#I hope mando gets development this season he deserves it

[swedenis-h]

Din “it’s complicated” Djarin

[molliva]

After a few days I have to get out some negativity about TboBF so I can let it go.

For me the show was very lazy and half-hearted. Especially the writing. The story was sluggish and unfocused and the characterization undefined. Potential heartfelt moments and storylines were incredibly rushed and most of the action was boring. In the end the show just felt empty to me. Boba was never my fave, but he (and Fennec who was marketed as a co-lead and didn't get any development) didn't deserve to be treated so unimportant in his own story. Even in the final Mando and Grogu got the money shots. It was able to kill my faith in Ashoka and season 3 of the Mandalorian. Obi-Wan, you're my only hope (together with Andor). I guess I have go back to classify RoTJ as my definitive end to the saga. Everything that comes after is sometimes some fun what-if, but doesn't really add anything new.

Sorry for the little rant.  

[ariainstars]

Congratulations, We Fell for Another Love Bombing or Thank You, Disney, You Did It Again

Sigh. Luke Skywalker is back. And Din Djarin and his child had to say goodbye. I never thought I would curse and say “Oh no!” when Luke appeared in that fateful corridor. 

I wonder why the Disney studios are doing this - trying to "make up” for the oh-so criticized sequels, I suppose?

The Jedi have made their time. It was shown and proven over and over again that their attitude is wrong and needs to change, and Luke was the last of the old school Jedi. Again, a Force-sensitive child is all but kidnapped by a Jedi: he obviously did not like to go. Mando is no longer the hero of the story, he was stripped of his agency and all of his personal choices were questioned and valued for null and void. But the Dark Saber is in his hands now, so he’s the heir to the throne of Mandalore I guess. Like he ever wanted that.

This show, which grew to be so well-beloved in only a few episodes, now is not “The Mandalorian” any more. Its new title is “Luke’s Skywalker’s Comeback”. Hardcore fans may be out of their minds with joy, but for us, who admired Mando both as a badass hero and as a father figure and loved the dynamics between him and Grogu, the whole purpose of the show is destroyed. And here I naively had thought The Rise of Skywalker was bad enough to teach the studios not to repeat its mistakes.

~~~ more under the cut ~~~

Star Wars ought to be a fairy tale. It is and always was one. I can understand that the prequels had to end in a tragedy, we all knew that from the start, but why the sequels? And now, why must this generally acclaimed and beloved tv show again appease hardcore fans of old with Luke coming to save the day, cancelling in a matter of minutes what the story had built up within two entire seasons - the relationship of the two protagonists, heart and core of the narrative, as it had been with Rey and Ben Solo? And when both of them had their relationship just getting started - Rey and Ben kissing, Din calling Grogu by his name and the latter seeing him and touching his face? Why make Rey a queen without her king, and Din a father without a son? 

Again, a Force-user is denied having a home: „Jedi training” matters more. By Luke of all people, the guy who never was trained in the first place (only very briefly), who except for a few lessons with Obi-Wan and Yoda was self-taught in the Force, and never understood that his strength lay with his compassion and his connection with other people, not with his alleged „superpowers”.

Think back to how Anakin, Luke and Rey were before they met the Jedi: unaware of their powers, compassionate, idealistic, brave. The Jedi mindset tainted their characters and lives, making them believing that they are (or have to be) untouchable and invincible, compelling them to live for duty instead of love, condemning them to a lifetime of loneliness. Will the Jedi never learn?

Though I practically grew up with the classic movies, I loved The Last Jedi; I can accept that Luke failed, and also that Han and Leia did. Nobody is perfect, and the Jedi mindset as well as the universally accepted idea that „Jedi” is a synonym for infallible saint-like hero was wrong in the first place, else the Empire never would have risen. Making Luke not the cavalry who came to save the day - until the battle on Crait, that is - but a man who failed and picked himself up again was much more meaningful, and I know not a few fans who felt inspired by this. Luke had saved his father choosing love over power, not the contrary. Some fans just never get it. To appease them, why not simply give him a new storyline of his own, instead of making him intrude in other Star Wars related shows? Why stop the new stories in their tracks just to bring him back?

Instead of seeing Luke as the grand kickass hero in a tv show that never had anything to do with him until now, it would have been more to the purpose to finally shed light on the thirty years between his father’s and his nephew’s death, to explain us where the Jedi and the Skywalker-Organa-Solo family failed to make such an outcome possible - the granddaughter of Palpatine taking over with their own blessing. There must have been a huge build-up between the end of the original saga and the fateful night at the temple when Luke briefly panicked looking into his nephew’s mind. Many fans still are convinced that „Kylo Ren just chose to be bad” because we hardly know how the relationship between these two was in the first place. (A very easy plot twist would e.g. have been Snoke warning Ben that his uncle sooner or later would turn on him, frightened by his power. The fulfilment of that prophecy would have made the night at the temple much more impactful.) 

I understand that the studios want to tease us, to make us watch the other shows, too. But honestly, I’m getting tired of feeling duped. Tired of getting attached to new heroes to have their purpose smashed just so the Star Wars dudebro fans can sleep quietly at night because „some Jedi will take care of it”. First the characters from the sequels, now the ones from The Mandalorian. You get to love the new characters, you root for them to find happiness or at least some closure, and then, at the last moment, poof!, the hero of old comes back and the story development stops right there. 

It is not right and it never was for the Jedi to take Force-sensitive children away from home, to enforce „you have to become a Jedi, like it or not” on them, to teach them not to have attachments, to make them focus on the Light Side thereby bringing the Force out of its much-needed balance. While Ahsoka saw that Grogu has formed a strong attachment to Din Djarin, Luke obviously did not, or he did not care. The irony is that he always wanted a father, and knows the pain of losing a father you’ve just found.

The Mandalorian felt like a consolation after Episode IX, a blessing for the fans for whom heart and soul are more interesting than nostalgia and „Jedi superheroes”. Now it’s just another kick in the guts. It’s painful and embarrassing to get to love characters so much, to get invested in their story so deeply, and then to realize again that they seem to mean nothing in the shade of the heroes of old. Ben Solo died young and miserable and Din Djarin and Grogu can now, I suppose, be miserable too. Can someone please explain to me why after the classics, no Star Wars film or show had an uplifting ending any more? With the possible exception of Solo, which was a nice filler but not a really important storyline. (I do not count Episodes I and II, they officially had a happy ending but it was tainted by the knowledge of what was to come.) 

Fans are not blind. We saw the parallels between Darth Vader and Din Djarin as well as the differences - both being cool and tough but the latter not disdaining to be a caring father at the same time. The entire show lived from the dynamics between the gruff but kind bounty hunter and the innocent-looking powerful child, ever from the first episode. Two years of build-up for nothing, as it was with the four years of the sequels. Mando has to relinquish Grogu, Rey loses Ben. What was all that for? Both Mando and Rey are fighters, they have done nothing else their entire lives. What is to become of them now that they have nothing to fight for any more, nor anyone to live for? Except staying on a planet that is foreign to them and, for all they know, inhabitable or at least inhospitable? 

With Rey and Ben Solo, the situation was different: she had proven good intentions but bad attitude (arrogance, violence, judgement) over and over, unable to deny her heritage, and even impaled her „antagonist” once while he was only defending himself. He had been the head of a criminal organization for years, and had committed patricide. Of course there are nuances to these characters and I still believe that they would have deserved another chance; I understand however that would have been unfitting to let the sequels end giving them a happy ending.

But in the case of Din Djarin, a man of honor, who has made friends and brought peace wherever he went throughout the galaxy? Grogu, the last surviving padawan of the old Jedi temple, who saved both his and Greef Karga’s life despite the danger for himself? What did they do to deserve being ripped apart like that? 

So, all I can say: thank you, you did it again. And, once more, just before Christmas. I wish at least these depressing endings would be released at some other time. 

I would dearly want to see a galaxy that finally learned from its faults, where family and attachments and Balance and free choice are not contrary to being a Jedi. I am in my late forties and I’m beginning to give up hope that I will live to see it. By now I am wondering whether George Lucas himself will live to see it. 

I always loved Luke. He is one of my favorite heroes. But now he’s become an insensitive know-it-all who suffered from his own daddy issues to the point that he almost died crying out to his father for help, yet did not learn not to separate fathers from children and vice versa and, on the contrary, is doing it over and over again. He did not even tell Mando his name, or where he could reach him. We don’t have a clue as to if, when and how the Clan of Two will meet again. 

I get it that since this show is set five years Return of the Jedi, it would have been difficult to ignore Luke’s existence altogether. And of course, we can rest assured that Luke will do his best for Grogu. But still: he has made his time. I wanted to see the new heroes going their own way, not hanging on the sleeves of the former generation. Mando is a man of honor, he had promised to bring Grogu to his own kind and he relinquished him despite his own wishes. (Not to mention that technically, since he identifies as a Mandalorian, by being a Jedi Luke is his enemy.) Why did Luke have to take the child away? His greatest strength always was that he was first and foremost himself and only in the second place a Jedi. What became of his trademark compassion? 

Before The Mandalorian, we have never seen a healthy and working father-son relationship in the saga. It was incredibly refreshing and heart-warming to see these two traveling through the galaxy and living through adventures together; also, contrarily to Yoda, Grogu saw a lot of the bad things happening in the galaxy with his own eyes, which certainly was good for his character development.

But in the end, both he and his „father” did not go anywhere. Like Rey in Episode IX, they found a) power and b) a surrogate place, but neither got what was actually his heart’s wish - a home. I can’t understand why. Deliberate cruelty? We never knew whether Han and Leia and Ben felt how painful it was to break up their little family for the sake of „Jedi training”. You bet Din and Grogu did feel that pain and loss.

Both as a person with a heart and a brain and an almost lifelong Star Wars fan I am sickened by the readiness of the studios to end all that this well-made show had built up, for the appeasement of Jedi worshippers who just don’t want to see that the Jedi mindset needs urgently to change. It can’t be that difficult to renew them for the better; there is no necessity to erase the Jedi completely and there is nothing bad with making them grow wiser and stronger by finally understanding and accepting the importance of attachments and family ties. Yes, I realize that being a father also means learning how to let go; but here we are speaking of a literal child, not of a young adult who chose his own way in life.

I thought that George Lucas knew why he sold his franchise to the Disney studios, given their tradition in telling stories about family and friendship. This development is not a triumph, it is unworthy both of the studios and of the entire Star Wars saga. I’m tired of producers bowing down before fans who see every shred of the saga through „Jedi are always right”-tinted glasses respectively who value coolness over compassion even though it always was the saga’s central message. 

Whatever happens in Season 3, countless fans will only be watching it asking, „Where’s Luke?” If Grogu should choose to join Mando again, everybody will be like, „But how can he want to leave Luke Skywalker of all people?” Some already see Grogu die prematurely, killed by the oh-so-bad guy Kylo Ren, for no other reason than to just to further prove how evil he is. In which case both Ben Solo and Grogu will have lived and died for nothing except for leaving a lot of heartbreak behind. 

There must be another and better way to honor the legacy of both Luke Skywalker and the original trilogy than to think up new heroes and then destroy their purpose for the sake of old times’ glory. Lucas himself had said that Star Wars is basically for twelve-year-olds. It seems not: it’s for the fans who were twelve years old forty years ago, when the first movies hit theatres. 

There are enough voices crying out for the sequels to be erased from canon. Who knows? This may be the next step into the past instead of the future. The sequels were hinting at a better future (Balance), Grogu was, too (family). But the grand past is so reassuring. The sequels tried to tell the audience to grow up and learn to do without their heroes, to see that even they were flawed and that the new heroes could grow beyond them. Fie on them, said the hardcore fans. Now it’s the turn of the younger generation, who got to know and love the saga with the sequels or The Mandalorian, to be like „WTF”. 

Rogue One also had been a huge disappointment to me. Not that I found it badly made, but I went into a depressive mood for three days for the same reason: I did not like that I had grown so attached to all of these characters only to see all of them die. The infamous Darth Vader scenes and the design with the huge hints at the classic movies were no consolation. Nostalgia does not make me happy. Heart does. Rogue One, the sequels and The Mandalorian were all, in the end, deprived of all human feeling except loss and regret and many, many thoughts about what might have been. 

The Mandalorian was an excellent story on its own. It did not need Luke Skywalker. It is and ought to be Din Djarin’s story, who lost or gave up everything because he was afraid to lose the child: and now he did. It’s not comforting that he lost him to the alleged Good Guy. Luke of course won’t turn a hair on Grogu’s head, but he can’t offer him a home, we already know that. Ahsoka saw the attachment between the two and she knows the dangers of it; Luke does not know what drove his father to his terrible fate. If the sequels remain canon, then we already know that Luke will not allow his pupils having and keeping healthy attachments. And that does not promise well for the child’s future.

Unless the studios commit the madness of officially erasing the sequels and starting the saga anew, we can only hope that the child will not stay with Luke for long since it’s a good five years before he will start his own Jedi temple. Maybe he will die of a broken heart, poor little guy. And Din Djarin might become the new ruler of Mandalore, though sad and alone. But who cares: Luke is back. Please: I did not subscribe to Disney+ wanting to see Schwarzenegger movies. The lonesome hero can ride into the sunset for all I care, out of sight and of mind. Star Wars’ greatest strength always was its heart. 

My own take was that Grogu is meant to be a healer, and since Luke is not, there is no way he can teach him this particular skill in the Force. Anakin was a pilot and a mechanic, Luke and Ben also were pilots. None of them were Jedi by choice. Grogu is older than Luke and he was already trained at the old Jedi temple: he’s more likely to be a teacher to Luke than the other way around. Grogu as the first Force-user who values attachment and family over power and Jedi training, that would indeed have been a new hope. This backpedaling is shallow and useless. Even if Luke sends Grogu back to Din Djarin, this won’t teach him not to take a child away from its home, since only a few years later he will do the same thing to his nephew. (Although it would admittedly be an interesting plot point to see a small Ben Solo interacting with Grogu for a while.) 

Please give us back The Mandalorian the way it was, with its characters and dynamics. The themes and messages of The Last Jedi already were almost all aborted in The Rise of Skywalker; we didn’t sign up on Disney+ to see the exact same thing happen with The Mandalorian. I for my part am fed up with this kind of love bombing followed by a quick and coldblooded let-down. Star Wars may be a cult, but it need not be the kind of cult where you get hooked and then unwittingly follow a carrot hanging before your eyes. I thought the exaggerated Jedi cult was mostly made by the fans: the studios did not need to jump on this ship. This is not the Way. 

Now everything I feared is flaring up again - fans jubilating because “the Jedi are taking matters in hand” instead of accepting the failure of the Jedi mindset at last; and even insisting that since things are going so well, all Disney needs to do is to cancel the sequels from canon and everybody can be happy again. 

Please, please, give this tormented galaxy a chance to heal at last. We don’t need Luke Skywalker to save the day by killing all the bad guys. We don’t need the oh-so-powerful and perfect Jedi. We need faith in the Force. We need a home. Don’t take it away from us again. Thank you.

 P.S. If we see Luke again in Season 3, at least give the role to a live actor. That digital “rejuvenation” made him look wooden. Luke’s best trait, apart from his compassion, always was his smile.

P.P.S. What’s with Boba Fett claiming Jabba’s throne? I thought Jabba had a son. What in the galaxy happened to him?

P.P.P.S. I don’t mind kickass women, but honestly, I’m getting somehow tired of them. What became of the ladies of Star Wars, the diplomats, the good queens, the loving mothers, the accurate librarians, who contribute to the galaxy without killing (or hurting) anyone? I’m feeling kind of underrepresented here...

[intrepidmare]

Kadala

Summary: Mando returns to the Razor Crest after finishing a job and gets the help of the little guy.

This is my first fic for anything Star Wars related and my knowledge of canon is frankly pitiful, but I loved The Mandalorian (I'm obsessed, really) and I couldn't help my muse to get inspired.

I hope you like the story.

PS: I have to thank the wonderful @icannotbelieveiamhere for her great beta skills.

General / Post season 1 / one-shot / 1197 words

Also available on Ao3 (Versión en español)

As he enters the cockpit, Mando slumps down with exhaustion on the pilot's chair, keenly aware of the bruises on his body. He closes his eyes, giving himself time to summon the energy to move. He just needs to catch his breath.

Even stretching out his hand and ignite the engines to take off seems a Herculean task. He knows, however, that once the Razor Crest is lost in the vastness of space, he could take a long, well-deserved nap.

The job he'd taken two days ago when he arrived at this forsaken planet didn't go as smoothly as he would've liked. He got a handsome reward for it, however. The revenue will allow him to focus on his primary mission of finding the child's people, instead of constantly worrying about how to provide whatever they need during the journey.

The wisest course of action is not to attract too much attention to them. Mando hopes that there will be no more hunters out for the baby, but you never know. He has seen too much in life to know that enemies can make an appearance at any time, anywhere.

By creed, he has the duty to protect the foundling until he's reunited with his people.

"You are its father… You are now a clan of two."

The armorer's words echo in his head. Mando doesn't dare to dwell too much on how that makes him feel, yet he won't elude his responsibility.

There's nothing, no rustling or sound, that gives away his approach but Mando is suddenly aware of the tiny figure standing at the doorway. A wave of undeniable worry, that's not his, slaps him in full force before an unhappy coo breaks the silence.

"I'm okay, kid," Mando says gruffly behind his helmet, without opening his eyes. "Go back to sleep."

Vaguely, he marvels how yet again the kid has escaped from the bunk compartment in which he usually locks him up. It shouldn't be much of a surprise since Mando has witnessed the power the child wields with his tiny hands. Nothing is childproof for this kid.

A few seconds later, Mando feels the said tiny hands clawing at his right boot. Opening his eyes and looking down, he watches the baby trying to climb up his leg to his lap. The kid looks up, his ears twitching slightly and his big, dark eyes gazing intently at him. This is not the first time Mando feels as if the kid's gaze can penetrate the cover of his helmet.

The instinct to remain faceless, to hold up to the Mandalorian creed, manifests itself to a lesser degree than normal. Mando doesn't know why. Maybe it's because he's still reeling about the fact IG-11 took his helmet off a few days ago to save him. Mando was ready to die and, yet, as terrified as he was to break the code and to trust in the newly-programmed nanny, Mando let the droid to take it off. Never in his life, would he have believed that he would trust somewhat in a droid.

Perhaps, it's because of the bond he shares with the baby. He will deny it to anyone else, but he can't lie to himself. The charm cast by the kid is powerful and irresistible. Mando fell into its spell.

To the Mandalorians, children are precious and every adult has the duty to protect them. So, it shouldn't be unexpected that Mando has developed a protective instinct for the child. It started as nothing but the need to do the right thing back when he rescued the baby from the hands of the client. As time passed, however, the instinct evolved and grew to something more, something that Mando can't define yet.

Mando leans forward, hissing a curse as his ribs protest. Judging by how acute pain is, it leads Mando to think that he might've bruised a couple of them in the fight he had earlier. Ignoring the discomfort, he picks the baby up. The kid makes noises, a mix of happiness and apprehension, as he sits on Mando's lap and grips the Beskar breastplate tightly.

"I'm okay," he repeats. "I've had worse."

His reassurance has little effect. The baby whines softly and places his right hand open over Mando's left side of his torso. His intentions become clear to Mando when the kid squints his eyes in concentration.

Mando takes the baby's hand gently off the breastplate. "No need to do that. I'll heal on my own," the words come out soft-spoken even through the modulator in the helmet. Mando knows that using those powers take a toll on the baby. There's no need for the little one to drain himself when Mando will be good as new after a good night's rest.

As the stubborn little womp rat that he is, the kid stands on Mando's thighs and put his hand back on the breastplate and gazes up at him. His eyes plead earnestly.

They look at each other, neither wanting to yield. Then, throwing a low blow, the kid flattens his ears and whines unhappily. The sound wrings a string in Mando's heart. Damn it! He should have more willpower than this. He should be firm with the kid and say no.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Mando yields, "Fine. You can do your magic hand thing."

The echo of Greef Karga's words makes him smirk under the helmet. The kid, however, finds them confusing. He tilts his head, the creases in his forehead become more pronounced.

"Go on then, heal me so we can get off this planet."

With permission granted, the kid concentrates, all his body taut by the effort. Mando had seen it, but never experienced in the flesh. It's amazing how the second the child starts using his powers, Mando feels an immense relief. Suddenly, he takes deep breaths, expanding his lungs to their fullest capacity, which he hadn't noticed he had been avoiding to do. All the pain is gone.

Maybe his injury was graver than he thought and that's why the child had insisted so badly to heal him. Somehow, the little one knew.

For a moment, the child stands trembling because of the effort he's making. Suddenly, he flops down as his knees buckle, completely drained. Thanks to his quick reflexes, Mando catches the baby before he falls backward. Mando supports his back with one hand while, with the other, he caresses one of the kid's fluffy ears.

"Thank you," Mando says, in a voice laden with gratitude and astonishment.

The kid smiles and babbles softly at him before his eyes flutter closed for a moment. Mando takes him in his arms and cradles him against his shoulder.

"Let's get out of here, so we both can go to our beds. I think we've earned it."

A soft, satisfied sigh is what he gets as a response. With his free hand, Mando activates the controls and ignites the engines. By the time the Razor Crest is out of the planet's atmosphere, the baby is sound asleep.

"Good night, ad'ika. May you have sweet dreams. You have nothing to worry about. I'll protect you.

* *

I probably will write more about these 2, so if anyone wants to be tagged in future works, please let me know.

[galaxyofsomething]

And yea now I’m gonna talk about BoBF bc I’m ready to face the music.

It wasn’t a good show.

It wasn’t well written, it wasn’t well executed, it had its good parts but I realize at its core it wasn’t made with the same kind of passion Obi-Wan or even Mando was. Because all the show was ever seen as was a stepping stone in the greater Mando story. And this is a problem I see the MCU running up against more and more as they try to pull in more and more stuff, actual character interaction and growth falls to the wayside in favor of “oh let’s see what happens to get to this epic plot event”

Like yes. We got Boba character development. For the first three episodes. And that’s it. And there’s something to be said to see how freshly developed characters bounce off their peers but post-Tusken Boba and post-takeover Boba were so different and we ever see any of that transition because Din took up all the screen time with his DILF energy. And I loved the Mando episodes but it feels like. Idk it feels like how I’ve been hearing Multiverse of Madness described. It feels like Boba didn’t matter in his own show, and that he was more of a placeholder. A passing conversation. And that makes me sad because if Disney ever let him have a full character arc, whether that be the CW era arc or BoBF arc, I bet a lot more people would have received the show a lot better.

Circling back to the show feeling like it was made by people in my earlier post- BoBF feels halfway there. Robert Rodriguez’s directing was fine. It worked before, and we saw it work before in the Tragedy. That was my favorite episode of Mando season 2. And what’s funny is that both The Tragedy and BoBF were directed largely by Robert Rodriguez and written by Favreau. And yet you clearly can see where both Disney, Favreau, and the exec’s priorities lie in building Mando up as much as possible with little regard for who gets tossed aside.

And I understand Boba’s been a side character in the past, but he’s become so much more and deserves that status. And being give. A show with Fennec Shand at his side ought to bring with it the care, respect, and intentionality that we saw with how Kenobi handled its core character arcs. And yet we see it gloss over that Boba’s a complex man. Gloss over that Fennec is a complex woman. Gloss over the whole freaking town. All to speed run towards CH Luke whose actual actor straight up looks like young Mark Hamill you dumbasses Disney just recast him already you won’t get anywhere if you refuse to let go of the past. Sigh.

I guess I just hope that, if the rumors are true about a Reva spinoff that she’ll get the same good treatment the Kenobi show gave her.

[acatalystrising]

YES. TO. ALL. OF. THIS!

Boba and Fennec deserve more screen time - and it is only fair that they get it in Mando season three. It’s obvious that Boba’s character development is leading toward leadership - whether that is simply as Daimyo or something greater, his arc is far from over. I don’t think it’s accidental that Boba and Fennec both are allies of Din, or that their shows crossed over (although I have opinions on how it should have been done), and I truly hope that all of this is intentional and that the grand scene encompasses all of these amazing points that would make for an excellent story.

I personally really, really hope Windu is alive. Boba would not only be given a chance to make peace with his past, but I think them being forced to work together or something along that line would be brilliant. And do I want to see Boba riding a mythosaur? Hell. Yes. He loves animals, he literally rides a rancor - let him have that moment. Let his legacy grow and transform as he himself has been reborn.

I simply can’t believe that Din’s journey as Mand’alor doesn’t involve Boba. (Good grief, we could pull a Legends and have Boba end up as Mand’alor!) There’s too many connections, too many opportunities, and too much symbolism for it not to be the case. And I sure hope the writers acknowledge this!

I'm ready to see my boy Temuera Morrison take over at MINIMUM one of these episodes. Ideally two, since that's how many he lost out of his own show, but I'll settle for one that just has absolutely fuck all to do with Din or his story at all and just follows Boba and Fennec as they go on some kind of random bounty hunter mission out in the galaxy. At the end of the episode, like... Koska Reeves or Greef Karga shows up to ask for their help or something I don't know.

And then the second episode is Boba and Fennec just going off without Din on Mandalore to go fight a battle for him or something so that they can claim it's still about Din's story, but he just isn't in the episode aside from like 20 seconds in one scene at the beginning.

Temuera Morrison and Ming-na Wen have EARNED that right.

And I deserve it.

[in-retrospeck]

Messy Thoughts on Zero Hour

spoilers and a long post, you’ve been warned 

Part I

love that opening shot of the twin moons. a pretty obvious callback to the previous episode, which is nice 

a heavy rendition of thrawn’s theme, which prepares us for what’s to come 

of all the brilliant plans, who ever thought of hijacking a mouse droid?? well done kallus, you’re a true spy 

wow thrawn must truly love grandeur if he’s putting in so much effort into “hiding” from a rebel spy he knows is listening 

did he tell konstantine about kallus?? konstantine sounds so confused, and why would thrawn withhold that information from him? he knows he’s not the spy... maybe thrawn just likes toying with konstantine 

that look of shock and concern on kallus’s face... he’s come so far and he’s a true rebel now 

oh my goodness things seemed so peaceful on atollon but that changed so quickly

i love that spacedad-spaceson talk oh my goodness 

it’s been so long since they had a conversation like that, i missed it so much

look at all those ships soon to be gunned down 

kriff someone should tell general dodonnna never to speak wishful thinking aloud 

wow thrawn is a true drama queen, second only to darth vader 

OUCH okay those were quite a few solid blows 

what the... what did thrawn do to kallus in that small skip? when did his hair get all mussed up? and the bruise around his eye?? the cut on his lip?? that couldn’t have all been from that fight thrawn what did you do to my son 

what the kriff thrawn had a slideshow prepared and everything 

maybe kallus tried looking for the base himself too, that’s why he thinks there’s no base 

ohhh kriffff the pain on kallus’s face when he realised he was the one who revealed the rebels’ location and that it was ultimately his fault 

thrawn kept true to his word... he did use fulcrum against the rebellion 

there’s the promo clip 

WHAT HAPPENED TO RYDER 

so i guess they’re delaying the attack on lothal 

ohh the gravity wells from stealth strike 

i don’t know much about thrawn’s history, but what makes him want the rebels to feel defeat so much? 

hera is a true military tactician, did anyone else see how quickly she figured a way to turn the tables?? 

did kanan not tell hera about the bendu?? wow so much for the trust of a spacemarried couple 

love that rex-zeb dynamic! two veteran leaders just bantering... 

thrawn knows wayyyy too much about his enemies 

you can feel the immediate tension between konstantine and thrawn wow 

thrawn sounds so lofty here, as if he can’t be bothered to deal with ambitious underlings like konstantine 

kriff they’re taking heavy fire everywhere 

i love the way they animated bendu’s eyes in this scene. they only reflect one speck of white light each, and beyond his dialogue, tone and gestures, you can tell he’s mad 

same kanan, i’m just as done 

fpj, bless you and your voice acting skills. your performance is amazing here. they beautifully convey kanan’s frustration towards the bendu 

man you can tell kanan’s striking a nerve 

oh kriff the screams of the unnamed pilot who blew up... that’s a somber reminder that real people are dying 

sato no sato no sato n o n o n o 

kriff he’s gonna do it 

i’m crying over those two unnamed brave souls who decided to stay with sato 

i can’t watch this 

good job konstantine you’re falling for sato’s trick 

but beyond that konstantine showed his fatal weakness here: his desire for glory 

it’s been hinted at since the beginning of season 3, when thrawn came into command 

you can tell he’s grown tired of thrawn being in charge and want to snatch the glory for himself 

wow twenty episodes later and konstantine’s still salty that thrawn’s a grand admiral 

rip sato, his two loyal staff, and konstantine, thank you for your service 

don’t worry sato i’m sure filoni will make your nephew mart step up 

kallus’s shock oh my goodness 

was he shocked at the violence or that sato sacrificed so much? he shouldn’t be so shocked tbh, he’s the one who risked everything as fulcrum 

“petty battles” that’s nice bendu 

weather-conjuring powers? 

glowing eyes?? 

vanishing??? 

bendu what even are you how powerful can you get 

YES BEAN’S COMING BACK 

kriff that was an emotional rollercoaster if anything 

Part II

“sabine’s baby” did i ever mention how much i love her 

hera’s so worried about kanan aaaaaa

go faster kanan please 

i love how they used the shield generator from ghosts of geonosis. it helped so much 

thrawn’s theme as he fires upon the base is intimidating and absolutely terrifying 

he’s making kallus watch as he destroys everything he’s tried to build up 

the look of relief on hera’s face when she hears kanan again 

“i have the feeling thrawn’s actually trying to kill us this time” you got that right, kanan 

first time i’ve heard hera’s nervous laughter and i empathise 

can’t leave the mask of course 

WE’RE GONNA SEE SABINE 

HEY LOOK THE LAKE IS MELTING LIKE I PREDICTED 

wow i didn’t think i’d be so glad to see all the mandos again 

now that he’s a rebel kallus now deserves the honour of snark and laughingly taunting his colleagues 

the civil war’s happeningggg just not in this season 

ezra’s so done with people not being willing or able to help 

did... sabine paint one of tristan’s shoulder guards? 

DID SABINE PAINT ONE OF TRISTAN’S SHOULDER GUARDS??? 

OH YES SHE DID 

IT’S A CAT 

i guess she couldn’t go so long without painting something 

nice shot zeb 

dang it thrawn always surpasses my expectations he’s so kriffing smart 

what the... it can be entered?? that is one huge design flaw 

HI WEDGE 

also never underestimate the space dad 

woah okay thrawn’s ground assault plan was so successful

it only began to fail when a cosmic entity fought him 

for someone who appreciates art, thrawn could afford to begin the jedi mythology 

woahhh bendu pulling all the stops i see 

he also needs to chill 

wait so do they have random space suits laying around now? 

well i think those thrusters are the closest thing you’re gonna get to a jetpack, ezra 

better listen to the bendu, everyone 

ap-5′s frantic walk though, i don’t think his model was built to run 

hoho bendu’s mad 

what a nice love tap 

oops you made hera mad too 

kanan you know she’s the one person you shouldn’t anger look what happened to josh gad 

thrawn just get away from atollon 

wait firing on the bendu worked?? he could’ve just deflected the blasters with lighting or something 

well done ezra and sabine!! i missed seeing them work together and blow stuff up 

be careful of what emotion can make you do, pryce 

oh too late 

throw him out of the airlock? couldn’t you just shoot him? 

that smirk hehe 

smirk no. 2 hoho get rekt stormtroopers 

ezra you make your mom proud 

HAH good job kallus now just don’t die 

escape pod, good okay he’s almost there 

come on come on come on rescue himmm

zeb save your friend HURRY UP 

don’t die kallus don’t die don’t die d o n t d i e 

ALMOST THERE 

SHE GOT HIM 

HE’S GONNA BE OKAY 

KALLUS LIVES 

I’M ACTUALLY CRYING AND SCREAMING SO HARD 

I WAS SO SCARED HE WAS GOING TO DIE 

AND NOW HE’S JOINED THE REBELLION PROPERLY 

I’M SO HAPPY 

oh boy pryce helplessly watching the rebel ships sail past her 

she knows it’s not gonna turn out well for her 

i hope we see more of her development 

aahhh the ‘seeing’ aspect brought in again 

did i... detect fear in thrawn’s voice? 

okay good luck thrawn that’s definitely foreshadowing 

did bendu straight up vanish? like just... poof? 

okay between thrawn and bendu i don’t know who’s creepier 

that silent pat of acknowledgement kanan gave zeb... you can tell he’s glad that he’s alive too 

YES GET INVOLVED IN THE CIVIL WAR 

please

the hesitation on kallus’s face breaks my heart. he doesn’t know if he’s going to be accepted in the rebellion 

at least he knows he has kanan’s acceptance, alongside zeb’s 

that genuine smile ohh my son 

that contemplative shot of the silent rebels just tells you that they’re feeling the heavy losses, and it’s not easy 

ezra sure does love that spot 

love that final conversation between father and son 

there’s still hope for the future of the rebellion 

now that was an amazing episode, i can’t wait for season 4