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Was the giant, bearded, statue in the background at the end of the episode actually of Baylan Skoll? In the shot where he is looking out into the distance with the statue's head behind him, it did look like the statue was him? So, does he somehow manage to go waaaay back in time? I could be totally wrong, but I'm sure the beards were the same, lol.
Edit: Turns out I need to have watched more Clone Wars......
Spoiler:
However, could it be that somehow Baylan ends up being The Father?
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2023/10/04 10:08:58
Was the giant, bearded, statue in the background at the end of the episode actually of Baylan Skoll? In the shot where he is looking out into the distance with the statue's head behind him, it did look like the statue was him? So, does he somehow manage to go waaaay back in time? I could be totally wrong, but I'm sure the beards were the same, lol.
Edit: Turns out I need to have watched more Clone Wars......
Spoiler:
However, could it be that somehow Baylan ends up being The Father?
Spoiler:
I could’ve sworn that Huyang, when he ID’d the duo by their lightsaber, had said it was 500 years old. I remember hearing that and raising an eyebrow. Like dude has been around for a loong time. Edit: correction, just rewatched that scene to confirm, huyang actually says “in the last 500 years, I’ve only seen one that matches then correctly id’s Baylon.
Also, I want to re-iterate how incredibly silly that Huyang isn’t with Luke, with all the knowledge that he has.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2023/10/04 11:51:06
"Sometimes the only victory possible is to keep your opponent from winning." - The Emperor, from The Outcast Dead.
"Tell your gods we are coming for them, and that their realms will burn as ours did." -Thostos Bladestorm
I mean, you still need to hire an actor, and have them perform the role, then pay someone else to do the digital trickery, in a convincing way.
Whilst every use of the technology sees it improve? I don’t think it’s quite up to use beyond short scenes.
So recasting overall just sounds the better option.
I remember reading one of the initial studio offers was to be able to pay a background actor one day’s pay, scan them, and have full rights to use that for whatever they wanted from then on. The fact that was just a couple weeks after the episode of Black Mirror dealing with such an issue was perfection.
Someday there will be a Wilhelm Scream of background actors. :(
Spoiler:
I find it kind of funny that the big complaint leading into this was "knowing that it couldn't go anywhere" and now the biggest complaint is that it left us with too many places to go.
Baylan's setup for more is definitely the hard pill to swallow. It's a super compelling narrative thread and I certainly hope they can salvage whatever they had planned. Shin was notably absent through the entire episode though, so it felt like whatever they decided to do with her was decided pretty early.
Lars really sells Thrawn throughout in a way that Rebels really didn't capture. Monologuing after he's already won is a nice Ozy touch.
Stormtrooper extras looked like they were having fun, though there's some notably dumb moments throughout. Standing around watching the duel is funny on its own, but trying to track where Sabine is in the fake out is just weird. The duel itself was well choregraphed though and I enjoyed the videogamey nature of the whole thing.
Ezra's helmet thing is absolutely silly. I get why he was in uniform, but wearing the helmet to surprise his armed friends was pretty silly.
Overall I'm excited to see how they continue. This one is definitely on the positive side of Star Wars content. Not quite as good as Andor, but probably a bit better than Rogue One for me.
The scene isn't really framed that way. If there's any motive behind it, its entirely "I wanted to surprise them" which to be fair, is kind of an Ezra thing and probably supposed to be a callback to Rebels.
AduroT wrote: That’s one of the things the Strikes have been about isn’t it? Not letting the studios own rights to use your appearance in digital forms?
To the Father's right, but with her head missing and therefore blending into the side of the mountain a bit. But she's there.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: Also, I really liked the speed of the Star Destroyer. I think I was expecting it to be lumbering, but…nope. Really quite speedy, at least in a straight line.
We've known since 1977 that Star Destroyers are speedy. At least if we take Han's word for it.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/10/04 19:12:24
Nehekhara lives! Sort of!
Why is the rum always gone?
As I said previously, would’ve been better as a cartoon and it was a firm 2.5/5 stars.
Post viewing stream of thought:
-Zombie Stormtroopers are as good a shot as live stormtroopers oddly enough.
They were just slightly worse (and some didn't even bother to pick up their guns). Given how they posed no threat whatsoever the first time, the whole thing lacked any tension whatsoever.
But Sabine got shot in the helmet a couple times, because magic space armor means the bad guys are allowed to not miss occasionally.
Honestly I think this show got worse as it went along. We even got 'there's more to Jedi than lightsabers' trotted out, followed by even more swording.
It looked like it was setting up for something interesting with different force philosophies, but... the 'gray jedi' just sort of wandered off, and the witches felt like pointless 'memberberries.
The New Republic stuff wasted time the show didn't actually have, but was setup for something that... didn't happen.
The fight choreography went to utter crap in places. Not sure what happened there (since there were several jumps and turns where you couldn't see faces (and a couple brief moments where you could) where it seemed like they were using stunt doubles, but... yeah.
The episode felt 'done' about 20 minutes in, but just kept going. And end with a LotR style endless cutscenes, to re-establish exactly where every single character was standing when the credits roll.
Wet fart ending, in this case.
AduroT wrote: Thrawn mostly made the smart choices for the situations he was presented.
Father, Son… where’s Daughter?
The random bird that popped up is the Daughter.
She basically teases Ashoka from time to time.
Thrawn... yeah. He mostly did smart things. But also rather boring things.
I think Thrawn's magic in the EU was being able to work as the underdog and come out on top through clever (if somewhat absurd) strategies. Against three people, with limitless soldiers and some form of space magic, the tension is gone.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/10/04 22:47:51
Eh, Thrawn always fights sideways, with all sorts of cheats and supertech. I actually really liked the idea of him having limited resources, and thus being unable to win any of the battles- just stay focused on the war. So many of their skirmishes would have been settled if he'd committed everything- but he never did, always keeping a reserve. He comes across as very cautious.
It was also really, really satisfying to see TIE fighter pilots be effective- even if it was short lived.
Klawz-Ramming is a subset of citrus fruit?
Gwar- "And everyone wants a bigger Spleen!"
Mercurial wrote:
I admire your aplomb and instate you as Baron of the Seas and Lord Marshall of Privateers.
Orkeosaurus wrote:Star Trek also said we'd have X-Wings by now. We all see how that prediction turned out.
Orkeosaurus, on homophobia, the nature of homosexuality, and the greatness of George Takei.
English doesn't borrow from other languages. It follows them down dark alleyways and mugs them for loose grammar.
Gitzbitah wrote: Eh, Thrawn always fights sideways, with all sorts of cheats and supertech. I actually really liked the idea of him having limited resources, and thus being unable to win any of the battles- just stay focused on the war. So many of their skirmishes would have been settled if he'd committed everything- but he never did, always keeping a reserve. He comes across as very cautious.
It was also really, really satisfying to see TIE fighter pilots be effective- even if it was short lived.
They... weren't effective. They were sadder than usual.
They temporarily damaged a functionally stationary (for a ship; it was trudging along at the pace of the wagons), _unpiloted_ shuttle (or at least everyone called it a shuttle).
Gitzbitah wrote: Eh, Thrawn always fights sideways, with all sorts of cheats and supertech. I actually really liked the idea of him having limited resources, and thus being unable to win any of the battles- just stay focused on the war. So many of their skirmishes would have been settled if he'd committed everything- but he never did, always keeping a reserve. He comes across as very cautious.
It was also really, really satisfying to see TIE fighter pilots be effective- even if it was short lived.
They... weren't effective. They were sadder than usual.
They temporarily damaged a functionally stationary (for a ship; it was trudging along at the pace of the wagons), _unpiloted_ shuttle (or at least everyone called it a shuttle).
That's honestly embarrassing, especially given how many times the ship got the crap kicked out of it in 8 episodes.
@AduroT- the lack of Shin infuriated me a bit. She was the most interesting character in the show, imo. She wasn't bound to any of the tropes of Sith or Jedi, and had real reactions to the people around her, whether they were on her side or not. They just... didn't explore her character, history or motivations. And then took the lazy way out as a warlord-in-the-making stuck on Planet Exile, where she can eventually rule over a pittance of knock-off samurai and Crab Ewoks.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/10/05 01:07:05
I wouldn’t be surprised if the republic stuff is more setting up for other series (Mando 4 or Book 2).
On the noticeable (ish) absence of Baylan and Shin in the final episode, I do wonder whether it originally had some scenes of them meeting up again and heading to wherever Baylan’s going, but they decide to cut and rejig after Ray’s unfortunate passing. I could quite believe that Shin was originally stood beside him on that mountaintop.
Zed wrote: *All statements reflect my opinion at this moment. if some sort of pretty new model gets released (or if I change my mind at random) I reserve the right to jump on any bandwagon at will.
Thrawn mostly did smart things... except for his inability to find the guy who lives almost within sight of his star destroyer for years on end, and who was discovered within hours by a total newcomer to the galaxy...
Lord Damocles wrote: Thrawn mostly did smart things... except for his inability to find the guy who lives almost within sight of his star destroyer for years on end, and who was discovered within hours by a total newcomer to the galaxy...
That easily explainable in that it was really Sabine’s dog who found the lead to him, and Thrawn is more of a cat person.
Ezra mentioned that after Thrawn awoke the Night Sisters, that area became too dangerous to visit.
Of course, we don’t know when that was in the wider timeline. But once Thrawn had those allies? Why bother hunting Ezra at all? He’s a dangerous foe, and going after him might be to invite disaster. Especially given the Great Mothers demonstrated some kind of feasible plan to get Thrawn back to the main Galaxy.
About the only thing I think has a question mark for me is the loading of the cargo from the catacombs. Could that not have been done well in advance?
Though I suppose one reason could be time sensitivity, such as it taking a while to prep them for moving, and them being safer where they were, until they were sure the Eye of Sion actually worked?
Fed up of Scalpers? But still want your Exclusives? Why not join us?
Deal might have been you get the catacombs after you provide a way off this rock. And he clearly doesn't want to mess with the space magic people.
And yes - the Tie fighters, two passes while missing the stationary ground target. Maybe the simulators were broken by space whales and they didn't get any air time the last 10 years?
Still don't get why stormtroopers advance while firing. Personally I would want to walk backwards. I also wouldn't be sporting about taking it in turns to fire at the jedi. I would get all my buddies to mash the trigger manically and create a wall of laser bolts.
We did laugh in final battle - the second she lost her superfluous second blade we predicted despite never training with just one she would now get better.
The more I think about it, the more just leaving Ezra be makes sense for Thrawn.
His task is to get back to the main Galaxy. And despite his deal, he has inherently finite resources to do that with. Fuel, ammo, troops. All a fixed resource which is only going to reduce in stock.
With the strong position Thrawn had? It makes greater sense in husbanding those resources to let Ezra come to you. To do otherwise risks a gradual erosion of force and fuel. And at some point you know you’re getting out of there, and that Ezra is likely to make a concerted effort to thwart you once it becomes clear you’re leaving.
Save your resources for that fight, so you have the numbers to sacrifice when it really matters.
If we look at Thrawn’s actual defence plan, I think it would’ve worked had Ezra been alone. Jedi are good, but they’re far from infallible.
Thrawn would also be looking to the future. It’s one thing getting back. It’s another having some kind of resources to be taken seriously. Rocking up in a knackered Star Destroyer with few troops and TIEs? There’s no guarantee you’d be able to requisition replacements.
Anyways. Online sources to Skellington Crew being released this year, so I’d imagine we’ll be getting trailers for that fairly soon!
Automatically Appended Next Post:
AduroT wrote: It’s why I’ve commented before they need anti Jedi protocols where everyone fires on the same count/pulse so it’s just walls of bolts coming in.
I’m not sure that would work. Jedi (or at least some, it’s really not clear if Anakin’s precognition was a common or unusual manifestation) can see things before they happen, giving them incredible reflexes.
So everyone aiming in the same body shaped space, and firing at approximately the same time may well easier for the Jedi to dodge. Whereas a mad blizzard of blaster bolts, where the Jedi is now trying to keep track of lots of stuff still seems the best way.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/10/05 09:12:50
Fed up of Scalpers? But still want your Exclusives? Why not join us?
Zed wrote: *All statements reflect my opinion at this moment. if some sort of pretty new model gets released (or if I change my mind at random) I reserve the right to jump on any bandwagon at will.
