a mindset and compassion would decide to kill innocent people to make a point about war? Really? REALLY? Even more since there was no focus on why a Jedi like her could break and do something like that in the first place? This wasn’t a development or fleshing out for character, it was just shifting the blame on someone so Ahsoka could get out of Order before RotS/Purge. Which is unfair to Barriss.

Oh, and by the way, remember how Luminara was talking to Anakin to let it go and accept that his padawan may have died or something along the lines? The mentioned Republic #65 has Mace Windu personally searching for survivors and not leaving enemy lines without checking first if someone survives even when he was told that enemy may attack at any moment:

This is a proper Jedi. There is a difference between accepting that you did not manage to save someone and not bothering to at least try to save. Which is just another reason why TCW Jedi strikes me more as arrogant, manipulative and uncaring than the flawed people presented in Legends.

Good Force, it is really bad if I'm going out of my way to rant about respecting Jedi characters...

#star wars #the clone wars critical #just to be sure #barriss offee #deserves better #like anakin skywalker and female characters created to be killed and forgotten #like jedi as a whole #and clone troopers who are so ah colorful and different but never explained how they went from #you may be killed if you stands out into the whole tattoos and colors and so on #the show has it good moments #but overall it makes me more frustrated than happy #the first seasons feel more respectful to characters i think?#anyway sorry for rant #my frustration hit the dangerous level LOL #also #personal stuff #death watch and mandalorian society as a whole has so much potential to explore and think about #but yeah lets make DW a total bastards when you feel like having a motor gang like and switch the concept to fit one episode #and then forgot about it #so the ladies (bo and satine and ahsoka) can be not seen as the best good and all #suure #also just to be clear i do not hate ahsoka as a concept but i'm tired of her as character if that makes a sense?

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maeve-on-mustafar · 1 year

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I've been seeing a lot of discussion and negative reaction surrounding Mace's characterization in TOTJ, and honestly, while I understand people's frustration with the treatment of Mace, I'm kind of surprised by the amount of surprise I'm seeing across the fandom? Because to me, it seems like Mace's character getting thrown under the bus to make other characters look more sympathetic has been going on for a while now.

TBH, though I understand TV series reach a wider audience than books ever will, I do wish there was some more interest from fandom in discussing it whenever it happens, not just when Dave Filoni does it.

Like, I loved the Star Wars: Brotherhood novel by Mike Chen for its portrayal of Anakin and his relationship with Obi-Wan. But I will be the first to say that this book treated Mace terribly, characterized him as a blind pawn of Palpatine and a constant antagonist of Anakin, and didn't portray him with any redeeming qualities. I made a post about it here with various examples from the text.

But only a few people seemed upset by this characterization of Mace. Over and over, I saw his extremely unpleasant characterization dismissed as, "Well, Anakin is an unreliable narrator," even though there's a scene where Obi-Wan thinks to himself that Mace has a grudge against Anakin. The most critical discussion I ever saw of Mace's characterization was the Tapcaf Transmissions podcast.

I also want to talk again about this scene from the Obi-Wan and Anakin comic by Charles Soule:

I typically see a lot of defense of Mace for this moment, and I kind of get it, because I do think it brought about even more bad faith interpretations of his character. And I often see this moment discussion from a Watsonian perspective--that in the moment, there was nothing Mace could do to help Anakin, and he had to obey Palpatine, and therefore, he didn't do anything wrong.

But I want to talk about this moment from a Doylist perspective. I discussed it a little bit in this post, but to summarize this interaction and my problem with it, the author chose to use the only prominent black character in the Prequel trilogy (Mace) to make a white character (Anakin) look more sympathetic. There was no reason to include Mace in the Anakin-Palpatine origin story. So why would the author choose to have him there at all, much less in such a direct and aware way, when nothing in the films or TCW or previous canon media indicated Mace Windu had a role in facilitating the relationship between a 12yo Anakin and Chancellor Palpatine?

Well, because it reduces Anakin's responsibility in the matter. There's a reason Charles Soule opted to make Anakin very young when Palpatine started to sink his claws into him rather than a couple of months before AOTC. There's a reason Palpatine starts honing in on Anakin's past trauma of being a slave and using it to manipulate him. Because it reduces Anakin's eventual culpability in betraying the Jedi and makes it look like he's not a grown man making his own decisions, but a young adult who's been preyed upon and manipulated by the ultimate authority figure all his life.

And I believe that reason of making Anakin is the same reason for the addition of Mace being the person to give permission for Palpatine to meet with/counsel Anakin. Because it changes the Jedi from only being suspicious of Palpatine and his relationship with Anakin from the time of ROTS to a sudden ten years prior. Now it comes across as less like the Jedi being blindsided by the Chancellor interfering and pulling strings for Anakin to him doing so for a decade, half of which when Anakin was underage. And by extending the timeline this length of years, the narrative makes the Jedi look kind of dumb for never acting on their uneasiness about Palpatine and Anakin.

But if you're not convinced by any of my arguments so far, I want to close with this final point: let's look at the source material. Let's double check what Mace's views were on Anakin spending time with Palpatine in ROTS, and if there's anything to indicate that would lead Charles Soule to believe Mace would give the okay to Anakin hanging out with Palpatine.

And in ROTS, we have the following:

MACE WINDU: It's very dangerous putting them together. I don't think the boy can handle it. I don't trust him.

So, yeah. Charles Soule opted to change an element of Mace's character and introduce this unnecessary retcon so that Mace could be the one to allow the Anakin-Palpatine relationship to foster and therefore play an unwitting role in his own demise.

And that's my main reason for disliking Mace's part in Obi-Wan and Anakin. His role isn't about his own character, it's about making Anakin look more sympathetic and Palpatine look more predatory. And I love Anakin, but I hate that Mace was treated this way, and I hate the way he was treated in Brotherhood.

To be clear, I'm not blaming anyone for being upset about how Filoni characterized Mace, but I do want to point out that this is an issue that exists outside of just Filoni.

#mace windu #my meta #anakin skywalker

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kingofthewilderwest · 6 months

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Given how you mentioned the Disney sequels in my last last question, I'm curious what you think of the sequel trilogy as a whole 4 years later. Also what you make of the rey movie that's suppose to happen?

It's funny timing. I've been watching the Lucas sextilogy and Star Wars meta on YouTube. Particularly, So Uncivilized is a fascinating meta analyst, and I rewatched this tonight:

youtube

As for my thoughts...

When I saw TFA opening night and noticed it rehashed everything and added nothing, I lost investment. By "lose investment," I don't mean I got bitter, unhappy, jaded, cynical, etc. I mean that I was in a fine mood, perfectly chill, had fun, but I no longer carried anticipation or expectations for future projects. I could tell this was not a good foundation and was an omen for future creative issues. Thus, when the second and third movies came out, I didn't feel disappointed, but their content meant I found increasing distance between myself, the characters, and the story. I didn't mind The Rise of Skywalker was bad. I got my recreation's use out of it. The direct relationship I had with it was the time I spent watching it once (1).

But even though I didn't agree with 90% of the trilogy's premises and executions, I made sure to see TLJ and Rise of Skywalker. After all, watching these movies was the door into some of the best media discussions I've had in my life.

I was invited to a winter party with about two dozen attendees. Most ended in the kitchen to debate TLJ, which had just released. We got so animated we had to do the old "pass the ball" trick, where only the person holding the ball could talk. It was one of the most in-depth, eye-opening, fascinating, multi-faceted, engaging media discussions I've had. Everyone had different but extraordinary insight to relay about subversions of expectations, underlying messages, contributions to the franchise, scene composition, editing, dialogue, characterization, symbolism, you name it.

When the final movie came out, conversations again were endlessly fruitful. No matter who I talked to, I could hear something new and enlightening about media through the lens of Rise of Skywalker.

There's nothing I hate about the movies. I don't think about them much. Star Wars to me is pre-Disney reboot. That's the territory my heart cares about. That's the territory that's Real. But I also have fun talking about Kylo Ren or Hux as any Star Wars nerd who likes those characters. I feel no bitter emotions, but positive ones, when anyone brings up TFA and thereafter.

My perspective, several years later, hasn't changed.

Now, I love how meta analysts have enhanced my perspective. I love people pointing out that the original and prequel trilogies introduced a huge number of ship and location designs, whereas the sequel trilogy... didn't. I love So Uncivilized's analysis that each movie in the sequel trilogy was a counter to a counter, until we ended up with a course correction of a course correction of a course correction of a course correction. Or, as he said, this sequel trilogy was intended to keep the franchise alive for another generation, but "to keep a creative work alive, you have to create things, and it's clear looking at this trilogy that nothing was built here."

Fans have endlessly talked about how there was no cohesion between movies in this trilogy and how its characterization and plot were a mess. How the movies were too reliant on old nostalgia. How showboating old characters prevented our new character trio from receiving agency and direction. I don't need to go there.

There's a reason we viewers remember the names of Kylo Ren and Rey and Poe and Finn. In their imperfect appearances, we saw characters that could have enlivened us to the same levels as Luke, Leia, Han, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme. I like Kylo Ren. I like Poe. I like Finn. They are appealing concepts.

But. But. I think the sequel trilogy, and Disney's over-saturation of materials, will fade over time, whereas the original six movies (I said original six, nyeh) WILL stand the test of time as classics. Just because VI-IX have "Episode" to their title doesn't mean they'll get saved from the endless mire Disney has manifested unto itself; nearly all live action materials from the 2010s and 2020s will end in late-Star Wars Disnified goop, to be lost in collective memory over time. That's not intended to be an insult; I just think that one is a short phenomenon that'll fade once contemporary sensations satiate, whereas the others are proven longevity.

There's bias in the sense I haven't watched anything outside of VI-IX and Rogue One. I've never seen The Mandalorian, or Andor, or Ahsoka, or anything else. I haven't felt the need to, so I won't. Heck, I didn't know about this alleged Rey movie thing - your comment is the first I've heard. So I have no perspective there except, "This isn't material I think needs to exist, and I'd rather go back to (and produce things like) the old." Disney's commercialized mania isn't a success to me. No ill feelings, just simple personal disinterest. It's not part of the imagination fuel I use when I fuel my imagination on Star Wars. And the sequel trilogy is something I frankly already forget about when I imagine the vast, captivating, thrilling world of Star Wars.

The legacy of the sequel trilogy isn't its story. Yet. There's real value in the sequel trilogy, and I believe it. It's perfect for analyzing media. It's a perfect medium for discussion. What went right, what didn't go right, what was compelling, what was disappointing, what was misguided, what lost focus, what never had focus, I will always find these movies valuable for that. And the thing is, I think we'll be talking about that for a while yet. Because it's fruitful. It's endlessly interesting.

Whether or not it's good media content in and of itself, it's GOOD CONVERSATION CONTENT.

#long post #Star Wars #analysis #my analysis #non-dragons #I am too tired to tag every single movie and character I discussed #bluestarsaber #good topic

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ban-joey · 1 year

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list of star wars posts that irritated me. one was along the lines of “why are people so happy to not see jedi in something? they’re what make star wars unique from other scifi/fantasy” 1) wrong 2) let me explain

for one thing the need to have something so deeply entrenched in Multiple Genres be “unique” is very funny to me, because it’s not. og star wars is essentially an arthurian tale in space. add to that the fact that GL’s inspiration came directly from a bazillion ww1/2 films and you’re arguing a point about standing out that.. doesn’t really exist. sure the jedi are a “unique faction” to see in science fiction, but they’re also a religious order of space monks. even somebody who has never seen anything related to star wars could get some idea of the jedi based off that combination of words.

second, why do you like the jedi so goddamn much? this is the thing that always frustrates me. there’s a difference between force-users and the capital J Jedi. you went from religious space monks in the original trilogy, to a fascinating shift in perspective in the prequels/clone wars in which they are religious space cops serving an increasingly fascist government when they’re supposedly not meant to get involved in government affairs unless it’s basically a human rights issue, but ultimately end up committing sooo many violations of that sort. they’re horrendous to the clones, to droids, regularly treating both groups the same--disposable and not-people. they’re not all-knowing and have absolutely no idea what’s coming for them when order 66 comes around, despite the unsubtle clues. hot take, obi-wan IS partially at fault for what ultimately happens to anakin--because he continued to uphold a dying system and ideology that actively drove people to the dark side and refused to connect on any emotional level with anyone because of the jedi code.

i love the jedi for their flaws, and star wars is ultimately at its most interesting fantastical point when it criticizes them, as in TLJ. burning the codex was poignant and cool as hell. but limiting star wars to just the jedi is just dull. there’s so much more going on there, politically, sociologically, economically, etc. you get the bare minimum information about that packaged in bad writing in the prequels and the clone wars cartoon, little itty bitty morsels of finally fleshing this strange galaxy out in a way that makes some sort of disjointed sense. andor takes the whole thing at face-value and decides to turn it into something legible and personal in a way star wars hasn’t since the originals. it proves that you don’t need the jedi to make star wars cool, and yet every time there’s a red herring with luthen, I lose my fucking mind, because I love the idea of finally getting an INTERESTING jedi. but i would honestly prefer it if he wasn’t.

star wars is cool and interesting because of all that (politics & logistics), having cool big huge ships and caring about that design in terms of speed and what those ships are used for (i.e. tie fighters were created to patrol planets, not chase after X-wings, which is why they eat it a lot), time scales that make no fucking sense apart from trying really hard to make space smaller than it is, unique sound design, differing designs of people and planets that star trek couldn’t come anywhere close to, and a lot more.

also, just because this is the most obvious point. the jedi are fucking dead in andor. yeah yeah certain people escaped. they’re in hiding. do you remember how obi wan went to be a hermit for like 20 years. yall just fucking forget about order 66 as soon as you complain about there not being jedi in something. do you understand the scale of that situation. do you understand how many people were killed. fake fan

#i am just ranting a little bit. i am not a fan of the jedi.#as like an order. force users are interesting kind of but. fuck the jedi fr

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matt-the-radar-techncian · 2 years

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when I think about this, i feel like when Rose is being compared to other characters who made some questionable decisions, arguably a lot more questionable than hers, people are a little bit more harder on Rose?

Like for an example when Anakin Skywalker is talked about, it seems people are a little bit more easy on him? Sure, people also acknowledge that this is the guy who slaughtered defenseless younglings who looked up to him and did and involved of a lot of fucked up shit as Darth Vader but I don't see the same level of aggression with him like people do with Rose/Pink. Maybe I'm a bit wrong but I assume it may have something to do with the fact that Palpatine was manipulating Anakin, the Jedi Council being part of the reason why he fell to the dark side and being paranoid about Padme's fate thanks to those visions of her suffering as she was giving birth to Luke and Leia and he couldn't explicitly say that to the council or even Obi-Wan (who i believe would have his back and been supportive) because of that fear he had of being expelled from the Jedi Order and likely thought that his reputation wouldn't matter when considering what happened to Ahsoka (who was like loyal to the Jedi Order until that framing thing happen and most of the council turned against her) and the fact that attachments and love are forbidden among the Jedi Order and those reasons are why people are seemingly more sympathetic, empathetic and more understanding to Anakin then Rose?

It's kinda weird to say but yeah. Also related to this, do you think Anakin and Rose has some things in common other than the fact that both was burying the the past of the people they once were (Anakin to Vader and Pink to Rose respectfully) and are more or less opposites of each other?

Ooh this is a good one. It probably has to do with how each character is presented and how much time the viewer spends with them

In the case of Rose we're originally shown only glimpses of a character that is idolized. Then we get a few flashbacks showing what she was like towards the end of her life. And then you start to learn more and more about what she did earlier, and some of it is pretty morally gray. People got the sense that the show wanted them to think she was a terrible person because it only seemed interested in focusing on her mistakes

Compare this to Anakin/Darth Vader. In the Original Trilogy he's pretty one-dimensionally evil, and you only see a few cracks in that persona when he shows some level of care for Luke. Even so, he does do the right thing at the end, and his death is shown as very poignant and even sad. This makes the audience think "he was a bad guy, but he did the right thing when it counted," although I doubt very many people would say he's a "good person" after finishing just the OT.

Then you have the Prequels and especially The Clone Wars where Anakin is a main character. Now you have a character who hasn't done all those bad things yet so you feel better rooting for him, and it's a lot easier to look past all of his terrible actions (most of which he hasn't even done yet in the first place)

Basically it's because Rose is initially presented as good and perfect, but eventually the cracks start to show and in past she was much less perfect than you originally thought. Meanwhile with Vader it's the opposite, you're initially shown this monstrous more-machine-than-man, who is later shown to have had a much more sympathetic backstory. It doesn't matter if what Anakin did was pretty clearly morally worse than anything Pink Diamond did, or that Pink made some mistakes in her youth and tried to change them while Anakin started off good and then descended into darkness, what matters is the final impression that the audience is left with. All that matters is that Rose is a lot worse than you thought, and that Anakin is a lot better than you thought, and that change in perspective is more impactful than the actual magnitude of their actions, at least for some viewers

There's also the fact that Anakin just appears in way more content than Rose does. Rose only appears in a few flashback-centric episodes per season, meanwhile Anakin is the main character of 3 movies and over a hundred episodes of TCW before he's put into the Vader suit, so it's simply a lot easier to get attached to him, especially in TCW where he's much more likable. Can you imagine if the only content we got of Anakin was a few flashbacks scattered throughout the Original Trilogy, and if the PT and TCW didn't exist? You wouldn't have anyone saying that he's sympathetic at all, you might even get people criticizing the movie for "trying to get you to feel sorry for an evil murderer." I suspect if there were more episodes featuring Rose/Pink as the main character (or even a movie or other spinoff) whether set during her rebellion or any other time period, people would be a lot more forgiving of her, simply because they've had more time to get to know her

It's also just that the SU fandom has a unique aversion to liking characters who have done "bad things." Back when the show was first airing, you had people getting very defensive about liking "toxic" characters, saying that you're not allowed to be a fan of Jasper, Lapis, and even Pearl at one point because of their past actions. (See also: people saying that the ending of Change Your Mind is actually fascist propaganda because Steven doesn't somehow shatter all the diamonds.) This mindset definitely doesn't play well with the nuanced nature of Rose's character or presentation

It's a level of purity-chasing that I've never seen before or since in another fandom. It's not like people who like Anakin as a character think he "did nothing wrong," they just appreciate a character who starts off good and then is corrupted by evil, only to break out of it at the very end. For some reason lots of SU fans just couldn't latch onto Rose's story about growing up in a controlling family and breaking out of it in order to try and do good, even though all the pieces are right there in the show. All they care about is "she did bad things and that means I hate her"

Interestingly, I never saw this level of hate towards Peridot, so it's not like the fandom can't accept that characters can change for the better after doing bad things, so I think it comes down to the audience not looking beyond what is directly shown and thinking about what characters' overall arcs and motivations are. The exploration of Rose's character was very nonlinear, Lapis is absent for long stretches of the show, and even some of Pearl's actions don't make perfect sense until you look at them in hindsight after the show is over. The average Rose hater only sees the actions happening onscreen in the moment and doesn't look at the bigger picture of the character

Compare this to another character like Eren Jaeger who, again, has done things far worse than any dictator in history. He also started off as a young and good-hearted kid, but we watch him get more and more extreme until he almost doesn't feel like the same character at the end. People who like Eren don’t think he's morally correct, they just want to see a plucky protagonist turn into a ruthless anti-hero. (In fact, the biggest criticism people have of Attack on Titan is at the very end where the manga tries to make Eren seem more sympathetic. Sometimes people just want to watch a guy go crazy and try to destroy the world)

#steven universe #su #rose quartz #pink diamond #star wars #anakin skywalker #darth vader #attack on titan #aot #eren jaeger

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rapha-reads · 2 years

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Star Wars brain rot is a complicated thing. Aka I'm having way too many feels about the Prequels and I need to vent them out.

Last week with my sisters and my mother, we found a diary I had when I was 12. In it, I was already talking about how I like imagining what happens after a story ends, or re-imagining how it happens, and notably I talked about how much I loved Star Wars. 16 years ago already the Galaxy Far Far Away had invaded my brain.

But the thing is, your Star Wars opinions at 12 are not the same as your SW opinions at 16, at 20, at 26. (the same is also true for Lord of The Rings, by the way)

I used to swear only by the Original Trilogy, though, hopeless (a)romantic that I am, I would rewatch Attack of the Clones fervently (for Anidala, in case that wasn't clear), and stay away from Revenge of the Sith because I couldn't handle Anakin's Fall. I just love Ani, okay, and seeing in excruciating details how we went from the adorable blond head of The Phantom Menace to Lord "Choke Me Daddy" Vader of A New Hope, that's a bit distressing. Even if you love the Originals. It's hard to reconcile the two - a bit like Anakin/Vader can't see his two sides as the same person too.

Then Rogue One came out, and man, oh, man, how I was obsessed with this one. It was my main fandom (because at that point, I had a virtual map of fandom space and a guide to fandom life, which I didn't have at 12) for many, many months.

I didn't... think... of anything else besides the good ol' "Skywalker Family Drama, now in technicolour in every theater of this universe and the next!". Silly me.

I'm finally catching up on The Clone Wars and oh gods the Prequels are actually, genuinely amazing (no I'm not taking any criticism) and TCW is making me feel too much ? And maybe the real tragedy all along wasn't Anakin and Obi-Wan, but every single person -kriffed- sorry fucked by the Force, starting with the Clones (the clones!!!!!) and the actual Jedi ???!!!! I'm having a lot of Mando'a, Tattooine slave and Naboo cultures feels.

Time to erase the Originals and let Anakin be happy. And Sithspit, DECHIP THE CLONES AND GIVE THEM RIGHTS NOW.

This rant was brought to you by "Rapha is experiencing emotional issues the size of a Star Destroyer, please stand by while ze works through them"

More Star Wars thoughts

#star wars #prequel trilogy #the clone wars #star wars brainrot #rapha rambles #sorry about the whole thing i wrote it on discord but needed to get it out to the masses bcse it's taking too much storage room in my brain #i can't switch off the obsession right now #anyone wanna yell with me about the injustice of the clones' conditions and slavery in the galactic republic?

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moviewarfare · 2 years

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A Review of “Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)”

Obi-Wan Kenobi has been one of the most anticipated Star Wars show for me. While I didn't like the prequels apart from Revenge of the Sith, I liked Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan and Hayden Christensen as Anakin. So I was thrilled when it was revealed that both would be returning for this new series. So is the show a great return of the Jedi or dry like sand?

Ewan McGregor gives a great performance as Obi-Wan to the point it feels like he never left. I also love that the show gives him more layers by showing that his "killing" of Anakin has traumatized him. He is a very broken person at the beginning but we see him grow into the Obi-Wan we see in A New Hope. Hayden is great when he appears and I love the way he moves as Vader. It is exactly like the way Vader moved in the original trilogy. Although, it seems that Hayden and two other stuntmen helped portray Vader so it isn't entirely Hayden. Moreover, Hayden is still being dubbed over by James Earl Jones so he isn't in it much as Disney advertised which is a slight shame. There is also a child actress, Vivien Lyra Blair, who (minor spoilers) plays young Leia. Child actors can be very annoying but I found Vivien to be very good as a young Leia. She also has great chemistry with Ewan and the dynamic of their characters is one of the highlights of the show.

There are also some pretty fun action sequences in the show. I never thought I would see Obi-Wan in a shoot-out but it happened and it was pretty enjoyable. Every scene where Obi-Wan uses his lightsaber is stellar and his confrontation against Vader is wonderful to watch. Furthermore, Vader has some pretty awesome scenes too that show how scary he can be which was awesome. Additionally, the Obi-Wan theme by John Williams is great and the music score by Natalie Holt is good as well. There are some points in the show, especially episodes 2 and 6, where the cinematography is terrific. The show does answer some questions that I had which are how Leia knew Obi-Wan and how Obi-Wan knew Vader was Anakin. I find that it satisfyingly answers these.

Unfortunately, the show is butchered by its inconsistency. There are points where the show is great and then there are points where the show drops in quality. Sometimes we have great visuals with great sets and then we get a scene where it feels like they are running around in a construction area or bad CG. The writing and story are the same. We got great Obi-Wan character development, emotional conflict between him and Vader, and a heart-warming relationship between him and Leia. However, we also get everything awful about the show with the writing and inclusion of the character Reva. The pacing is quite bad, especially in the first half. The show ends up feeling like a 2-hour movie plot being extended to 5 hours and it's very noticeable with how much padding is in the show.

On that note, Reva's story takes up a lot of screen time in this show despite it being called Obi-Wan Kenobi. Her character is genuinely a nuisance since she is just always angry every time. Even the reason for why she is angry, which is revealed near the end, comes off as stupid. By the final episode, I wonder what was the point of her character and story as it didn't add anything to Obi-Wan's journey. I have nothing against the actress Moses Ingram as I think she is a fine actress. The problem is that she just doesn't fit the character. Inquisitors are meant to be fearsome and scary but Moses comes off as someone trying hard to be scary. It's a shame as there is a scary inquisitor in the grand inquisitor but he gets removed from the story very early on.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about the show. When the show just focuses on Obi-Wan and Vader then it delivers. It just squanders a lot of everything else. I honestly believe that this show would've been better as a movie. Nevertheless, I still think the show is still worth watching for Star Wars fans. It didn't end up being as amazing as hoped but it's still a good time and what fan would pass seeing Ewan and Hayden again? Those two are better than ever.

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https://moviewarfarereviews.blogspot.com/

#Disney #disney+#disney plus #star wars #obi-wan kenobi #obi wan spoilers #obi wan show #obi wan kenobi 2022 #obi wan kenobi #darth vader

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incorrectpizza · 2 years

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Why 2022 will be a make it or break it year for Star Wars

Ok, so I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially with the Kenobi trailer finally dropping. I’m convinced that 2022 will be the year that either saves Star Wars for me or which pushes me to apathy, if not distaste, of the franchise.

While this is, of course, my personal opinion, I believe that this will be the same for many other Star Wars fans. So, hear me out. I’m going to be analyzing each of the major projects in 2022 and detailing why I think their success is so vital to the franchise.

Putting the actual post under the cut because it got a little out of hand.

Reblog & put your own predictions in the tags - I would love to read them!

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT

I want to touch on TBOBF briefly because it was predominantly a 2022 release. I don’t think this show helped Star Wars as much as it could’ve. It proved to be yet another divisive piece of media; I’d say it got much more love, than, say, The Last Jedi or The Rise of Skywalker, but it also didn’t get the level of praise The Mandalorian did. And it stole some key moments that could’ve made the season premiere of that show a real banger.

OBI-WAN KENOBI

This show is arguably the most anticipated piece of Star Wars content since The Force Awakens. People have been begging for Ewan McGregor’s return to Star Wars ever since Disney bought the franchise. This show is likely to draw an outsized audience of “normies” as opposed to the other Star Wars content that’s coming out this year.

This show has an outsized level of hype and is playing with a LOT of beloved legacy characters (even more than the sequel trilogy?!) Already we have confirmed Obi-Wan, Darth Vader, Owen, Beru, and a young Luke Skywalker (albeit from a distance). There are a few others who are heavily rumored but not outright confirmed which I’ll refrain from listing here.

Obi-Wan and Darth Vader having another confrontation will almost certainly be epic, but if done sloppily it could really break lore. Same with Obi-Wan possibly interacting with Luke.

On top of this, they are also dealing with some popular characters from outside the movies. The Inquisitors’ presence - emphasized so heavily in the very first teaser - could confuse or delight fans.

If they screw this show up, it could have a profound impact on the way people view both the Original Trilogy and the Prequel Trilogy (albeit to a lesser extent).

To put things succinctly: Obi-Wan Kenobi is an extremely anticipated show which will likely change the way all of Star Wars is seen - for the better or worse.

ANDOR

This show isn’t as big a deal as Obi-Wan Kenobi, but it holds a unique place as the series that could most surprise Star Wars fans. In my humble opinion, Andor could be a shocking success that brings together fans of the prequels, animated shows, originals, books, comics and, of course, Rogue One.

This slice of the timeline is full of possibilities: pretty much any character from the Prequels, Originals, or the time in between could show up.

Perhaps the biggest question is “Will we get to see Jedi?” There haven’t been many concrete rumors about Andor, which means they could totally surprise us with some mind-blowing connections. Could Ewan McGregor have filmed an extra scene or two while he was working on Kenobi? Or maybe a younger Ahsoka Tano will show up here as Fulcrum? Kanan Jarrus hasn’t revealed his identity, but it’s entirely plausible he and/or Hera Syndulla could show up in their roles as young rebellion heroes.

It’s not just Jedi that could show up, though. The show will deal with both the Rebellion and the underworld, opening up a world of possibilities. There’s the possibility of a clone trooper or two cameoing, or even young Boba Fett; Temeura Morrison is still very well connected with Star Wars. Maybe young Fennec Shand could make an appearance as well? We know she’s already bounty hunting by this time. A persistent fan hope is Star Wars Rebels’ Alexsandr Kallus, who would still be an Imperial agent at this time.

Add in the odd, persistent rumors of George Lucas’s involvement, and you get a recipe for something special.

Will Andor be a magical Neapolitan pizza with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella or a sad stale piece of cardboard covered in a dry, just-barely-tomato-esque paste and cheese that looks like it was chewed by a dog?

THE BAD BATCH

So, here’s the thing about The Bad Batch Season Two:

We know absolutely nothing about it.

Aside from the fact that it’s coming, there have been zero announcements, and few leaks or rumors, since the initial announcement of the renewal last year. The latest development? Bob Chapek actually left the show out of the list of the remaining content for 2022 during Investor Day yesterday, and Star Wars Insider changed the sidebar from “Coming Spring 2022″ to “Coming Soon”.

Are there production woes? Could it be cancelled? Or do they just not have an easy spot to slide it into their lineup of content? We know courtesy of Michelle Ang that the show was recording lines months ago.

This show is big for a few reasons. It’s not the most beloved Star Wars animated series by far, but it had a sizeable fandom. It’s also the only animated Star Wars on the horizon in the near future.

Some of Star Wars’ best content has been animated. The Clone Wars and Rebels are both very well-loved. Visions had a fun breakout moment, and Resistance is severely underrated.

I worry that, if The Bad Batch doesn’t get a great second season - and a renewal for a third, if it’s been sketched out - it could be very bad news for Lucasfilm Animation and its fans. I’m thoroughly convinced that Resistance got cut short. If The Bad Batch doesn’t perform up to snuff, I’m afraid they might decide that animation isn’t worth it anymore. With the Rebels sequel storyline moving to live action, there isn’t a very clear direction for Star Wars animation to go after The Bad Batch, and I’m afraid it could become scarce.

LEGO STAR WARS: THE SKYWALKER SAGA

This game has been coming out for so kriffing long that Lego Star Wars fans could be extremely salty if it isn’t everything they’d hoped and dreamed. (I’m not a huge Lego fan, so this is pure speculation, but I can’t say I’d blame them.)

JEDI FALLEN ORDER 2

This is a long shot but if the Jedi Fallen Order sequel gets a killer trailer and/or a release in 2022, it could provide a lifeline to some Star Wars fans who are struggling to enjoy the other content. (I know it’s one of my most anticipated Star Wars projects).

BOOKS & COMICS

I felt weird leaving these out entirely, because they do exist, but there isn’t anything huge going on. Other than The High Republic, which I’m pretty sure everyone has either gone all-in one or abandoned by this point, we have just a handful of books that look to either enhance or cast a dark shadow over a few beloved characters. But these aren’t likely to make a huge splash, so I don’t see them making a big difference to the fandom writ large.

THE MANDALORIAN SEASON 3

I tacked this on at the last moment to remind people that we should’ve gotten a third season of The Mandalorian in 2022. If it weren’t for Disney’s firing of Gina Carano and subsequent rewrites, it likely would have premiered as scheduled in 2022. It could’ve been a fantastic banger of an ending to a year of epic Star Wars (if everything above went well and on schedule). But as things stand, it’s looking like The Mandalorian will come out in 2023 at the earliest.

#star wars #2022 in star wars #this is a Thing #I'm sorry it's so long #the book of boba fett #obi-wan kenobi #andor #the bad batch #lego star wars: the skywalker saga #jedi fallen order #jedi fallen order 2 #the high republic #the mandalorian #baby yoda #star wars news

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kenobiapologist · 3 years

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Star Wars Novel Rankings

In celebration of the end of this year, I made a tier list of all of the Star Wars novels I’ve read since I joined this fandom in 2017 (which you can use to rank these books too). And I named all the tiers in a dorky but appropriate fashion. I would love to hear your thoughts on my rankings, as well as how you’d rank the books yourself! I’ve had a blast reading Star Wars novels from both Disney’s canon and the Legends extended universe over these past 3 years. Here’s to many more years of reading stories from the galaxy far far away!

I put longer (but not more coherent) thoughts below the cut.

The Chosen One: Bringing Balance to the Force and My Depressed Soul

1. The first spot of top tier had to go to Matthew Stover’s Revenge of the Sith novelization for obvious reasons. You simply cannot beat it. It’s a masterpiece. I literally had to put the book down to scream when I read the prose associated with the opening battle over Coruscant. It gave a whole new meaning to the triumphant music and the synchronous twirling of Obi-Wan and Anakin’s starfighters as they weave through blaster-fire in the battle over Coruscant. The rest of the book is the same way. You can’t put it down. I have wAyyYyYy too many feelings about this book oh my god.

2. Thrawn was a surprising book for me. For being centered on an admiral of the Empire’s navy, it had so much heart in it! I loved reading from Eli Vanto’s perspective too. god dammit I love that freaking Wild Space hillbilly dweeb with all my heart. I think his experiences getting to know Thrawn and learning from him guides the reader to feel much the same way as Eli by the end. Thrawn is a trusted friend, not the enemy you expect him to be. I could have done without Arihnda Pryce but she’s supposed to be unlikeable so I won’t blame Timothy Zahn this time.

3. The Clone Wars Gambit duology is basically Karen Miller writing fanfic and I’m HERE FOR IT. As is tradition with Karen Miller’s Star Wars novels, the emotions are dialed up the eleven. Our favorite dumbass Jedi team is back at it again with a mission to save the galaxy and this time they end up going undercover as two lumberjacks from the boonies. Anakin holds an energy shield back from collapsing with his bare hands like a total badass. Obi-Wan is in love with another woman despite it always ending in tragedy, while also bickering like a married couple with Anakin every ten seconds. get a fucking room, you two. These two books inspired one of my fics so they’re near and dear to my heart.

Jedi Master: These Books Have A Seat On The Council Too

4. Wild Space was appropriately named, I’ll tell you that. It’s a wild ride from start to finish. *slaps the front cover* this book can fit so much of Obi-Wan’s suffering in it! @forcearama has elaborated on the many reasons why this book is a gem in Snark Wars blog posts (linked here). It’s also the beginning of the best team-up since Anakin and Obi-Wan...Bail and Obi-Wan! These two bastards get under each other’s skin but it makes for the perfect character development. This book is the reason I screech with delight whenever Bail Organa appears on screen, or is mentioned in conversation. Bail gets a mysterious tip about trouble on a planet, and Obi-Wan decides to go with him to investigate. Cue Sith-induced suffering. It’s cool to see a normal person experiencing the weirdness of Force sensitives and how the world has this extra level of sensory information in it. Plotwise this one isn’t the best, but I think the interactions between characters really shine in this novel. Karen Miller’s writing is like a cup of hot chocolate to me. Indulgent character insight, full of sweet moments, has a bunch of extra marshmallowy dialogue, you’re reading it to have a good time but not to be satisfied with plot. You get me?

5. Do I even have to explain myself here? Kenobi by John Jackson Miller is both an interesting western-style tale set on Tatooine, and a beautiful character study of a man stricken with grief he keeps suppressed. How does one continue on when their whole family was murdered and their whole culture burnt to ash? I wanted to give Obi-Wan a hug the entire time I read this. The characterization was spot-on, from the way he wrangled animals to the way he severed a man’s arm off in a bar with his lightsaber. And when he meets a woman named Annileen Calwell, or Annie for short, Obi-Wan can’t bring himself to call her by her nickname ever and if that doesn’t just break your damn heart fucking fuck.

6. Ahsoka was the first Disney canon book I ever read and it kickstarted my love for E.K. Johnston. The writing is simplistic, but that makes it easy to jump into. Overall, it’s a quick and enjoyable read. By far the best parts are the flashbacks that mull over memories Ahsoka has of the time before Order 66. That shit hits you right in the heart, man. And the part where Ahsoka equates Obi-Wan and Anakin to her adoptive family ohhhhhhh god the tears they flow like a river. There are scenes that allude to Ahsoka becoming the vital part of the Rebellion we know her to be from Rebels, balanced with her current struggles to survive and find herself. Despite having cast away her identity as a Jedi and having any remaining bits of her culture destroyed by Palpatine, Ahsoka shows us all how bright a hero can shine in the darkest of times. AND SHE WAS WRITTEN AS QUEER! finally some good fucking food.

7. Oh shit, another E.K. Johnston book? Don’t be surprised. She’s a prequel fan and so am I, hence why Queen’s Shadow is so high on the list. E.K. Johnston pays homage to our favorite queen and badass senator Padme Amidala. There’s politics, there’s solidarity between female characters, and Bail Organa is in it so you KNOW I simply must give it a high rating. All jokes aside, I thought the story added lots of little details to the world of Star Wars without it being all stereotypical sci-fi nerdy language. You know how people want to describe something beyond our technological capabilities so they throw a bunch of nonsense together like “pre-praxis crystal bio-anode circuitry”? I’m looking at you, Karen Miller, I love you but please. There is none of that in this book. It makes sense, it adds color and culture and life to the worlds of Star Wars. Most of all, it devotes time and love to developing Padme outside of her place in canon as Anakin’s wife, Queen of Naboo, and Senator. She is all of these things, but she’s human too. I do agree that the pacing is slow, but it’s something meant to be savored, I think. E.K. Johnston really shines when she’s writing dialogue because she gets these characters. That’s something to appreciate, because not all canon books agree with the way we’ve perceived the characters as an audience.

8. Rogue Planet chewed me up, spit me out, and declared me an even bigger stan for The Team. People who say Qui-Gon would have been a better master for Anakin can ~get out~ because I could read about these two hooligans getting neck deep in space shenanigans all damn day. Anakin is like twelve, which is a time in his training that we don’t get a lot of in canon. Personally, I think it was equal parts heartwarming and funny to read about their adventures. There is some angst sprinkled in there because hey, we’re reading about Anakin here, let’s not forget the emotional trainwreck that is Anakin Skywalker. The duo is sent to a planet that makes super fast ships that are ?sentient? or at least biologically active. They bond with the pilot, which makes Anakin perfect for this mission. There’s a scene where these little floof things attach all over tiny Anakin because he’s so strong in the Force and it’s god damn adorable how dare he?? I’d probably rate this one even higher if I read it again, but it’s been awhile. Characterization is spot on and reminiscent of Matthew Stover’s writing in how it highlights the strong bond between Obi-Wan and Anakin, how they’re fated to know each other. I’m a sucker for soulmates, what can I say?

9. Lost Stars reads like a movie. Not a script, but just the perfect amount of detail that you can imagine the scenes but the pacing is still quick, the dialogue smooth and natural. I couldn’t help wishing this was a film because the story was so all-encompassing. The highs and lows of the emotions of both protagonists, their relationship developing, the differences in culture. Folks, this book has it all! It’s a totally different perspective on the events of the original trilogy, seen from the side of Imperial cadets training to become pilots. Eventually, one splits off and joins the Rebellion while the other perseveres in the Empire. It’s like star-crossed lovers, but covers so much more ground than that. And the characters are fully developed. These original characters knocked my socks off, and that’s hard to do since I’m usually an Obi-Wan stan through and through. For anyone uncertain of reading Star Wars novels, this book is a great place to start. Action-packed, emotion-filled, and stands on its own despite weaving perfectly into the established universe. What more could you want?

10. Back at it again with the prequel shit, amiright? Queen’s Peril is E.K. Johnston’s most recent Padme-centric novel and it does not disappoint fans that wanted a taste of the Queen’s side of the story. Set during the events of The Phantom Menace, we get a “behind the curtain” look at how all of the handmaidens came to be more than their title suggests. There’s teenage girls getting stuff done! It makes more sense why Padme was elected ruler of her home-world, and you come to appreciate that a royal leader is not alone; there’s actually a whole team at her side to help her overcome everything from the drudgery of daily governing to Trade Federation blockades that threaten to starve her people. I think if you enjoyed Queen’s Shadow, you’ll enjoy this book a lot. For those that are unfamiliar with Johnston’s work, I wouldn’t recommend this one first because it does cover events you’ve already seen in movies and therefore is a less suspenseful companion to them. On the other hand, because it does tie in with TPM, it doesn’t suffer from the pacing issues of Queen’s Shadow to the same degree. I read this all in one sitting, so it’s definitely fun, but wasn’t compelling enough in its character development to elevate the book past some of the others I’ve listed already.

11. Thrawn: Treason was a refreshing return to the Grand Admiral we all know and love after the second installment in this series slowed things down a bit. Although it wasn’t as character-driven as the first book (which I love with all of my heart), there were still many moments that had me cackling at the disparity between Thrawn’s immense intellect and the other Imperials’ sheer stupidity, and that’s what we’re here for in a book about the Empire, right? There’s a lot of pressure on Thrawn, as his TIE Defender project has been pitted against Director Krennic’s Project Stardust. Who will get the funds? We just don’t know?? Tarkin sits in between the two and as usual, manipulates everything to his advantage. Palpatine questions Thrawn’s allegiance to the Empire after some of the choices he has made, leaving him in even more of a pickle. Thrawn is sent on a wild goose chase task that should definitely end in failure (on purpose because Imperials all want to watch each other burn as much as they want to watch the Rebellion burn), but you know Thrawn will find a way. My main squeeze Eli Vanto makes his return after being absent from book 2. Missed you, my sweet sweet country boy. He doesn’t have a leading role in this novel, but every scene he’s in makes the story better. Thrawn says “perhaps” way too often for my taste, but if you can ignore that, this book is a solid read. Equal parts action and deductive reasoning, as any Thrawn book should be.

12. Most of Dark Disciple had me thinking this was going to be a top tier book, and damn do I wish we could have gotten this animated. We follow Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress on a mission to assassinate Count Dooku. Why the Jedi thought this was a good idea, I don’t know. But I’m here for it all the same. 3/4 of the adventure were intriguing, but the ending didn’t do it for me. I won’t spoil things for anyone who hasn’t read this yet, but after all of the character development, to have it squandered so quickly just left me disappointed? I got really attached to everyone in this novel, and I’m sure you will to. I’ve read this and listened to it as an audiobook, and actually I think it’s more memorable as an audiobook. Would recommend, except for Mace Windu’s voice being exceptionally southern for no reason. Weird. I think this novel captures all of the great things about The Clone Wars show; time to really get to know each character and their motivations, action and adventure with the darkness of impending doom tinting everything, and lightsaber fights! Plus, Obi-Wan and Anakin make appearances in this book and it just adds that extra bit of spice. Worth the read, even if you know they aren’t going to get Dooku in the end (which I am still mad about, screw that guy).

Jedi Knight: Passed the Trials but There’s Room for Improvement

13. Few books in the Star Wars universe are centered around characters with no use of the Force, but in Most Wanted, we see a young Han Solo and Qi’ra struggling to survive on Corellia and it provides a humorous but compelling backstory to both characters in the Disney canon. Han is his usual lucky goofball self, and Qi’ra is smart and cunning. You can see how they grew into the versions of themselves in Solo. While the book stays on the lighter side of things (typical of stories written for a younger audience), there are still moments of depth on droid rights, viewing the Force as a religion, and what life is like in a crime syndicate. Addressing these heavier topics without it killing the pace of the story is hard to do, but Rae Carson pulls it off flawlessly. I went into this book with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had. Han and Qi’ra start off as competitors, but eventually have to learn to work together to survive as more and more people start hunting them down. They’re honestly so cute together, I loved their dynamic. It makes Solo a better movie, and although I liked it on its own, characters like Qi’ra needed a little more time to get to know, which you can get here!

14. Thrawn Alliances was not what I expected at all, and it took me a lot longer to get through. Hell, it has Thrawn, Anakin/Vader, and Padme in it! What’s not to love? Apparently, a lot. The different timepoints and perspectives in this were more jarring than anything else. Although the interactions between Thrawn and Anakin/Vader were enjoyable, it was not enough to elevate this book into the Jedi Master tier. Things felt dry, the characters didn’t grip me like in the first Thrawn, and it all felt like a ploy to introduce Batuu into canon before the launch of Galaxy’s Edge.

15. Leia: Princess of Alderaan was a dive into young Leia’s life before we see her in A New Hope even though this was marketed as a journey to The Last Jedi book, which I disagree with. We really haven’t seen any content about Leia in this time period before, and although I can’t say I was looking for this, I did enjoy it. The book was a little long, but there was adventure and the seeds are planted for Leia to be a bigger part of the Rebellion. The romance wasn’t too memorable, but Holdo wasn’t pointless in this (a stark contrast to her brief appearance in TLJ just to sacrifice herself). There’s a hint about Leia being Force-sensitive but it’s not in-your-face. It’s a typical coming-of-age story but in the gffa. The best part about this is seeing Bail and Breha as parents. I’m forever in pain that we didn’t get to see more of this in movies because it’s so so sweet. Leia must choose what kind of person she is going to be--and what kind of princess she will become. It won’t be for everyone, but I liked it.

16. Master and Apprentice was a typical Star Wars novel, which means it’s full of original characters that are strange and outlandish to serve the plot, a new world full of beautiful landscapes, and Obi-Wan suffering. I want to make it clear that this book is 80% Qui-Gon, 10% Rael Averross, and 10% Obi-Wan. I was expecting it to be 50% Qui-Gon, 50% Obi-Wan, as the cover suggested. Although I was disappointed by that, the story overall was okay. Qui-Gon is kind of an asshole in this? When is he not, though. We really get to sink our teeth into the way he and Obi-Wan fundamentally disagree with each other, so much so that their teacher-student relationship is falling apart. Tragic! They go on one last mission before calling it quits. Qui-Gon is in over his head with prophecies, Obi-Wan just wants to follow the rules, and Rael Averross is Dooku’s previous apprentice that is living his best life as a regent until Pijal’s princess comes of age. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a solid book. I just don’t vibe with Qui-Gon and want to whack him upside the head every time he avoids confrontation with his own student. My protectiveness for Obi-Wan is showing again, isn’t it? Yikes.

17. James Luceno is one of the most analytical authors I’ve ever read anything from, but it seems to always work? Tarkin is all about...well, Moff Tarkin. He’s ruthless, intelligent, and just downright evil. His backstory was compelling and I found myself drawn into the story by the details, although it is dense and took awhile to finish. I’m not interested in him as a character, but despite that, I enjoyed this story. The plot wasn’t memorable enough for me to recall after 3 years, but it’s similar to how Thrawn rose through the ranks of the Navy, just in a different part of the Empire’s governing body. We don’t get many books completely focused on a villain (I don’t count Vader ones because we know who he was before and the whole damn saga is about him), but this one is good! Don’t be fooled by it only being in the Knight tier. I think people who read a lot of sci-fi will like this book a lot. This is like the opposite of Queen’s Shadow, basically. If you had gripes about that book, you might like this one instead.

18. Battlefront II: Inferno Squad was a worthwhile read for anyone who played Battlefront II. Iden Versio is a great protagonist in the game, and I think Christie Golden totally gets her character. She’s nuanced and relatable. The whole team is interesting and getting introduced to each member before the events of the game makes everything mean more. That’s the real goal of any prequel story, I think. Accomplished! The action scenes are on point, the plot served to highlight what makes Inferno Squad special, and you get a sense for the morally grey area anyone must function in as an operative for the Empire. Although not necessary for the greater canon, it’s a great adventure. Iden and her squad members infiltrate the remains of Saw Gerrara’s group (they’ve become a bit of extremist) and destroy them from the inside. It’s got the suspense of a spy thriller and all of the nerdy space opera elements you expect from Star Wars. Although it’s weird to jump into a story not knowing any of the characters, you’ll get attached to Inferno Squad fast. Well, except for Gideon Hask maybe. He’s kind of a dick.

19. If you’re craving some Dark Side action, Lords of the Sith will give you what you’re looking for. Sidious and Vader crash-land on Ryloth and have to work together to survive, and also defeat the Free Ryloth Movement led by Cham Syndulla. It’s all fucking connected, guys. I love when people weave together stories that fit into the canon timeline like this, bringing in side characters and allowing them to develop some depth. And a chance to sink into the mind of a Sith Lord is always fun, if you’re in the mood to read about destruction and anger. It’s cathartic sometimes. If you’re always wondering, why didn’t Vader just stab Palps when he had the chance, this book explains their dynamic more. It didn’t really change my opinion of any of the characters, which is why it’s not higher on the list.

20. Catalyst suffered from being in a really boring part of galactic history. Despite that, Galen Erso and Orson Krennic have a hilarious relationship that I would have loved to see on-screen. This book really develops Krennic to become more than just the whiny entitled evil man we saw in Rogue One. He’s ten times worse now! But I mean that in the best way, I laugh whenever he’s in a scene, that sassy man just brings me joy. James Luceno is at it again, making things as detailed and dry as possible. I read so many of his stories right at the beginning of my journey through Star Wars canon and it’s a wonder I didn’t quit. Some of them are dark as fuck. And also slow as hell. With this one, I think it all comes down to what you want out of a Star Wars novel. Some people will really enjoy the plot. I think seeing how Galen became a part of Project Stardust was interesting and every time something about the Death Star became more clear, I screeched because I knew what it would eventually become. This book may not hold your interest though, which is why I put it lower on this list.

21. Star Wars: Clone Wars was a decent retelling of the Clone Wars movie. I liked it because I liked the movie, but you have to be able to sit back and enjoy the ride, not thinking too much about the silly parts. For that reason, it’s pretty far down in the rankings. Ahsoka is young and liable to get on your nerves. I certainly wasn’t her biggest fan at this point in the series. The biggest problem is that Karen Traviss is very anti-Jedi. Some authors for Star Wars tend to do this? To me, it’s weird. I didn’t notice it too much because it was one of the first Star Wars books I read, but it contrasts starkly with the truth of the prequel trilogy and some of the other entries in the Clone Wars Novel timeline, like Karen Miller’s books. Needless to say, although this book wasn’t super memorable aside from the familiar plot, it kept me reading Star Wars books, and so it is at least an average book. Plus, any content with Anakin and the clones is worth it for me. I love them.

22. A New Hope was good, for Alan Dean Foster. I’m not a fan, I’ll be honest. But this novelization stands on it’s own. I’m going to have to do a re-read to really go in depth on why this isn’t farther up on the tier list, but the movie is always going to be better to me. If you want to re-live the great beginning of the Original Trilogy, it’s worth your time. I mean, the story is full of adventure and mystery and lovable characters. What’s not to love? I just feel like the movie really elevates the narrative with a great score and fun character design/costumes/sets.

Padawan: These Books Have Much to Learn

23. Attack of the Clones was more entertaining than The Phantom Menace because the characters are in funnier situations. Obi-Wan and Anakin chasing Zam Wesell through the levels of Coruscant? Hilarious, just like the movie. Anakin and Padme falling in love as they spend time together? Holy fuck it’s so much better than the movie. Please read it for that alone. Outside of that, the writing style didn’t really impress me. And my experience with it wasn’t super memorable. There was potential to really make the inner dialogue of these characters impactful, to really develop the story of Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme beyond what we could get from the movie scenes alone. I didn’t think it went above and beyond there. Not a bad story at all, but you don’t get to look at Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, or Ewan McGregor the whole time either, so therefore I must rank it lower. So many beautiful people in that movie, holy shit. You can understand my, dilemma, yes?

24. I enjoyed parts of The Phantom Menace book, like deleted scenes with Anakin living on Tatooine before Qui-Gon and Padme meet him. The additional depth is lovely, but I think a story like Queen’s Peril adds more to TPM than this book does. The story overall is still fun. I love this movie so much, it’s hard for me to be critical. I did put a lot of post-it flags in my copy, so it does develop the characters and get you thinking beyond your expectations from the movie. What more could you ask for from a movie novelization? I’d say not much, if I hadn’t read Revenge of the Sith and had my fucking mind blown. In comparison to that, this one is just okay.

25. The Last Jedi novelization wasn’t bad, necessarily. It tried its best to bring this story up to par with some of the interesting novels that don’t have movie counterparts. But still, the plot suffers because of how this movie was made. It’s very focused on Rey and Kylo, and Finn’s little adventure with Rose seems pointless in the grand scheme of things. I’d rather read this again versus watching the film, but that’s all I’ll say on this because I’m trying to keep my opinions on this movie to myself to avoid digging up old arguments. Jason Fry did well, and of the two Sequel Trilogy books I’ve read, I would recommend this one over Ep. 7.

26. The Force Awakens falls short and I think it’s because of Alan Dean Foster’s writing style on this one? It didn’t really expand on anything from the movie, while taking away the beautiful music and visuals. This novel is the antithesis of Revenge of the Sith’s novelization, and for that reason I ranked it fairly low. I wouldn’t read this one unless you really really love the Sequel Trilogy.

27. To be fair, I read the new Thrawn book before I went back and read this one. Even so, Heir to the Empire didn’t impress me at all. Thrawn didn’t seem like a thrilling villain with lots of depth like he did in Timothy Zahn’s reimagined Thrawn novel. We barely saw him. A lot of time was spent on the Original Triology’s trio, which waasn’t bad. I thought Luke, Leia, and Han were all written fairly well. The latter part of the story was redeemed by the interactions between Mara Jade and Luke, for sure. Enemies to lovers, anyone?? Without Thrawn, this book would have been an entertaining story, but for all of the praise it has received from long-time Star Wars fans, I was expecting to be blown away and I wasn’t. Maybe I have to continue the triology to figure out what all of the fuss is about, but after this one, I’m not super motivated to read more. Change my mind?

28. Cloak of Deception really shines when you’re following Palpatine’s perspective because you can feel the undercurrents of his master plan to destroy the Republic underneath his calm persona as a Senator. Other than that, it’s a forgettable plot. This is all about galactic politics and some terrorist group trying to blow up some government officials. Basically the most boring parts of the prequel trilogy. I listened to the audiobook of this at the beginning of this year and I already forget what it’s about. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan should have been able to bring some humor and energy to get you rooting for the good guys, but there was barely any of that. I was disappointed in all of the characters. Everything felt distant, removed from the heart of the characters. Some people in reviews have argued that the events of The Phantom Menace really pinned this novel in a corner because you already know what happens, but I disagree, because we know how Revenge of the Sith goes and The Clone Wars show is that much more tragic and heartbreakingly beautiful because of it. Prequels can be done right. This ain’t it, Luceno. Sorry.

29. Star Wars: The Old Republic, Fatal Alliance needs to go home and rethink it’s life. I’m a huge fan of the Old Republic and I’ve put like 200 hours of my life into playing that game, so I was hoping for some fun content in this part of the timeline. Sadly, this book captured the worst parts of the game, like the fact that there’s way too many factions at war with each other. Jedi, Sith, Empire, Republic, Mandalorians. They’re all here. They’re all ready to throw down. And I’m tired. As with many of the books in this lower tier, I felt there wasn’t enough description of the world or the people in the story. We’re in the gffa, be a little weird and wacky. Be big and bold! Make things terrifying, or beautiful, or both. But give my mind something to work with. The number of characters made the plot messier than it could have been, and it definitely isn’t worth the read. I can’t speak for all Old Republic books, but this one didn’t impress me.

A Sith Lord?! On My Bookshelf? It’s More Likely Than You’d Think

30. So underwhelming, you might as well just read the first half and then stop. Last Shot is absolutely terrible, except for Lando Calrissian’s characterization, which was spot-on. If the whole story had been from his perspective, I probably would have a much difference opinion on the novel as a whole. Sadly, this is not the case. Han was boring, he bottled up his emotions, and seemed drastically different from the badass he was in the original trilogy. There are different timepoints in this novel, and in all of them, Han is unrecognizable. Don’t nerf one of your main characters like that. Daniel Jose Older and I might just not get along. I thought his writing style didn’t fit Star Wars at all. It was like breaking the fourth wall, totally pulling me out of the story constantly. Also, there were little to no descriptions of body language, locations, or movement. It left me feeling disoriented the whole time I was reading. I thought one of the most interesting things would have been seeing Han, Leia, and baby Ben being a family at this point in time, but Han’s family was there as a prop, nothing more. There was a big bad item that was going to cause galactic destruction and our heroes had to go save the day. There was barely any tension and no one lost an arm so I’m pretty pissed off. Is it Star Wars if no one gets their appendage removed? I can’t tell you how much I disliked this book. Which is sad because I was hoping to enjoy it. I like Han. I like Lando. I like space adventures. I’m not that hard to please, or at least I don’t think so.

#Star Wars Novels #tier ranking #long post #i worked hard to put my thoughts into words for you guys #i read these books over a long period of time but I thought I'd encompass all of it in one post #sw lit #i've had so much fun becoming a part of this fandom #and I love the conversations about the books and the gffa in general #hopefully this will inspire some discussion!#i would love you guys to make tier rankings as well #they're always my favorite youtube videos to watch

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themetaphorgirl · 3 years

Note

So my roommates and I are rewatching season 7 and we just started the season finale where reid and Garcia go to the convention and all I could think about was the psolc gang taking spencer to a convention and Garcia makes them all group cosplay.

As an add on to the ask i just sent, my roommate has decided that they would dress spencer as baby yoda, despite his insistence that he is not a baby.

“Why am I here?” Hotch said.“

Because you will have fun,” Penelope said sternly. She abruptly yanked on his arm, making him lean far enough forward for her to drape the lanyard over his neck. “Now don’t lose that. You lose your con badge, they won’t let you into anything.”

“Oh, no, we can’t let that happen,” Hotch deadpanned.

Emily elbowed him in the ribs. “Lighten up, dude, I think she’s right,” she said. “I think it’ll be pretty fun.”

“Besides, she worked so hard on the costumes, you can’t let her down,” JJ added.

“None of us wanted these costumes,” Hotch said. “She did this of her own free will. Who am I supposed to be again?”

“Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

“I thought he was old.”

“Only in the original trilogy. In the prequel trilogy, he’s young and hot.”

“I just don’t understand why I couldn’t be Darth Vader,” Dave complained.

Penelope rolled her eyes. “Because Derek is already Darth Vader,” she said.

“No, you said he’s somebody named Anakin.”

“They’re the same person,” Derek said. He grinned. “I’m just the young and hot Darth Vader.”

“Okay, why couldn’t I be the young and hot Darth Vader?” Dave asked.

“Because I’m Padme, and I wanted Derek to be my Anakin,” Penelope explained patiently, preening as she fluttered the sleeves of her yellow and pink ombre gown. “You are Qui-Gon Jinn. Piss me off a little more and I’ll make you be Chewbacca.”

“Oh, he should have been Chewbacca,” Emily nodded sagely.

“Like you know what your character is,” Dave scoffed.

“Fuck you, I’m Rey,” Emily said. “And it took Penelope like forty-five minutes to do my hair like this.”

“Well, JJ-”

“I’m Jyn Erso,” JJ interrupted.

Dave threw his hands up in frustration. “How the hell do you guys know all this stuff?” he said. “And how did we get talked into this?”

“That’s my question,” Hotch added.

“It’s because a particular child is fucking obsessed with Star Wars and watches them in an unending loop,” Emily said. “And also because none of you are able to say no that particular child.”

“Speaking of which, I still wish we could have gotten him to be baby Yoda, he would have been so cute,” JJ said.

“Yeah, Hotch could have been the Mandolin guy and carried him around.”

“The Mandalorian,” Derek corrected.

“What the fuck do any of these words mean?” Dave demanded, but they collectively ignored him.

“We couldn’t make him baby Yoda, he got so mad about being a baby he cried, and then he wouldn’t stop crying until we promised him he could be Luke Skywalker,” Penelope said. She paused. “Oh god, are we spoiling him?”

“Maybe a little,” Hotch admitted.

Spencer zipped over to them. “Look what I found!” he screeched, holding a book above his head. “I’ve been looking for this one forever!”

Alex and James trailed behind him; James was dressed as Han Solo and Alex was in Leia’s Cloud City costume. “We should probably keep him away from the collectibles,” she said.

“Yeah, I had no idea Star Wars people were so obsessed with merchandise,” James said as he linked his fingers through Alex’s.

Penelope patted his cheek. “Oh, my sweet summer child,” she said. “You have no idea.”

#au: patron saint of lost causes #caitlin writes things #patron saint drabbles #quiddoditto #thank you for asking!!

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ariainstars · 4 years

Text

Thank You, Disney Lucasfilm… For Destroying My Dreams

Warning: longer post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So… I watched The Rise of Skywalker on Disney+ a few weeks ago. Again.

Sigh.

I guess it has its good sides. But professional critics tend to dislike it and even the general audience doesn’t go crazy for it. I wonder why?

The Fantasy

When his saga became a groundbreaking pop phenomenon in the 1970es, George Lucas reportedly said that he wanted to tell fairy tales again in world that no longer seemed to offer young people a chance to grow up with them. The fact that his saga was met with such unabashed, international enthusiasm proves that he was right: people long for fairy tales no matter how old they are and what culture they belong to.

“Young people today don’t have a fantasy life anymore, not the way we did… All they’ve got is Kojak and Dirty Harry. All the films they see are movies of disasters and insecurity and realistic violence.” (George Lucas)

I’ve been a Star Wars fan for more than thirty years. I love the Original Trilogy but honestly it did not make me dream much, perhaps because when I saw it the trilogy was already complete. The Prequel Trilogy also did not inspire my fantasy.

The Last Jedi accomplished something that no TV show, book or film had managed in years: it made me dream. The richness of colorful characters, multifaceted themes, unexpected developments, intriguing relationships was something I had not come across in a long time: it fascinated me. I felt like a giddy teenager reading up meta’s, writing my own and imagining all sorts of beautiful endings for the saga for almost two years.

So if there’s something The Rise of Skywalker can pride itself on for me, it’s that it crushed almost every dream I had about it. The few things I had figured out – Rey’s fall to the Dark, Ben Solo’s redemption, the connection between them - did not even make me happy because they were tainted by the flatness of the storytelling reducing the Force to a superpower again (like the general audience seems to believe it is), and its deliberate ignoring of almost all messages of The Last Jedi.

Many fans of the Original Trilogy also were disillusioned by the saga over the decades and ranted at the studios for “destroying their childhood”. Now we, the fans of the sequels and in particular of The Last Jedi, are in the same situation… but the thought doesn’t make the pill much easier to swallow. What grates on my nerves is the feeling that someone trampled on my just newly found dreams like a naughty child kicking a doll’s house apart. Why give us something to dream of in the first place, then? To a certain extent I can understand that many fans would angrily assume that Disney Lucasfilm made the Sequel Trilogy for the purpose of destroying their idea of the saga. The point is that they had their happy ending, while every dream the fans of the Sequel Trilogy may have had was shattered with this unexpectedly flat and hollow final note.

I know many fans who dislike the Prequel Trilogy heartily. I also prefer the Original Trilogy, but I find the prequels all right in their own way, also since I gave them some thought. However, it can’t be denied that they lack the magic spark which made the Original Trilogy so special. Which makes sense since they are not a fairy tale but ultimately a tragedy, but in my opinion it’s the one of the main reasons why the Prequel Trilogy never was quite so successful, or so beloved.

Same goes for Rogue One, Solo, or Clone Wars. They’re ok in their way, but not magical.

The sequel trilogy started quite satisfyingly with The Force Awakens, but for me, the actual bomb dropped with The Last Jedi. Reason? It was a magical story. It had the spark again that I had missed in the new Star Wars stories for decades! And it was packed full of beautiful messages and promises.

The Force is not a superpower belonging solely to the Jedi Anyone can be a hero. Even the greatest heroes can fail, but they will still be heroes. Hope is like the sun: if you only believe in it when you see it you’ll never make it through the night. Failure is the greatest teacher. It’s more important to save the light than to seem a hero. No one is never truly gone. War is only a machine. Dark Side and Light Side can be unbeatable if they are allies. Save what you love instead of destroying what you hate.

Naively, I assumed the trilogy would continue and end in that same magical way. And then came The Rise of Skywalker… which looks and feels like a Marvel superhero story at best and an over-long videogame at worst.

Chekov’s Gun

“Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there.”

(Anton Chekov, 1860 - 1904)

If you show an important looking prop and don’t put it to use, it leaves the audience feeling baffled. There is a huge difference between a story’s setup, and the audience’s feeling of entitlement. E.g. many viewers expected Luke to jump right back into the fray in Episode VIII, because that’s what a hero does, isn’t it? The cavalry comes and saves the day. And instead, we met a disillusioned elderly hermit who is tired of the ways of the Jedi. But there was no actual reason for disappointment: in Episode VII it was very clearly said (through Han, his best friend) that Luke had gone into exile on purpose, feeling responsible for his failure in teaching a new generation of Jedi. It would have been more than stupid to show him as an all-powerful and all-knowing man who kills the bad guys. Sorry but who expected that was a victim to his own prejudice.

A promise left unfulfilled is a different story. The Last Jedi set up a lot of promises that didn’t come true in The Rise of Skywalker: Balance as announced by the Jedi temple mosaic, a new Jedi Order hinted at by Luke on Crait, a good ending for Ben and Rey set up by the hand-touching scene which was opposite to Anakin’s and Padmés wedding scene. Many fans were annoyed about the Canto Bight sequence. I liked it because it felt like the set-up for a lot of important stuff: partnership between Finn and Rose whom we see working together excellently, freedom for the enslaved children (one of whom is Force-sensitive), DJ and Rose expressing what makes wars in general foolish and beside the point. So if we, the fans of Episode VIII, now feel angry and let down, I daresay it’s not due to entitlement. We were announced magical outcomes and not just pew-pew.

The Star Wars saga never repeated itself but always developed and enlarged its themes, so it was to be expected that delving deeper, uncomfortable truths would come out: wars don’t start out of nowhere, and they don’t flare up and continue for decades for the same reason. In order to find Balance, the Jedi’s and the Skywalker family’s myths needed to be dismantled. Which is not necessarily bad as long it is explained how things came to this, and a better alternative is offered. The prequels explained the old political order and the beginnings of the Skywalker family, and announced that the next generation would do better. The sequels hardly explained anything about the 30 years that passed since our heroes won the battle against the Empire, and while The Last Jedi hinted at the future a lot, The Rise of Skywalker seemed to make a point of ignoring all of it.

The Skywalker Family Is Obliterated. Why?

Luke was proven right that his nephew would mean the end of everything he loved. The lineage of the Chosen One is gone. His grandson had begun where Vader had ended - tormented, pale and with sad eyes - and he met the same fate. Luke, Han, Leia, all sacrificed themselves to bring Ben Solo back for nothing. Him being the reincarnation of the Chosen One and getting a new chance should have been meaningful for all of them; instead, he literally left the scepter to Rey who did nothing to deserve it: merely because she killed the Bad Guy does not mean she will do a better job than the family whose name and legacy she proudly takes over.

I do hope there was a good reason if the sequels did not tell “The New Adventures of Luke, Leia and Han” and instead showed us a broken family on the eve of its wipeout. It would have been much easier, and more fun for the audience, to bring the trio back again after a few years and pick up where they had left. Instead we had to watch their son, nephew and heir go his grandfather’s way - born with huge power, branded as Meant to Be Dangerous from the start, tried his best to be a Jedi although he wanted to be a pilot, never felt accepted, abandoned in the moment of his greatest need, went to his abuser because he was the only one to turn to, became a criminal, his own family (in Anakin’s case: Obi-Wan and Yoda) trained the person who was closest to him to kill him, sacrificed himself for this person and died. And in his case, it’s particularly frustrating because Kylo Ren wasn’t half as impressive a villain as Vader, and Ben Solo had a very limited time of heroism and personal fulfilment, contrarily to Anakin when he was young.

The impact of The Rise of Skywalker was traumatic for some viewers. I know of adolescents and adults, victims of family abandonment and abuse, who identified with Ben: they were told that you can never be more than the sum of your abuse and abandonment, and that they’re replaceable if they’re not “good”. Children identifying with Rey were told that their parents might sell them away for “protection”. Rey was not conflicted, she had a few doubts but overall, she was cool about everything she did, so she got everything on a silver platter; that’s why as a viewer, after a while you stopped caring for her. Her antagonist was doomed from birth because he dared to question the choices other people made for him. It seems that in the Star Wars universe, you can only “rise” if you’re either a criminal but cool because you’ve always got a bucket over your head (Vader / the Mandalorian) or are a saint-like figure (Luke / Rey).

One of Obi-Wan’s first actions in A New Hope is cutting off someone’s arm who was only annoying him; Han Solo, ditto. These were no acts of self-defense. The Mandalorian is an outlaw. Yet they are highly popular. Why? Because they always keep their cool, so anything they do seems justified. Young Anakin was hated, Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen attacked for his portrayal. For the same reason many fans feel that Luke is the least important of the original trio although basically the Original Trilogy is his story: it seems the general audience hates nothing more than emotionality in a guy. They want James Bond, Batman or Indiana Jones as the lead. Padmé loved Anakin because she always saw the good little boy he once was in him; his attempts at impressing her with his flirting or his masculinity failed. Kylo tried to impress Rey with his knowledge and power, but she fled from him - she wanted the gentle, emphatic young man who had listened to her when she felt alone. Good message. But both died miserably, and Ben didn’t even get anything but a kiss. Realizing that his “not being as strong as Darth Vader” might actually be a strength of its own would have meant much more.

The heroes of the Original Trilogy had their adventures together and their happy ending; the heroes of the Prequel Trilogy also had good times and accomplishments in their youth, before everything went awry. Rey, Finn and Poe feel like their friendship hardly got started; Rose was almost obliterated from the narrative; and Ben Solo seems to have had only one happy moment in his entire life. Of course it’s terrible that he committed patricide (even if it was under coercion), but Anakin / Vader himself had two happy endings in the Prequel Trilogy before he became the monster we know so well. Not to mention Clone Wars, where he has heroic moments unnumbered.

The Skywalker family is obliterated without Balance in the Force, and the young woman who inherited all doesn’t seem to have learned any lesson from all this. The Original Trilogy became a part of pop culture among other things because its ending was satisfying. We can hardly be expected to be satisfied with an ending where our heroes are all dead and the heir of their worst enemy takes over. What good was the happy ending of the Original Trilogy for if they didn’t learn enough from their misadventures to learn how to protect one single person - their son and nephew, their future?

For a long time, I also thought that the saga was about Good vs. Evil. Watching the prequels again, I came to the conclusion that it is rather about Love vs. War. And now, considering as a whole, I believe it to be essentially Jedi against Skywalker. The ending, as it is now, says that both fractions lost: they annihilated one another, leaving a third party in charge, who believes to be both but actually knows very little about them.

Star Wars and Morality

After 9 films and 42 years, it still is not possible to make the general audience accept that it is wrong to divide people between Good and Evil in the first place. The massive rejection of both prequels and sequels, which have moral grey zones galore, shows it.

It is also not possible without being accused of actual blasphemy in the same fandom, to say the plain truth that no Skywalker ever was a Jedi at heart. As their name says, they’re pilots. Luke was the last and strongest of all Jedi because he always was first and foremost himself. Anakin was crushed by the Jedi’s attempts to stifle his feelings. His grandson, too. A Force-sensitive person ought to have the choice whether they want to be a Jedi or not; they ought not to be taught to suppress their emotions and live only on duty, without really caring for other people; and they ought to grow up feeling in a safe and loving environment, not torn away from their families in infancy, indoctrinated and provided with a light sabre (a deadly weapon) while they’re still small. A Jedi order composed of child soldiers or know-it-all’s does not really help anybody.

The original Star Wars saga was about love and friendship; although many viewers did not want to understand that message. The prequels portrayed the Jedi as detached and arrogant and Anakin Skywalker sympathetically, a huge disappointment for who only accepts stories of the “lonesome cowboy” kind. The Last Jedi was so hated that The Rise of Skywalker backpedaled: sorry, of course you’re right, here you have your “hero who knows everything better and fixes everything for you on a silver platter”. The embarrassing antihero, who saves the girl who was the only person showing him some human compassion, can die miserably in the process and is not even mourned.

Honestly: I was doubtful whether it would be adequate to give Ben Solo a happy ending after the patricide. I guess letting him die was the easiest way out for the authors to escape censorship. (I even wrote this in a review on amazon about The Last Jedi, before I delved deeper into the saga’s themes.) The messages we got now are even worse.

Kylo Ren / Ben Solo

A parent can replace a child if they’re not the way they expect them to be. A victim of lifelong psychical and physical abuse can only find escape in death, whether he damns or redeems himself. An introspective, sensitive young man is a loser no matter how hard he tries either way. A whole family can sacrifice itself to save their heir, he dies anyway.

Rey

Self-righteousness is acceptable as long as you find a scapegoat for your own failings. Overconfidence justifies anything you do. You can’t carve your way as a female child of “nobodies”, you have to descend from someone male and powerful even if that someone is the devil incarnate. You are a “strong female” if you choose to be lonely; you need neither a partner nor friends.

In General

Star Wars is not about individual choices, loyalty, friendship and love, it is a classic Western story with a lonesome cowboy (in this case: cowgirl) at its centre. Satisfied?

The father-son-relationship between Vader and Luke mirrors the Biblical story of Cain and Abel, saying that whoever we may want to kill is, in truth, our kin, which makes a clear separation in Good and Evil impossible. The “I am your father” scene is so infamous by now that even non-fans are aware of it; but this relationship between evil guy and good guy, as well as the plot turns where the villain saves the hero and that the hero discards his weapon are looked upon rather as weird narrative quirks instead of a moral.

In an action movie fan, things are simple: good guy vs. bad guy, the good guy (e.g. James Bond may be a murderer and a misogynist, but that’s ok because he’s cool about it) kills the bad guy, ka-boom, end of story. But Star Wars is a parable, an ambitious project told over decades of cinema, and a multilayered story with recurring themes.

A fairy tale ought to have a moral. The moral of both Original Trilogy and Prequel Trilogy was compassionate love - choose it and you can end a raging conflict, reject it and you will cause it. What was the moral of the Sequel Trilogy? You can be the offspring of the galaxy’s worst terror and display a similar attitude, but pose as a Jedi and kill unnecessarily, and it’s all right; descend from Darth Vader (who himself was a victim long before he became a culprit) and whether you try to become a Jedi trained by Luke Skywalker or a Sith trained by his worst enemy, you will end badly?

Both original and prequel trilogy often showed “good” people making bad choices and the “bad ones” making the right choices. To ensure lasting peace, no Force user ought to be believe that he must choose one side and then stick to it for the rest of his life: both sides need one another. The prequels took 3 films to convey this message, though not saying so openly. The Last Jedi said it out clearly - and the authors almost had their heads ripped off by affronted fans, resulting in The Rise of Skywalker’s fan service. It’s not like Luke, Han and Leia were less heroic in the Sequel Trilogy, on the contrary, they gave everything they had to their respective cause. They were not united, and they were more human than they had once been. Apparently, that’s an affront.

The Jedi are no perfect heroes and know-it-all’s and they never were, the facts are there for everyone to see. Padmé went alone and pregnant to get her husband out of Mustafar - and she almost succeeded - although she knew what he had done and that he was perfectly capable of it (he had told her of the Tusken village massacre himself) because she still saw the good little boy he had been in him; Obi-Wan left him amputated and burning in the lava, although he had raised Anakin like a small brother and the latter had repeatedly saved his life. But Padmé was not a Jedi, so I guess she still had some human decency. Neither Obi-Wan nor Yoda lifted a finger for the oppressed populations of the galaxy during the Empire, waiting instead for Anakin’s son to grow up so they could trick him into committing patricide. Neither Luke nor Leia did anything for their own son and nephew while he became the scourge of the galaxy, damning his soul by committing crime after crime. On Exegol, Rey heard the voices of all Jedi encouraging her to fight Palpatine to death. After that, they left her to die alone, and the alleged “bad guy”, who had already saved her soul from giving in to Palpatine’s lures, had to save her life by giving her his own. The Jedi merely know that “their side” has to win, no matter the cost for anyone’s life, sanity, integrity or happiness.

Excuse me, these are simple facts. How anyone can still believe that the Jedi were super-powerful heroes who always win or all-knowing wizards who are always right is beyond me. Luke, the last and strongest of them, like a bright flickering of light before the ultimate end, showed us that the best of men can fail. There is nothing wrong with that in itself. But it is wrong and utterly frustrating when all of the failure never leads to anything better. If Rey means to rebuild the Jedi order to something better than it was, there was no hint at that whatsoever.

And What Now?

The Last Jedi hit theatres only 2 years before The Rise of Skywalker, and I can’t imagine that the responsible authors all have forgotten how to make competent work in the meantime; more so considering that Solo or The Mandalorian are solid work. Episode IX is thematically so painfully flat it seems like they wanted us to give up on the saga on purpose. The last instalment of a 42-year-old saga ought to have been the best and most meaningful. I had heard already decades ago that the saga was supposed to have 9 chapters, so I was not among who protested against the sequels thinking that they had been thought up to make what had come before invalid. I naively assumed a larger purpose. But Episode IX only seems to prove these critics perfectly right.

The last of the flesh and blood of the Chosen One is dead without having “finished what his grandfather started”?

Still no Balance in the Force?

And worst of all, Palpatine’s granddaughter taking over, having proven repeatedly that she is not suited for the task?

Sorry, this “ending” is absurd. I have read fanfiction that was better written and more interesting. And, most of all, less depressing. I was counting on a conclusion that showed that the Force has all colours and nuances, and that it’s not limited to the black-and-white view “we against them”. That’s the ending all of us fans would have deserved, instead of catering the daddy issues of the part of the audience who doesn’t want stories other than those of the “lonesome cowboy” kind. I myself grew up on Japanese anime, maybe that’s one of the reasons why I can’t stand guys like James Bond or Batman and why I think you don’t need “a great hero who fixes the situation” but that group spirit and communication are way more important.

It was absolutely unexpected that Disney, the production company whose trademark are happy endings and family stories, would end this beloved and successful saga after almost half a century on such a hollow note. Why tell first a beautiful fairy tale and then leave the audience on a hook for 35 years to continue first with a tragedy (which at least was expected) and then with another (unexpected one)? And this story is supposed to be for children? Like children would understand all of the subtext, and love sad, cautionary tales. Children, as well as the general audience, first of all want to be entertained! No one wants to watch the legendary Skywalker family be obliterated and a Palpatine take over. The sequels were no fun anymore; we’ve been left with another open ending and hardly an explanation about what happened in the 30 years in between. If you want to tell a cautionary tale, you should better warn the general audience beforehand.

The Original Trilogy is so good because it’s entertaining and offers room for thought for who wants to think about its deeper themes, and also leaves enough space for dreams. Same goes for the first two films of the Sequel Trilogy; but precisely the last, which should have wrapped up the saga, leaves us with a bitter aftertaste and dozens of questions marks.

We as the audience believe that a story, despite the tragic things that happen, must go somewhere; we get invested into the characters, we root for them, we want to see them happy in the end. (The authors of series like Girls, How I Met Your Mother or Game of Thrones ought to be reminded of that, too.) I was in contact with children and teenagers saying that the Sequel Trilogy are “boring”; and many, children or adults, who were devastated by its concluson. There is a difference between wanting to tell a cautionary tale and playing the audience for fools. This trilogy could have become legendary like the Original Trilogy, had it fulfilled its promises instead of “keeping it low” with its last chapter. Who watches a family or fantasy story or a romantic / comedic sitcom wants to escape into another world, not to be hit over his head with a mirror to his own failings, and the ones of the society he’s living in. Messages are all right, but they ought not to go at the cost of the audience’s satisfaction about the about the people and narrative threads they have invested in for years.

This isn’t a family story: but children probably didn’t pester the studios with angry e-mails and twitter messages etc. They simply counted on a redemption arc and happy ending, and they were right, because they’re not as stupid as adults are. I have read and watched many a comment from fans who hate The Last Jedi. Many of these fans couldn’t even pinpoint what their rage was all about, they only proved to be stuck with the original trilogy and unwilling to widen their horizon. But at least their heroes had had their happy ending: The Rise of Skywalker obliterated the successes of all three generations of Skywalkers.

If the film studios wanted to tease us, they’ve excelled. If they expect the general audience to break their heads over the sequels’ metaphysics, they have not learned from the reactions to the prequels that most viewers take these films at face value. Not everybody is elbows-deep in the saga, or willing to research about it for months, and / or insightful enough to see the story’s connections. Which is why many viewers frown at the narrative and believe the Sequel Trilogy was just badly written. This trilogy could have become legendary like the Original Trilogy, had it fulfilled its promises instead of “keeping it low” with its last chapter. As it is now, the whole trilogy is hanging somewhere in the air, with neither a past nor a future to be tied in with.

The prequels already had the flaw of remaining too obscure: most fans are not aware that Anakin had unwillingly killed his wife during the terrible operation that turned him into Darth Vader, sucking her life out of her through the Force: most go by “she died of a broken heart”. So although one scene mirrors the other, it is not likely that most viewers will understand what Rey’s resurrection meant. And: Why did Darth Maul kill Qui-Gon Jinn? What did the Sith want revenge for? Who was behind Shmi’s abduction and torture? Who had placed the order for the production of the clones, and to what purpose? We can imagine or try to reconstruct the answers, but nothing is confirmed by the story itself.

The sequels remained even more in the dark, obfuscating what little explanation we got in The Rise of Skywalker with quick pacing and mind-numbing effects.

Kylo Ren had promised his grandfather that “he would finish what he started”: he did not. Whatever one can say of this last film, it did not bring Balance in the Force. What’s worse, the subject was not even breached. It was hinted at by the mosaic on the floor of the Prime Jedi Temple on Ahch-To, but although Luke and Rey were sitting on its border, they never seemed to see what was right under their noses. It remains inexplicable why it was there for everyone to see in the first place.

We might argue that Ben finished what his grandfather started by killing (or better, causing the death of) the last Jedi, who this one couldn’t kill because he was his own son; but leaving Rey in charge, he helped her finish what her grandfather had started. The irony could hardly be worse.

Episode IX looks like J.J. Abrams simply completed what they started with Episode VII, largely ignoring the next film as if it was always planned to do so. We, the angry and disappointed fans of The Last Jedi, may believe it was due to some of the general audience’s angry backlash, but honestly: the studios aren’t that dumb. They had to know that Episode VIII would be controversial and that many fans would hate it. The furious reactions were largely a disgrace, but no one can make me believe that they were totally unexpected. Nor can anyone convince me that The Rise of Skywalker was merely an answer to the small but very loud part of the audience who hated The Last Jedi: a company with the power and the returns of Disney Lucasfilm does not need to buckle down before some fan’s entitlement and narrowmindedness out of fear of losing money. And if they do, it was foolish to make Rey so perfect that she becomes almost odious, and to let the last of the Skywalker blood die a meaningless death. (Had he saved the Canto Bight children and left them with Rey, at least he would have died with honor; and she, the child left behind by her parents, would have had a task to dedicate herself to.)

The only reason I can find for this odd ending is that it’s meant to prepare the way for Rian Johnson’s new trilogy, which - hopefully - will finally be about Balance. We as the audience don’t know what’s going on behind the doors. Filmmaking is a business like any other, i.e. based on contracts; and I first heard that Rian Johnson had negotiated a trilogy of his own since before Episode VIII hit theatres. Maybe he kept all the rights of intellectual property to his own film, including that he would finish the threads he picked up and close the narrative circles he opened, and only he; and that his alleged working on “something completely different” is deliberately misleading.

Some viewers love the original trilogy, some love the prequels, some like both; but I hardly expect anyone to love the sequel trilogy as a whole. What with the first instalment “letting the past die, killing it if they had to”, the second hinting at a promising future and the third patched on at the very last like some sort of band-aid, it was not coherent. I heard the responsible team for Game of Thrones even dropped their work, producing a dissatisfying, quickly sewn together last season, for this new Star Wars project and thereby disappointing millions of GoT fans; I hope they are aware of the expectations they have loaded upon them. George Lucas’ original trilogy had its faults, but but though there was no social media yet in his time, at least he was still close enough to the audience to give them what they needed, if not necessarily wanted. (Some fans can’t accept that Luke and Leia are siblings to this day, even if honestly, it was the very best plot twist to finish their story in a satisfying way.)

I’m hoping for now that The Last Jedi was not some love bombing directed at the more sentimental viewers but a promise that will be fulfilled. “Wrapping up” a saga by keeping the flattest, least convincing chapter for last is bad form. Star Wars did not become a pop phenomenon by accident, but because the original story was convincing and satisfying. Endings like these will hardly make anyone remember a story fondly, on the contrary, the audience will move to another fandom to forget their disappointment.

On a side note, I like The Mandalorian, exactly for the reason that that is a magical story; not as much as the original trilogy, but at least a little. Of course, I’m glad it was produced. But it’s a small consolation prize after the mess that supposedly wrapped up the original saga after 9 films.

We’re Not Blind, You Know…

- Though Kylo Ren (Ben Solo) has Darth Vader’s stature, his facial features are practically opposite to Vader’s creepy mask. This should have foreshadowed that his life should have gone the other way, instead of more or less repeating itself. - As a villain Kylo was often unconvincing; by all logic he should have been a good father figure. (Besides, Star Wars films or series never work unless there is a strong father or father figure at their center.)

- Like Vader, Kylo Ren was redeemed, but not rehabilitated. Who knows who may find his broken mask somewhere now and, not knowing the truth, promise “I will finish what you started”. - The hand-touching scene on Ahch-To which was visually opposite to Anakin’s and Padmé’s should not have predicted another tragedy but a happy ending for them. - The Canto Bight sequence was announcing reckoning for the weapon industry and freedom for the enslaved children. It also showed how well Finn and Rose fit together. - Rey was a good girl before she started on her adventures. Like Anakin or Luke, she did not need to become a Jedi to be strong or generous or heroic. - Rey summons Palpatine after one year of training. Kylo practically begged for his grandfather’s assistance for years, to no avail. Her potential for darkness is obviously much stronger. - Dark Rey’s light sabre looked like a fork, Kylo’s like a cross. - The last time all Jedi and Sith were obliterated leaving only Luke in charge, things went awry. Now we have a Palpatine masquerading as a Skywalker and believing she’s a Jedi. Rey is a usurper and universally cheered after years of war, like her grandfather. - The broom boy of Canto Bight looked like he was sweeping a stage and announcing “Free the stage, it’s time for us, the children.”

Rey failed in all instances where Luke had proved himself (so much for feminism and her being a Mary Sue): - Luke had forgiven his father despite all the pain he had inflicted on him. She stabbed the „bad guy”, who had repeatedly protected and comforted her, to death. - Luke never asked Vader to help the Rebellion or to turn to the Light Side, he only wanted him back as his father. She assumed that you could make Ben Solo turn, give up the First Order and join the Resistance for her. She thought of her friends and of her own validation, not of him. - Luke had made peace by choosing peace. Rey fought until the bitter end. - Luke had thrown his weapon away before Palpatine. Rey picked up a second weapon. (And both of them weren’t even her own.) - Luke had mourned his dead father. Rey didn’t shed a tear for the man she is bonded to by the Force. - Luke went back to his friends to celebrate the new peace with them. Rey went back letting everyone celebrate her like the one who saved the galaxy on her own, she who were tempted to become the new evil ruler of the galaxy and had to rely on the alleged Bad Guy to save both her soul and her body. - Luke had embodied compassion when Palpatine was all about hatred. Where he chose love and faith in his father, she chose violence and fear. - Luke had briefly fallen prey to the Dark Side but it made him realize that he had no right to judge his father. Rey’s fall to the Dark Side did not make her wiser. - Rey has no change of mind on finding out that she’s Palpatine’s flesh and blood, nor after she has stabbed Kylo. Luke had to face himself on learning that he had almost become a patricide. Rey does not have to face herself: the revelation of her ancestry is cushioned by Luke’s and Leia’s support. Rey is and remains an uncompromising person who hardly learns from her faults.

This is cheating on the audience. And it's not due to feminism or Rey being some sort of “Mary Sue” the way many affronted fans claim. Kylo never was truly a villain, Rey is not a heroine, and this is not a happy ending. The Jedi, with their stuck-up conviction “only we must win”, have failed all over again. The Skywalker family was obliterated leaving their worst enemy in charge. Rey is supposed to be a “modern” heroine which young girls can take as an example? No, thank you. Not after this last film has made of her. Padmé was a much better role model, combining intelligence with strength and goodness and also female grace. The world does not need entitled female brats.

Bonus: What Made The Rise of Skywalker a Farce

- The Force Awakens was an ok film and The Last Jedi (almost) a masterpiece. The Rise of Skywalker was a cartoon. No wonder a lot of the acting felt and looked wooden. - “I will earn your brother’s light sabre.” She’s holding his father’s sabre. - Kylo in The Last Jedi: “Let the past die. Kill it if, you have to.” Beginning with me? - Rey ends up on Tatooine. - The planet both Anakin and Luke ardently wanted to leave. - Luke had promised his nephew that he would be around for him. - Nope. - Rey had told Ben that she had seen his future. What future was that - “you will be a hero for ten minutes, get a kiss and then die? (And they didn’t even get a love theme.) - “The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead.” On a desert planet with a few ghosts. What of the ocean she used to dream about? - Ben and Rey were both introduced as two intensely lonely people searching for belonging. We learn they are a Force dyad, and then they are torn apart again. - Why was Ben named for Obi-Wan Kenobi in the first place, if they have absolutely nothing in common? - The Throne Room battle scene in The Last Jedi was clearly showing that when they are in balance, Light Side and Dark Side are unbeatable. Why did the so-called “Light Side” have to win again, in The Rise of Skywalker, instead of finding balance? - Luke’s scene on Ahch-To was so ridiculously opposite to his attitude in The Last Jedi that by now I believe he was a fantasy conjectured by her. (Like Ben’s vision of his father.) - Anakin’s voice among the other Jedi’s. - He was a renegade, for Force’s sake. - The kiss between two females. - More fan service, to appease those who pretended that not making Poe and Finn a couple was a sign of homophobia. - We see the Knights of Ren, but we learn absolutely nothing about them or Kylo’s connection with them. - Rose Tico’s invalidation. - A shame after what the actress had gone through because for the fans she was “not Star-Wars-y” (chubby and lively instead of wiry and spitfire). - Finn’s and Rose’s relationship. - Ignored without any explanation. - Finn may or may not be Force-sensitive. - If he is: did he abandon the First Order not due to his own free will but because of some higher willpower? Great. - General Hux was simply obliterated. - In The Force Awakens he was an excellent foil to Kylo Ren; no background story, no humanization for him. - Chewie’s and 3PO’s faked deaths. - Useless additional drama. - The Force Awakens was a bow before the classic trilogy. The Rise of Skywalker kicked its remainders to pieces. - The Prequel Trilogy ended with hope, the Original Trilogy with love. The Sequel Trilogy ends on a blank slate. - “We are what they grow beyond.” The characters of the Sequel Trilogy did not grow beyond the heroes of the Original Trilogy. - The Jedi did not learn from their mistakes and were obliterated. The Skywalker family understood the mistakes they had made too late. Now they’re gone, too.

P.S. While I was watching The Rise of Skywalker my husband came in asked me since when I like Marvel movies. I said “That’s not a Marvel movie, it’s Star Wars.” I guess that says enough.

P.P.S. For the next trilogy, please at least let the movies hit theatres in May again instead of December. a) It’s tradition for Star Wars films, b) Whatever happens, at least you won’t ruin anyone’s Christmases. Thank you.

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