#Am…am I Dave Filoni…

[the-zenith-calls]

Dave Filoni I am in your walls

Have you no shame? Do you not read? Where's Eli? Where's my girl Karyn Faro? What do you mean Thrawn isn't the one who came up with the TIE Defender program? Which, and I may be wrong, is on Lothal since like the entire plot of Rebels (which you directed) was that Thrawn's fun pet project was a Problem for everyone there? And what's with this "Long live the Empire" bullshit? The Thrawn Timothy Zahn created didn't give a damn. You know, the Timothy Zahn that wrote six entire full length novels to accommodate for Star Wars canon? That Timothy Zahn?

[thisisthe-way]

WAIT A GOSH DARN LONG TIME AGO GALAXY FAR AWAY FREAKING MINUTE—

You’re telling me Jon and Dave REDEEMED JAR JAR BINKS by making his actor the JEDI WHO SAVED FAN FAVORITE CUDDLE FORCE USER GROGU?!

What an honor. Welcome back to Star Wars canon, sir and may I say for the record SOME OF US ALWAYS LOVED JAR JAR.

[spicynectarines]

If Eli and the Chiss Ascendency characters and Thrawn’s backstory are retconned by this new Star Wats show mark my words I will have the biggest freak out you have ever seen

[foundfamilynonsense]

Y’know. Anakin was a real asshole in Ahsoka’s hallucination.

Like. She mentions something about what she’ll be able to teach her padawan one day, since all she’s being taught is how to be a soldier, and Anakin’s like “teaching’s not all it’s cracked up to be”

And like. Asshole move. And Ahsoka rightfully calls him out on it. And he goes on the whole “uuuh I was joking. Lighten up.” Literally a complete jackass.

But beyond how he answered the question, it’s a valid complaint Ahsoka is bringing up! Anakin’s teaching her how to live or die. But Ahsoka wants to be taught how to be a jedi.

What happens after the war is over (order 66 never happens) and she now has to navigate a galaxy without a war? The Jedi take teaching very seriously there’s no greater honor than teaching a padawan. And she’s not being accurately taught, so she will not be able to pass anything on to the next generation.

But Anakin brushes it aside because he simply does not respect her or her wishes. Like. He never wanted a padawan, despite teaching being foundational to the Jedi. And he only took ahsoka in because he started to like her and became attached to her. He doesn’t care about jedi legacy, not really. So he brushes her comment off with a joke.

But in the rest of the vision… idk it didn’t feel like we were supposed view Anakin as entirely wrong here. He wasn’t in the right, he was definitely channeling Vader and being an ass, but he was basically the reason Ahsoka survived the fall, right? Bc he was making her choose life? When Ahsoka wins against him it’s sort of like she’s both learned his lesson and moved beyond him. And then for the rest of the season he’s only talked about in positive ways.

And like. That one line ahsoka said was really powerful in relation to the entire point of the show. What does she have to pass onto her own padawan (Sabine) if she wasn’t properly trained herself? That is, perhaps, the only valid plot question asked in the entire show. And it doesn’t get an answer. It’s never even brought up again.

[just-prime]

Tales of Squandered Potential

Oh hello again everyone who follows me for my Star Wars ranting!

So! Tales of the Empire. The Hat Man is at it again.

Episodes 1-3 : The Path of Boredom

As expected, all of the Morgan stuff was not my thing. She was boring in Ahsoka, she was boring here. The entirety of the three episodes just hammered home "this lady is angry" in a way that felt overdone because there is no arc. There's no growth, no interest, no nothing. It all just feels like Filoni trying to retroactively make his one dimensional character that gets killed off in the stupidest way possible feel super badass. However because we know that she gets killed in the stupidest way possible, everything falls flat and none of it feels earned. It also doesn't actually answer any of the many many questions that Ahsoka raised about her. She's just there, standing in front of a fire. That's all she does.

Thrawn is there for all of about two seconds, and every moment of it is painful, because here's the thing. WE KNOW WHAT THRAWN WAS UP TO AT THIS TIME!!! We have the book that explains all of Thrawn's many exploits as an admiral. This is only more evidence for the idea that Filoni has never actually picked up any of the canon Thrawn books. Which we kinda already knew, but this is all but confirmation. As I've previously said, and will continue saying, Filoni needs to contextualize Thrawn as a 100% big bad otherwise his Heir to the Empire fanfilm won't actually feel earned, so he is systematically destroying any and all nuance that Thrawn has had to make sure that new viewers only ever see him as an unredeemable evil.

And I know that there are a lot of you out there who are holding out for the possibility that this is all a misdirect by Thrawn! That this is all part of his grand plan to go back and help the Ascendency, and that he's lying to everyone about his intentions. But the sad truth is that Filoni doesn't give a rats ass about anything other than cartoonishly evil Thrawn which means we're never getting Eli, or Karyn, or Hammerly or any of the characters from the six fantastic canon books that Timothy Zahn so lovingly created. That was made very clear with Filoni's prioritization of Admiral Pellaeon, who for those who don't know is actually in the new canon Thrawn books too! He wasn't just left behind in Legends, Zahn brought him back into canon too! But again, being the Legends fanboy that he is, Filoni doesn't care about where Pellaeon should be canonically, so instead he's just shoehorned into the episode for no other reason then Filoni likes him.

Episodes 4-6 : The Barriss Content

Soooooo, why didn't Barriss get a full fucking season to herself??? I get the idea behind the 15 minute episodes, but it really makes it hard to tell any sort of cohesive story. It works far better as a snapshot of a couple of days in someone's life. So unfortunately, while I did enjoy them, Barriss's episodes felt really rushed and I found it really hard to tell when things took place. How long was she at the Inquisitor training center? Was it a day? Was it a month? Really would have been interested in actually seeing the inner workings but it all has to get brushed over in favor of her becoming an Inquisitor. A seemingly intentionally not named Inquisitor which makes me feel like they've run out of early Inquisitor names. Unless there's a trial period before you get a proper number? I don't know it was just one of those things that niggled at me. Another thing that niggled at me (which was also mentioned by the wonderful artist @stealingpotatoes, go give her art some love) is that her design is kinda boring as fuck? Like, you have Birdy-Mc-Skullface right there with such a neat design and yet all Barriss gets is a motorcycle helmet with very slight voice modulation.

But I digress. The fact that Barriss commits herself to the Inquisitorium via a ritualized fight to the death, and then goes "wait, the red light saber wielding, all black wearing, Darth Vader serving inquisitors aren't here to help people?" before immediately bailing is so funny to me. This girl cannot for the life of her commit herself to an organization without becoming disillusioned within 1-3 business days.

I'm not sure how I feel about it all being about Lyn? I was very much rooting for her to totally die in the ice shafts instead of what felt like a very last minute redemption arc?

Though speaking of the last episode...HOLY SHIT OLD BARRISS IS FUCKING HOT. *coughs* Excuse me. Anyway. I would have loved to see more of what happened in between eps 5 and 6. Seeing how she and the jedi kid escaped the planet, and where the two of them did after than in the very hostile Empire would have been a facinating story watch play out. Also, who is this female friend that Barriss is referring to when she sends the child away? Is it Ahsoka??? If it is...WHY WOULD YOU NOT SHOW US THAT REUNION??? Like I get the whole point of this is to set up Barriss to make the jump to live action like every single other Filoni character is curseddestined to do, but also you've had people waiting years to find out what happened to Barriss and it feels like they burned their biggest story possibility on a throwaway reference. Did she find Ahsoka? Did Ahsoka find her? When did they find each other? Was it pre-Rebellion? Was it after Ahsoka was already functioning as Fulcrum? Given that we now know the Fulcrum name originated from Anakin, did Barriss recognize the name and seek this mystery person out? I don't know it just feels again like more wasted potential.

Final Thoughts

Fuck this animation is good now! Can we get a new writer?

Like, even for the shit I was annoyed by, the entire show just looks fabulous. It makes me really really wish that ANYONE other than Filoni could make content in this style. Let the writers of Jedi: Fallen Order and Survivor do a Merrin episode or a baby Cal episode. Or the people doing The Acolyte, let them do Tales of the High Republic! Let anyone other than Filoni have a chance to create within the world of Star Wars animated content.

[jay-wasstuff]

Anakin: *makes an appearance on the show*

Me:

[vivalaems]

I don't see enough rebels memes anymore 🥲

[yubsie]

Shoutout to Hera Syndulla for being a mother in Star Wars and managing to not die!

[ferydraws]

I am No Jedi

[marvelstars]

I can go anywhere I want just not home: Ahsoka and Anakin

So my favourite part of the chapter was the way the actual ages of Ahsoka and Anakin played a part in their interaction, Ahsoka tells Anakin that he looks the same and Anakin answered that she looks old, which is true, Ahsoka is close to aging beyond Anakin´s age of death at 46 and while Anakin "looks" like clone wars Anakin, he isn´t just Anakin, this is post ROTJ Anakin, someone who already lived 23 years in the light and 23 years in the darkness, he is Vader, he is Anakin, he isn´t young at all and he is living in a whole other level in the force compared to the one Ahsoka lives, because she is still alive.

In fact the first question Anakin ask Ahsoka is if she still remembers Baylan Skoll, because that means she is still alive, she can still come back, "That´s good" he says.

I love how adult Ahsoka automatically reverts to her teenager personality when she noticed Anakin, she smiles, her eyes bright up, she makes jokes and teases Anakin just like in the good old times, because she missed him so much, in many ways he is her home and if he wasn´t there anymore she could not return home, as simple as that, she could not act as if Vader was Anakin, he was a broken version of her master, consumed by darkness, she probably was happy to hear from Luke Anakin died in the light but he was dead and she didn´t get the chance to say goobye but THIS, this is her brother/father, he is back, he looks the same, she can lower her guard, smile and tease because he is here to take care of things like he used to do when she was a child.

She only gets serious when Anakin isn´t automatically teasing her as well, when he says he needs to teach her one more thing, when he gets serious, then Ahsoka remembers Anakin isn´t just Anakin anymore, she knows him but he´s grown into someone she doesn´t know anymore either.

So Anakin begins by teasing her back, putting her at ease and then, he sends her to the heart of what´s bothering her, the clone wars. In many ways, she is still that child fighting over and over again, she no longer has a particular reason to keep fighting and she is tired. It´s such a good contrarts how while adult Ahsoka is teasing with Anakin, child Ahsoka is grumpy, she complains, she questions, she asks, just like she did in the past, this child is adult Ahsoka allowing herself to be a child again, to not have all the anwers and to complain to Anakin to give her a reason to keep fighting and explain why does it matter anymore. She could not do this with Hera and Sabine because Hera is her friend but they are not that close and she is also her superior in the alliance and Sabine depends on her to make the decisions and guide her but Anakin? He is family, she can complain all day long knowing he will try at least to listen to her and try to guide her to the best of his hability and this isn´t teenager Anakin either, this is post Vader Anakin so she knows she can get snippy, angry, mad and hostile with him all she wants, she has all the right to be and he will take it.

Anakin doesn´t just listens anymore, he counsels but he also pushes her into talking about what she doesnt want to talk about

"Do you really want a padawan?" "Being a teacher isn´t all that"

Low key Anakin is giving her the freedom of not being a teacher if she doesn´t want to be, Ahsoka looks at him affronted but it´s true, she accepted Sabine because Hera wanted her to and Sabine wanted her to but she herself isn´t sure she wants a padawan, in fact she already abandoned Sabine once, what is keeping her from doing the same again? and part of the reason she doesn´t know the answer is that she wants to be able to give Sabine or any other padawan something more than war, death and the training to be a warrior as a legacy but she is convinced there isn´t anything else she can give, because emotionally she is still that little girl forced to fight in a war, mourning for each death, mourning for her master fall and she believes that´s all she is ever going to be in the future. She fears her master fate because she believes that is going to be her fate too.

So Anakin, Vaderkin, tries to explain she has to adapt to the times, his master teached him to be a guardian of peace because that´s what he was, Anakin teached her how to be a soldier because they were fighting in a war and she would have died if he didn´t teach her how to survive war but this doesn´t mean she can´t adapt to the times she and her padawan are living and this is precisely what Ahsoka is refusing to do, she is stil in mourning so she can´t enjoy her present.

Anakin tells her she is more and even if she believes she can´t because she has his teachings in her, she is more because he also is way more than Vader.

So when Ahsoka answers him "you are more but more dangerous and powerful than anybody thoguht" and if that´s what he is, then what hope is there for her if she has inside herself his legacy, his teachings?

Is this what this is about? I gave you a choice live or die

Here Anakin gets mad because she isn´t understanding, she has his legacy but she isn´t him, his fall, his redemption, his good and his bad side are his own, not hers and in time she will have to make her own decisions, adapt, grow and teach her padawan what she had learned, they are the legacy of previous masters but they are also MORE, they are also what each one of them adds to that legacy.

So Anakin brings his other half, Vader, to teach her and test her with the same lesson Anakin learned along with Luke, his Son, you are more, you make your own choices and you can choose again and again and that´s what defines you, only you can define yourself, not others. He pushes Ahsoka with Vader´s persona to defy her to live once again but he also pushes her by showing her , her deepest fear, her falling, her becoming a darksider and he gives her an ultimatum, kill him and die herself, not just physically but the light inside of her, or live and stay in the light.

Ahsoka chooses the light and lets her lightsabers fall, just like Luke did, her lightsabers are no longer her life, she is more than war, she is more than just a warrior fighting in an eternal war but more than that, she is still herself and it´s her choice if she wants to stay being herself or die and fall.

Anakin reverts back from Vader to himself again, proud of her, happy with her choice, he reverts to show her how if he, who was in darkness for so many years, buried and dead inside could still come back, then there´s so much hope for her to make her life anew by not letting her past or her lightsabers define her anymore and this is symbolized with her being taken away from the water towards safety.

In the end, he didn´t just wanted to teach her how to live physically again or how to leave behind her past, enjoy her present and enjoy life, he also wanted her to learn she must live by not falling to the darkness and even if she falls, there´s "Hope for her still" because there was also hope for him as well and now Ahsoka can remember him without mourning, without regret.

Just so many great interactions between them. Loved this chapter. Hope we see what other scenes Anakin is going to have because this story isn´t done yet.

PD: Post ROTJ dead Anakin is so relaxed, happy and vibing, love it, honestly, good for him.

[varpusvaras]

This isn't just the story of one bad show. Really, it's the story of the life and times of it's lead writer, David Christopher Filoni.

Filoni got spat out of a hole in the ground in Mt. Lebanon in 1974 with the straightforward mission of systematically destroying all of Star Wars' lore and the rest of the canon and characters, and no one's stopped him yet-

[cuddles-with-dragons]

where the fuck is my impulse control

Yeah, Avengers AU.

Don't care what you say, I tried to make it work.

Including edited quotes from Avengers and Age of Ultron

I replaced Hulk with the Zillo Beast.

---

Dave Filoni: Superheroes in New York? Give me a break.

Echo: We won.

Hunter: All right, yay! Hurray. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it.

Wrecker: We're not finished yet.

Hunter: And then shawarma after.

Echo: Is he breathing?

Tech, in lizard form: *roars in his face*

Hunter: What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me.

Hunter: Tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you. *a giant Chitauri is following him*

Omega: I don't see how that's a party.

Echo: Tech. Now might be a really good time for you to get angry.

Tech: That's my secret, Echo. I'm always angry.

Omega: Just like Budapest all over again.

Crosshair: You and I remember Budapest very differently.

Hunter, to Scorch: Maybe your army comes and maybe it’s too much for us, but it’s all on you. Because if we can’t protect the Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it.

Crosshair: Why am I back? How did you get him out?

Omega: Cognitive recalibration. I hit you really hard on the head.

Crosshair: Thanks.

Crosshair: Have you ever had someone take your brain and play? Pull you out and stuff something else in? Do you know what it's like to be unmade?

Omega: You know that I do.

Mace Windu: There was an idea, Hunter knows this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Cody died still believing in that idea. In heroes.

Echo: Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?

Hunter: Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.

Mace Windu: I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube. And I would like to know how Scorch used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.

Wrecker: Monkeys? I don't get it.

Echo: I do! I understood that reference!

Hunter: It’s good to meet you, Tech. Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled. And I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous Godzilla lizard.

Tech: Thanks.

Hunter: The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density. Something to kick-start the Cube.

Ahsoka: When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?

Hunter: Last night.

Hunter: Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails. *points to Anakin* That man is playing Galaga. He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did. *covers one of his eyes* How does Windu even see these?

Ahsoka: He turns.

Hunter: Sounds exhausting.

Wrecker: Don't talk like that. Scorch is beyond reason, but he's from Asgard. And he's my brother.

Omega: He killed 80 people in two days.

Wrecker: He’s adopted.

Echo: Is this a submarine?

Tech: Really? They want me in a submerged, pressurised, metal container? *walks to the side of the deck* No, no, this is much worse.

Cody: We need you to come in.

Omega: Are you kidding? I'm working.

Cody: This takes precedence.

Omega: I'm in the middle of an interrogation. This moron is giving me everything.

Bad guy: I don't... give everything.

Omega: Look, you can't pull me out of this right now.

Cody: Omega... Crosshair's been compromised.

Omega: Let me put you on hold.

Hunter: Shit!

Echo: Language!

*Some chatter and fighting later…*

Hunter: Wait a second. No one else is gonna deal with the fact that Echo just said “Language”?

Echo: I know. Just slipped out.

*Some more chatter and fighting later…*

Wrecker: Find the spear-thingy.

Hunter: And for gosh sake, watch your language!

Echo: That’s not going away any time soon.

Omega: Wrecker, report on the Zillo.

Wrecker: The gates of Hel are filled with the screams of his victims.*Omega gives him a look* But not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no, wounded screams. Mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and gout.

Echo: The two Enhanced?

Ahsoka: Leia and Luke Skywalker. Twins. Orphaned at 10 when a shell collapsed their apartment building. Sokovia's had a rough history. It's nowhere special, but it's on the way to everywhere special.

Echo: Their abilities?

Ahsoka: He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neuroelectric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation.

Echo: *confused*

Ahsoka: He's fast and she's weird.

Ahsoka: Lab's all set up, boss.

Hunter: *points to Echo* Actually, he's the boss. I just pay for everything and design everything and make everyone look cooler.

Tech: How's he doing?

Hunter: Unfortunately, he's still Crosshair.

Tech: That's terrible.

Hunter: Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?

Wrecker: Yes, of course.

Hunter: I will be reinstituting prima nocta. *tries to lift the hammer* I'll be right back.

Hunter: *Tries again with the Iron Man glove, nothing. Makes Rex take his glove too and they both try to lift it.*

Rex: Are you even pulling?

Hunter: Are you on my team?

Rex: Just represent. Pull.

Hunter: All right, let’s go.

*Echo tries next*

Hunter: Come on, Echo.

Echo: *makes it move a tiny bit*

Wrecker, nervously laughing: Nothing.

Echo: Sorry for barging in on you.

Hunter: Yeah, we would've called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed.

Luke, in a police station: We’re under attack! Clear the city! Now! *No one’s doing anything, comes back with a gun and fires in the air* Get off your asses.

Crosshair, to Leia: Hey, look at me. It’s your fault, it’s everyone’s fault. Who cares? Are you up for this? Are you? Look, I just need to know. Because the city is flying. Okay. Look, the city is flying, we’re fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense.

Luke: Keep up, old man! *takes Leia and runs off*

Crosshair: Nobody would know. Nobody. “The last I saw him, an Ultron was sitting on him. Yeah, he'll be missed, that quick little bastard. I miss him already.”

Crosshair: All right, we're all clear here.

Echo: We are not clear! We are very not clear!

Luke: This is S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Echo: This is what S.H.I.E.L.D. is supposed to be.

Luke: This isn't so bad.

Luke: *Shoves Crosshair and a kid behind cover and gets shot multiple times in the leg* You didn't see that coming?

[waywardsou2]

I just finished The Bad Batch. Season 3 Episode 15. The finale. Man that was a wild ride. And it was amazing, seeing Wreaker work though all of that pain he was in, seeing Hunter get yeeted by scrap metal, seeing Crosshair's FUCKING CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. All of them working so hard, Echo working with all the clones to fight for his brothers and sister. Emery deciding that she was going to try and do better and work with her brothers and sister. AAA.

WE SAW A SNIP IT OF TECH. Im sad we didn't get to see him for real but it was good enough, I knew as soon as Hemlock takes about project necromancer I suddenly knew where Tech was!

Older Omega and Hunter at the very end

CROSSHAIR AND HUNTER EXHAUSTED AND SO FUCKING SHAKY GOING AFTER AND FINALLY FUCKING SHOOTING HEMLOCK. THAT BITCH.

Seeing Wrecker break out of the confinement was some of the coolest shit I've ever seen. I was hocked watching the progression oml.

OMEGA BREAKING THE ZILO BEAST OUT. O H M Y F U C K I N G G O D S some badassery right there. I love her so much.

I'm so glad the kids got out too, I was so attached to them. holy heck I'm so glad they are ok.

DUDE THIS WAS MAD AND I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT

I cannot believe when it first came out I watched about 4 episodes and got bored. I come back to it a year or so later and BINGE THE WHOLE THING AND IM SO GLAD I DID.

I love The Bad Batch so much. I'm so happy for them that they got to have a family in the end, even if Echo was still out there and Tech wasn't with them. They got to be a family. I would do anything to be a part of that squad.

I would sell my organs just to get a hug from each of them. You have no idea. How much they mean to me.

I've never been that big on Star Wars, the premise was amazing to me but I just could get into it. BUT DAVE FILONI HAS RESTORED MY FAITH. His work has got to be my favourite out of the entire franchise.

I need to draw so much art of these guys soon and probably some one shots or head canons. I'll definitely be hoping for requests on my writing blog so if you wanna request something go for it.

Oh my god, this was a huge ramble but it needed to happen. I am so happy right now. The amount of stimming and how much I bit myself while watching that was insane and the dopamine is rushing through my veins right now.

[phoenixwwitch]

DAVE FILONI COUNT YOUR DAYS

[brrmian]

not even done with this week’s first episode & i’m already feeding into my delusions entirely convinced the assassin is tech. someone pls sedate me

[letoscrawls]

i love the fact that star wars rebels is trending, and not ahsoka, after the last episode