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I just wanted to say...

MAY THE FORTH BE WITH YOU.

Tales of the Underpantsworld

And as it is indeed Star Wars Day, our seemingly annual aminated treat.

First round is Ventrisscentric. And some lovely Night Sisters Lore.


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Second round is Cade Bane. And for a character I’ve never been terribly fussed for? I’m really enjoying it!

It was fine, killed some time if anything. Definitely the weakest of the Tales IMO.

Ventriss feels like a taster of more to come. Her inclusion in Bad Batch felt incongruous, but when viewed alongside this? Definitely feels like there’s a further plan.

Also nice to have an explanation for how she's still alive...

Indeed.

Still sad they didn’t entirely retcon “died for mangst for no-mark character very few care about”.

But one of the most interesting characters is properly back, and that’s what really matters.

Also I’d be very surprised if she doesn’t rock up in Ahsoka now.

What are the ongoing live-action Star Wars shows?

Off the top of my head?

Ahsoka

Mando (not entirely sure if the upcoming movie is the Grande Finale though)

Tales of the Undereworld was good fun. Was that the first time we saw the final Stormtrooper design in Clone Wars style?

 Jadenim wrote:

 Gert wrote:
And yet he always gets results. He's a problem for the political structure of the Alliance, but he also serves a purpose as a brick through the window. He exists to show that the fight against the Empire isn't clean.

Pretty much this. He’s a totally unstable, but charismatic leader with a core of devout followers, so you can’t trust him to do anything other than hate the Empire and feth gak up. But sometimes you need a bunch of hardcore nutters to go do something that should be impossible.

I always equated him to guys like America backing Osama Bin Laden during the years when Russia was fighting in Afghanistan. Saw is one of those guys where he is useful for having a group of fanatics who are happy fighting the Empire, but in the back of their heads the Rebel leaders know that after the (hopeful) fall of the Empire, they are probably going to have to deal with him being a huge problem for the new government they try to replace the Empire with, because Saw is so anti-authority.

 AegisGrimm wrote:

 Jadenim wrote:

 Gert wrote:
And yet he always gets results. He's a problem for the political structure of the Alliance, but he also serves a purpose as a brick through the window. He exists to show that the fight against the Empire isn't clean.

Pretty much this. He’s a totally unstable, but charismatic leader with a core of devout followers, so you can’t trust him to do anything other than hate the Empire and feth gak up. But sometimes you need a bunch of hardcore nutters to go do something that should be impossible.

I always equated him to guys like America backing Osama Bin Laden during the years when Russia was fighting in Afghanistan. Saw is one of those guys where he is useful for having a group of fanatics who are happy fighting the Empire, but in the back of their heads the Rebel leaders know that after the (hopeful) fall of the Empire, they are probably going to have to deal with him being a huge problem for the new government they try to replace the Empire with, because Saw is so anti-authority.

Which is why Rogue One / Andor are so interesting; they eschew the black and white heroes and villains of the main line and really get into the horrible, grimy weeds of what a rebellion against an authoritarian regime actually looks like. The banal evil of Imperial conferences deciding the fate of billions and the bloody thirsty lunatics willing to do anything to overthrow them.


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I mean, the fate of Ghorman is decided by a side conversation during the coffee break; you can’t get more corporate than that…

I think calling Saw a bloodthirsty lunatic is a bit strong. He is intensely paranoid, for sure, and extremely reticent to collaborate with others whose ideals he doesn't agree with.

On the paranoia front, is it really paranoia if they actually are out to get you? He did survive right up until the Death Star, after all, so that speaks to the effectiveness of his paranoia as a method of survival against Imperial infiltration and destruction until they literally obliterated an entire section of planet.

He also was able to be reasoned with, even into working alongside those he had political disagreements with. We see this when he agrees to help Anto Kreegyr, a separatist who are Saw's absolute least liked anti-imperial faction, attack Spellhaus before Luthen informs him about the leak of the attack to Imperial intelligence.

I don't think that whole speech he did where he describes every single other Rebel cell as "lost" really fits the description of "willing to work with others".

He puts off helping Kreegyr's lot until the last minute, hinders Phoenix squadron on multiple occasions, hell, even when the Bad Batch were trying to get intel to rescue literally all the Clones, he was like "Yeah, but I can kill some officers with these bombs instead".

Saw being the "first" Rebel buffed up his already large ego and getting addicted to jet fuel clearly ramped up his paranoia and loosened screws that were already loose.

On the second of the next “batch o’three”

This show just keeps on being excellent.

I really, really hope Disney learn from the warm reception of Andor and Skellington Crew.

Both are unmistakably and unabashedly Star Wars, just not quite as we’ve seen it before. They show that, like the MCU, the setting can house a number of sub-genres without losing its own identity.

I dare say it can even hold a Guardians of the Galaxy bit of silliness. Perhaps a Hondo Ohnaka centred series.


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The third batch was fantastic, nothing was unexpected but it was done marvellously.

Which I think is underrated praise.

As we head toward the foregone conclusion, we can all make predictions.

To see said predictions based on a known outcome come true, and in a genuinely interesting and often intense way? That’s bloody good. And not at all easy.

3rd batch takes a bit to get going but it's just so good and it's still managing to fill in some small parts of the overall back story along the way. I had been skipping the recaps but let episode 9s play and they really tie things together this links to this links to that they really laid the foundations of the story early and it's paying off now.

That last batch of Andor episodes...wow. I'm still processing what I saw (like, Disney Star Wars actually WENT there!?). I look forward to the final arc and seeing how they wrap it up; supposedly it's supposed to lead seamlessly into Rogue One, so it'll be interesting to see exactly how that happens.

Yup.

Never mind an excellent Star Wars show, this is just an excellent show.

Really looking forward to bingeing both seasons back to back.

Who hopes Dedra is rewarded with head of ISB on the Death Star?

Isn't that Colonel Yularen's job? I suspect...

She’s kind of cracking at the end of block 3…



Those three episodes, the plaza sequence in particular, were right up there with the prison episodes in season one and made for some of the most riveting, gut wrenching TV I have seen in a long time. You know what’s going to happen, they’ve been building up to it relentlessly, but to watch it all go down, unflinchingly, almost in slow motion? That was something.

And so coldly. It’s one thing to see a ruthless plan being put together and the pieces manipulated accordingly. But to see it pulled off just as ruthlessly is quite another.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I really, really hope Disney learn from the warm reception of Andor and Skellington Crew.

Both are unmistakably and unabashedly Star Wars, just not quite as we’ve seen it before. They show that, like the MCU, the setting can house a number of sub-genres without losing its own identity.

Yup, I like this approach of trying different stuff. As much as I like Andor, I wouldn't want all of my Star Wars to be this grim.

Both are good examples of shows within a setting, which is what Star Wars is, that maintain the wider vibe but also clearly do their own thing.

So, all caught up again now... I was expecting (I don't know why) episode 9 to be a bit quieter after what happened on Ghorman, just dealing with the political fallout but... crikey, that was intense.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Yup.

Spoiler:

I kinda hope Luthen doesn’t snuff it before the end. He’s a fascinating character, and I’d like to see more

That seems increasingly unlikely. I'm expecting a big bang, somewhere in the next set of episodes.

 insaniak wrote:
So, all caught up again now... I was expecting (I don't know why) episode 9 to be a bit quieter after what happened on Ghorman, just dealing with the political fallout but... crikey, that was intense.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Yup.

Spoiler:

I kinda hope Luthen doesn’t snuff it before the end. He’s a fascinating character, and I’d like to see more

That seems increasingly unlikely. I'm expecting a big bang, somewhere in the next set of episodes.

Something I’ve just realised? As we hurtle toward Rogue One’s occurrences, what we’re seeing here are the very first pebbles that cause the avalanche that causes The Empire to fall.

The Rebellion is starting to get organised (now is the time to watch Rebel S3 E18!) and make bolder strikes. The Empire is beginning to let the mask drop properly. From here, we get to A New Hope, the dissolution of the Senate and the last pretence of democracy, the destruction of Alderaan, the subsequent outrage and thanks to Tarkin’s gross overconfidence, The Empire lose its biggest stick, all of which leads to a much wider and more justified Rebellion. One which doesn’t need to rely on nutters like Saw, as is seen a Just, rather than rabble rousers and malcontents.

But seriously. If you’ve never seen, or haven’t watched Rebels S3 E18 for a long while? Definitely refresh yourself on it

Luthen was right, accelerationism for the win!

Though was it? Getting groups ready yes, did he need increased suffering in general given the death star will ultimately turn up. Hindsight and all that.

Working with the information he had is certainly some kind of defence.

Whether it’s a good one, I’ll let the individual decide.