#With a protagonist that cares about the clones as much as Din cares about the droids

[mercurysowntwenty-two]

Loved this week’s episode of the Mandalorian where Our Hero goes down to the docks and starts beating up the workers until one eventually lashes out, so Our Hero can declare “that’s the one with the Criminal Mental Defect” and is finally allowed to gun them down in the street.

[sirikenobi12]

The Bad Batch Review - A Masterpiece of Banality

So, after sixteen episodes we have finally come to the end of season 1 of The Bad Batch the follow up to arguably one of the most ambitious and accomplished projects in Lucasfilm Animation history. A show set in arguably one of the most interesting/dramatic and traumatic times in the Galaxy far, far away. There was nothing but potential for this show, and it looked like Filoni and team would easily have another hit on their hands. But with problematic whitewashing of the clones, tropey Toxic Masculine main characters and recycled Mandalorian story-lines not even a cameo from Rex could save it from the creative team’s baffling decision-making. 

That being said, I have been trying to come up with the words to best describe how I felt about the show and I have landed on these three words: 

1. Frustrating

2. Baffling

3. Lazy

*TBB spoilers below the cut*

Now, don’t get me wrong - I wouldn’t go so far as to say that TBB is ���Bad”, but I wouldn’t say that it was “good” either. It just...was. In what should’ve been a show about Clones finding a life outside of the Republic, Jedi and war we instead were given protagonists who didn’t care about any of it - because of...reasons? They don’t care what’s happening to the galaxy, nor to their brothers (because they look down on the *sigh* Regs). All they care about is their own skin so we spend majority of the season with them on fetch-quests that have no real world building or even character development. 

This is FRUSTRATING because imagine seeing this entire storyline through the eyes of the clones we just spent 7 seasons caring about. Imagine a group of clones who had their chips malfunction and are now faced with the idea that they were all programmed like droids - they killed their Jedi Generals and the Republic is now GONE. Why didn’t we get that show??!!!  Also imagine the Crosshair and Hunter conflict (I mean, I guess it was a conflict) and let’s make it Rex and Cody - how much better and heartbreaking would that storyline have been if it happened between two characters we already know and love? Could you imagine Cody telling Rex that he took out the chip on his own and this is his own thoughts/actions? 

Instead we were supposed to care about a relationship between two characters that we never really even saw interacting as friends. Even in the original TBB arc Crosshair didn’t really seem interested in much of anything - he was apathetic at best. Couldn’t we have at least been given flashbacks or something to make us give a damn? 

Now also think about the destruction of Kamino from a “regular” clone’s POV - this was a home to him, a place he defended against the Separtists, maybe he lost brothers when Ventress and Greivous attacked the cloning facility. Maybe he’s thinking about all the babies that were still in the incubation tubes when the Empire destroyed the city? - But no, instead we got TBB who never seemed to really care that they were a part of the GAR, in fact they prided themselves on not being like the “Regs”...why were we supposed to care about them? It’s just baffling why they went with these “Superior” clones we barely know.

The show was also so very lazy - they recycled the format of the Mandalorian but only they didn’t do it was well. The cameos in the Mandalorian have a purpose in the story, the cameos in TBB did not. Din has a very clear cut motivation in the show whereas I still don’t really know what TBB wants. We as an audience are just expected to care for...reasons? 

Despite all of this there were some good pieces to the show - things that did keep me coming back (besides it being the only new SW content out right now). I did really love Omega - though I am extra disappointed now in her white washing because I thought she was going to be a Palpatine clone, but somehow she is a identical genetic match to Jango...wow, that’s um...wow.  I do like the glimpses we have seen into the rise of the Empire, but I just hate that we don’t get to see more of it because the show is too focused on TBB collecting things for Cid (for...reasons). There just don’t seem to be ANY stakes at all for them.  Getting to see some of the “Reg” clones like Rex and Gregor bodes well to a Wolfe cameo in an upcoming season which will be fun - and who knows, maybe we’ll get to see Cody at some point.  I guess my point overall is the show is mediocre, and it certainly is not Star Wars (or even Filoni) at their best. I will probably check out season 2 when it airs in hopes things get better (much like season 2 of TCW was better than season 1), but I just feel like this one could’ve been amazing and the decisions they went with remain baffling, lazy and frustrating. 

But, if you were hoping that this would be a sequel on par with the storytelling of The Clone Wars I’d recommend watching Rebels instead. You can skip this one, you really won’t be missing much. 

[sepublic]

Durge in the Disney+ Shows

            Since Durge is back in canon, I honestly think he should return in The Mandalorian or The Book of Boba Fett, maybe both if we’re lucky! He’s just an incredibly cool character with a lot of potential for a brutal, terrifying viscerality; An overwhelming physical opponent, and unstoppable juggernaut out for Mandalorian blood.

         This would of course make him a suitable, consistent threat for a season, either against Din Djarin or Boba Fett; Both are Mandalorian. I can see Din fighting Durge, since Durge’s vendetta is against Mandalorian culture as a whole, so if there’s this monstrous Bounty Hunter going after hidden coverts that Din is trying to unite, that’s definitely his business. Plus, he’s got the Darksaber; It’d really help him out against such a behemoth, and we could get callbacks to Obi-Wan and Durge’s non-canon battle. Din thrusts the Darksaber into Durge, is shocked to see him laugh it off with the most menacing, demonic cackle; And then BAM, he gets decked in the face and has to adapt.

         Conversely, I can also see Durge going against Boba Fett; In Legends, he aided the Separatists solely to kill Clones, because they’re all clones of Jango Fett, a Mandalorian. That makes things extra-personal for Boba, and opens the opportunity for him to explore his own feelings about his past and as a clone; If they’re already resolved, we could still have him reflect about it, and/or see a flashback showing his thought process. Maybe Boba even has to help clone veterans that Durge is hunting down; Obviously, the directors would need for ‘Boba’ to wear his helmet as much as possible, being depicted by a stunt double like Din Djarin. Temuera Morrison physically portrays the clone and voices him, and dubs ‘Boba Fett’ post-production.

         Plus, not to plug my own ideas (yet I will) but; Imagine Boba meeting a clone trooper who looked at Boba and decided, why can’t I call myself a Fett too? So there’s that dynamic of this clone Fett who’s older yet younger than him, and how Boba defines his status as Jango’s son, if he has any more of a right to that title than this trooper, etc. We’d see Temuera play a THIRD Fett, interacting with Boba; That’d be a fun acting exercise. And obviously, this other Fett has to get involved when Durge appears, further discussing that clone dynamic.

         But while storyline reasons are accounted for, logistics are another issue. Durge’s tentacle body would be incredibly difficult to animate, which is why it’ll be used sparingly; He’s going to be in his armor for most of the season, it’s how he usually operates anyway. Like Jaws, real-life limits ultimately make the few glimpses of Durge’s true form so much more effective and impactful. Durge has an entire arsenal of conventional weaponry, and we can see him square off against Boba/Din; But every now and then he can do a Nemesis from Resident Evil, as a slot in Durge’s wrist opens up to unveil a writhing tentacle.

         Said tentacle can be used as a melee weapon, to stab or grapple his enemies with; A dark mirror to Mandalorian cables. Durge could act as an Anti-Mandalorian, fully-armored, maybe even with a full beskar set; That’d be quite the story to explore in comics or other material, or maybe it’s a deliberate plot point that Durge has someone forging beskar for him, and that’s a weakness to take care of. Maybe Durge has access to whistling birds, even, and a lot of his resources come from Mandalorian victims he’s looted for trophies. 

        He’d have a jetpack like in legends, the miniature ray-shields, twin pistols; All stuff from Durge’s debut, that also matches the Mandalorians. For a guy who hates them, he sure does fight like a Mandalorian, but I guess it’s a fight Fire with Fire situation to Durge. And as a dark mirror to Din or Boba, Durge is probably a character of very few words, if... Any, having him be a silent badass echoes our protagonists, and for Boba it’s like he’s fighting a version of himself from the past. I know in canon he’s talked, but Star Wars has always been inconsistent over how much Boba talks (he’s much more talkative in anything besides his movie appearances), and Durge would be a thematic parallel and foil to him, a true rival. Durge’s vendetta with Boba could also extend to having personally fought Jango, and not just his other clones.

         Throughout the season, we could also see Durge’s armor get a bit more damaged, as gashes form; So again using Nemesis as an example, Durge starts walking around with more of his tentacles exposed. But it’s eventually saved for the big finale, where a huge portion of the SFX budget is poured into Durge’s true form; His armor is shattered save for the helmet, and out comes a walking, writhing, pile of worms intertwined with one another. Durge is unleashed and takes up a huge amount of space, gets claustrophobic and can extend his limbs; Imagine a horrible moment where he absorbs a hapless Mandalorian or some other mook into his body, his torso writhes, and then Durge’s body spits out just their armor. His tentacled form is embedded with the ruined shrapnel of his armor, which he swings around to add an edge to his attacks.

         Durge is of course blown apart; But there’s probably a very brief end-credits scene that shows the liquid remains moving on their own, indicating Durge is still alive. This could be a setup for a future appearance in another season, in someone else’s show; Or just as a backup in general if people want to do stuff with Durge in the comics, set after his battle. Admittedly it sounds a lot like we’re kind of plagiarizing Genndy’s Clone Wars series, but it’s Legends and thus technically Disney’s; So in a way it’s re-canonizing some awesome moments? I just love Durge’s debut.

         And even without his tentacles, again; Durge is a massive, lumbering giant. They might have to hire a really tall actor, and/or do some SFX work to make Durge look bigger than he is, maybe even make him a prop, or CGI. Have that dude do a Nemesis (again I LOVE Nemesis too), where he’s just effortlessly plowing through walls and enemies as an unstoppable force. Let the viewer feel terror when Durge suddenly breaks into a full sprint, when previously he’d walked at an intimidating, Horror Slasher pace; That’d be a really fun Oh Shit moment for the protagonists. In regards to Boba as a potential enemy, maybe he even references having met Durge before; Both of them being bounty hunters adds another connection, a shared criminal underworld setting to encounter each other in.

         So then Boba or Din is being mercilessly chased down by this pursuer, who madly stops at nothing to mow down his enemy; Durge does insane things like fly a ship directly into a building to go after his target, swing giant debris to smash people apart, etc. He’s intelligent and so there’s the horror at seeing Durge being able to wield complex weaponry, like pulling out an entire rocket launcher and giving no fucks over the casualties he’ll blow up. Just really sell this dude as a stoic monster who won’t rest until he completes his mission, until his enemy is dead; Popping heads, raining fists, maybe dragging out a kill to display spite. Durge is utterly implacable and there’s a mysteriousness to him, because he’s a fully-armored, masked individual… Which then turns it into a borderline jumpscare when Durge unveils one of his tentacles to toss the hero around like a ragdoll.

         Our hero learns that Durge is an ancient monster of legend… But he and the audience don't get to appreciate just what type of creature Durge is, until that armor starts peeling back. Thus Durge gets de-armored as I mentioned; A dark mirror to Boba losing his own armor, and/or Din’s face being revealed. But unlike those two, Durge’s face is never revealed… If he even HAS a face; I kinda like that take, even if that’s not how it was in Legends. Just sell and portray Durge as this almost eldritch, cryptid monstrosity, practically a demon that rose from an earthen grave like a vengeful zombie.

         Stars Wars is a Space Fantasy, after all. Imagine letting audiences’ imaginations run wild, as we are told of a Mandalorian monster, a demon that burst from the ground, and then we cut to this imposing yet humanoid figure; What horrific thoughts are going on underneath his mask, and what horrific visage is also contained? Since Din is set up to explore the mines of Mandalore in Season 3, that could connect to a thematic backstory for Durge, who is also said to have come from the underground; Legends fans of course know how he got there. 

        And maybe it’ll even be outright clarified that yes, Durge came from elsewhere, was sealed away like an ancient evil, only to have escaped in recent times with revenge in his heart. If Din is looking for a ‘Dragon’ in the Mythosaur, Durge can represent another archetypal evil, like Grendel or other monsters. He’s a myth from the past returned to present-day, tying to Mandalorian heritage; So if he’s foe for Din, it’s thematic that he beats this horrific legend, in his journey to become a legend of his own. Make a story out of defeating another tale.

[vaguely-concerned]

The Mandalorian Chapter 15 reactions; *nobby nobbs voice* ‘s all gone a bit percychological, sir

 - so from both chapter 6 and now this: rick famuyiwa is incredible at portraying prolonged discomfort and tension (and also at getting din’s endless love for that baby across through the stress of being separated from him. this is the very first episode with no baby in it at all, isn’t it? wow that’s a heartbreaking milestone to reach im crying)

I liked this episode SO MUCH but I had to pause it pretty often and take a breather because it all made me so viscerally uncomfortable on din’s behalf -- not just the armour and having to take the helmet off and be seen for the (almost, ilu IG-11) first time in decades, people keep touching him in this episode when he clearly doesn’t want them to but can’t stop it and it makes me want to claw my own skin off in sympathy, it’s so awful. that’s really neat film making to manage to keep that tension steady almost all the way through!!! 

honestly this episode felt a little bit like psychological horror, with the cheering storm troopers and din in the wrong armour and clearly not digging it and there’s the palpable absence of baby and that ever present dread of being Perceived when you’re not ready for it; everything’s turned upside down from how it should be. and it’s playing with that discomfort both in the main character and in us, the audience, in having the familiar be made unfamiliar and also introducing these questions that shake up everything (that feeling you get of ‘but... if it’s not the helmet, and not the armour, but there’s his face, but we’ve only seen that face once before so it’s still basically new to us, is this... is this still him. is this still Dad’ (oooh I wonder if we’re... sort of getting some of the ??? the baby would be feeling about it too?) we’ve all imprinted on that t-shaped visor like little baby birds, and this was a very clever episode to break us out of that and start to really get used to the thought of him having several faces that are real simultaneously, in a way, and not just a voice. it’s all very smart and interesting and I’m sure I’ll have a lot of incoherent thoughts about this in the weeks to come lol)    

- the actual reason din can’t take off the helmet is that if people were able to see his wide confused puppy eyes they would no longer find it in themselves to send him on long arduous side missions and would help him immediately just so he’d feel better, and that would rob us of like 80% of the content for this show 

mayfeld in this episode: clearly a casualty of this. he literally sees one glimpse of the vulnerability there and then within five seconds goes on to materialize a few redeeming character traits after being a complete jackass for an episode and a half. (I mean. he was 100% still an imperial so I’m a bit ‘hm.’ about how easily especially cara let him off the hook, but with the way it was set up I guess it would have been quite shitty of them to just throw him back in prison so I mean I GUESS. I would be endlessly grateful someone got my awkward bff out of there alive and well too I suppose)

- I actually think din’s sense/integrity of self has gotten so much stronger and more resilient (though probably still quite fragile pls handle with care precious cargo within); if this had happened in the first season I think it might honestly just have killed him (and if it weren’t for IG-11 it probably would have lol)

- can you beLIEVE din is so bad at lying that they literally should plan for contingencies over it fjkasdlhfskajdhfsdj     

- very grateful for the scene with the spear throw that’s basically there to reassure us ‘uh-huh, he absolutely knows how to use it, don’t worry about that part at least’

I want to make a whole post about that fight scene, though, it’s just so GOOD! there’s so much storytelling and characterization in it! even out of the armour din has some real hand to hand MOVES!! he clearly came out of that aching all over, he can barely get back in his seat!!!

- so what I’m mainly taking away from this is that din absolutely cuts his own hair and you know what? he does a good job considering the conditions he has to work under, I love him  

I still find it so goddamn darling that he meticulously maintains that little mustache/stubble combo under there even when there’s every reason to believe no one will ever see it 

I suppose we can also gather that he did not ask cobb about whatever insane feat of magic he’s come up with to avoid helmet hair, but I don’t care looking a bit frazzled and tousled is exactly right for him (he’s so put together when he’s in the armour and a MESS when he’s out of it and I  l o v e  it) 

- boba fett is honestly so fucking hot in this I don’t know what to do with myself haha. he’s so CALM and CALCULATED and COLLECTED in his newly painted armour and he’s GOT THIS and he made that ‘I’ve got one of those faces. one of jango’s many, many, many faces’ joke and he’s so thicc now, he looks like he could easily lift me over his head with one hand and he’s just quietly steady and undramatically supportive and sdalfhsdjhfsa 

- ...din does know who the clone troopers were, right. I mean of course he does. he has to. but does he though. I’m sure he does and just wasn’t thinking. 

- no matter how stressful it was I’m still really grateful that in the end taking the helmet off was something din got to do himself -- it’s under some duress, but it’s still his choice and for the sake of the baby, and almost in two more manageable steps between putting on the storm trooper gear for a different helmet before taking it off altogether. it’s not something done to him by gideon, for example, that would be. so much yuckier and worse. he still has that control and agency intact, even if it’s been tested really hard, and now gideon doing that doesn’t hold the exact same nightmarish power anymore because there’s already a little space opened in din’s mind for different things it can mean, if you see what I mean. I’m not sure I see what I mean actually I just have a lot of feelings haha. so I guess thank you mayfeld for being decent about it and helping him towards that realization that he can still be himself outside these really really inflexible structures he’s set up around himself for like. stability and keeping himself upright for a really long time, and that even someone halfway decent won’t disrespect the boundaries he still has about it at any given moment. man there’s a lot in this episode isn’t there

- the sigh din gave when he saw even more pirates coming and knew he had to get back up... never has a single moment in cinema better captured how I feel about being alive. most relatable man in the world din djarin

- it was really cruel of them to make me listen to din’s dead bleak voice say ‘the child is gone’ again, it wrecks my heart every goddamn time 

- again... I wish carano wasn’t Like That in real life because the cara & fennec scenes should have been everything I could ever dream. ah well fennec was still wonderful and if I just allow myself to think in-universe for a few seconds it was really touching that din would entrust cara with his entire armour, that’s some prime BrOTP energy right there

I love that we got two female characters who were just allies and working together, no competition or nothin’. listen the bar is low but it’s nice to see something actually leap gracefully over it as well lol

- this was one of those with some pretty big open plot holes (why, exactly, would a scan of a completely unknown face be helpful to get into this classified system lol), but a) I don’t care, the emotional storyline was so sound it doesn’t really matter and b) eh handwave handwave let’s say mayfeld programmed that little stick with the good shit and overrode the code saying there needed to be an identity match within the system, it’s all fine 

- I know I joke a lot about this but din really is one of the most relatable characters I’ve ever had. just watching him struggle with eye contact and going pretty much nonverbal under enough stress is like. wow a bit close to home there could we, perhaps, nOT?? (honestly though these are trauma/anxiety things I really don’t see portrayed a lot, especially in protagonists, it’s so odd but healing to see it in a character I love and who’s EXTREMELY competent in many other settings)

- din repeating gideon’s speech back to him word for word (except for the crucial detail that he calls grogu ‘him’ instead of ‘it’ 😭😭😭) and saying nothing else is truly Everything. I’ve said some stuff about din’s deliberate and thoughtful relationship to language in the past and this is such an amazing example of it; he’s remembered that pitch perfect all this time, he’s kept it around in his head and mulled it over and then redeployed it to change the meaning of it completely from dehumanization to love. can you. can you even imagine. and it’s yet another example of his hilarious wonderful petty streak and I can never get enough of it fasjhdfkjalhs    

- din always noticing the children first and foremost Y_______Y (the kids running by is the only thing you see him sort of acknowledge when he’s walking into the covert in season 1 too)  

- please... please I just need him to be able to hold that baby against his chest all safe and sound and okay again I can’t it’s........ hh

NO SEASON END CLIFF HANGER ON THIS I AM  B E G G I N G  YOU 

- I would be having some thoughts about how much space there actually is on slave 1 and what that might mean (do not kill boba again please don’t kill him again), but honestly there’s only ‘GET BABY’ hours in here now, I can’t speculate about anything

[tacofriend]

Finally finished Mandalorian season two, and I have some feelings.

First off, the story of Din being a father to Grogu is so sweet and really heartwarming. It's the kind of story I needed. To have stereotypically strong male protagonists being kind and caring father figures is incredibly important. The imagery of supporting those who are lost and liberating the downtrodden is exactly what we need right now!

Secondly I do not like Bo-Katan. Taking back Mandalore this, royalty that. Listen lady, I don't care about your royalty. We've got a baby to rescue. Additionally, I don't particularly like the way she's mean to Din and Boba. Like, first off, Din is a dad trying to take care of his baby, that's all he wants. I don't give a shit about your royalty. And being mean to Uncle Boba is, ok sure he's not exactly ethical, but you're mad about him being a clone‽ Have you not seen Pokémon the Movie 2000‽ The circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant! It's what you do with the gift of life that matters! You know who said that, Bo? Fucking Mewtwo, in a goddamn children's movie. Sit your royal heiny down and watch it.

Descriminating against clones goes entirely against the Mandalorian creed! Things may have updated since the legends/canon split, but Mandalorians are all about adopting aren't they? Jango and Din were both adopted as people whose lives were destroyed by war. Why can't clones, whose lives were both created for and destroyed by war, be capable of being adopted as children in need of kindness and care? They need the Mandalorians just as much as Din or Jango did.

This is why I look up to the Mandalorians. Yes, they're stereotypical manly man warriors with strength and power, but they're also kind and charitable. They share the Beskar among themselves to make sure everyone can have some. They adopt those who have been hurt by war in a galaxy ravaged by conflict. Bo-Katan's refusal to accept Boba as one of her own is counter to the most important tenets of their own belief system.

Here's a fantastic essay on why Bo-Katan's community is problematic within that universe and I wholeheartedly agree with it. They paint Din's community as extremists, even though Din hasn't been very extreme. Maybe extremely kind and loving, but that's what this galaxy needs right now.

[twilightofthe]

Tell me ALL your SW faves

Aaaaaa thank you!  This took a while cuz this got long, lol sorry!  Aight, so here’s ALL my SW faves for this ask prompt list!

FAVE MOVIE: Revenge of the Sith.  10000%.  It just has everything!  You get to see the Obikin relationship in all its glory, first and foremost, how much those two loved each other more than anything and knew each other better than anyone, and just how much they genuinely got along and then we got our hearts broken watching them have to fight after Anakin made his Goof Of The Millennium and just oooooof all the feels about my boys!  Seeing Padmé and just loving her so gotdang much for being strong and wanting the best life for everyone, all while she was so scared and had so little support from anyone, and just couldn’t do it in the end.  Seeing the end of the Republic, how after a thousand years, just, *poof*, just like that in like two days (yes, I know Sidious was planning it for over a decade but still), the horrific fascination on how Sidious was able to do that.  Just the brilliance of Sheev’s character, how you despise him, but how brilliantly everything was pulled off.  The angst of Order 66, how especially after TCW you love these characters SO MUCH and then you gotta watch them DIE HORRIBLY BY THOSE THEY TRUSTED, THOSE WHO NEVER HAD A CHOICE EITHER.  Did I mention feeling so freaking bad for Obi Wan and his Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day???  Because I really do, he’s so good and kind and we see his life fall apart and ugh I love him.  And y’all, watching Anakin Skywalker fall from grace like the brightest angel he was, you hate him for what he did, but you still can’t help but love him and cry for him and his loss because he was so good, and he did not deserve all this to happen to him but he did it to HIMSELF AAAAGGHHHH.  Also, Obes and Ani were at peak prettiness this movie!!  Just asdfkjglkdskajsrlk best movie love so diggity dang much

FAVE PAIRING: Oh, how EVER will I choose– Obikin.  It’s Obikin, all the way, no contest.  I know I’ve yelled about it a million and one times so I’ll save y’all the rant on how much I adore these disasters and their relationship and how I think they’re goddamn soulmates and the most interesting dynamic in the entire Saga.  I ship them romantically and platonically and just everything, they’re so fucking important to one another and that’s why it hurts so much to watch them fall apart, and that’s why I’m so incredibly happy that they get to canONICALLY SPEND THEIR ENTIRE AFTERLIFE TOGETHER BECAUSE FORCE GHOSTS HELL YEAH.  If I had to pick just secondary fave romantic and platonic relationships, hmmmm that’s hard.  BUT, I’m gonna have to go with Kanera for romantic; SWR was what got me back into Star Wars and one of my favorite parts of it was watching Kanan and Hera, how much I loved them separately, but just how much they were a team together and I love them and I was unbelievably upset when Jedi Night happened (and I still have a rant about how animated Star Wars kills off their romantic couples in the exact same manner, pls ask me about how TCW’s The Lawless and Rebels’ Jedi Night had basically all of the same plot points that ended in killing off a romantic lead).  For other fave platonic relationship, gonna have to go with Luke/Han/Leia BROT3 (separate from Hanleia as a romance, which is probs my 3rd fave).  These disasters were the original Golden Trio, they saved the galaxy together all while yelling dramatically and having each other’s backs to the bitter end (or, at least ‘till the end of ROTJ lol) and I just love them as a team so dang much

FAVE TV SHOW EPISODE: Okay, since there are four TV shows, it’s only fair for me to pick one (or more don’t judge me) from each!  Let’s see, from The Clone Wars, my fave eps have to be the entire Mortis trilogy arc in S3 because Obes/Ani/Snips family dynamic, Force Shenanigans, BEAUTIFUL scene designs, Anakin angst, just so many good things oof, and also Dooku Captured from S1, which I just adore because Obikin snark, annoying Grandpa Dooku, Hondo Fucking Ohnaka making everyone look so bad at their jobs, I just love it agh.  Whoops that was technically four faves, so gotta do four for Rebels too!  Gonna go wiiiiith World Between Worlds from S4 for Badass Ahsoka Tano, Ezra being brave and talented, Sheev being Absolutely Ridiculous, and just the overall Force Shenanigans cuz canon time travel y’all; The Lost Commanders from S2 because Rex is awesome, Kanan angst, and really good Kanan and Ezra bonding and Jedi awesomeness, Fire Across the Galaxy from S1 because of Ghost fam dynamics, Kanan angst, more Kanan and Ezra bonding, and just good stuff, and Twilight of the Apprentice in S2 (lol what about my username?) for being creepy and cool and maKING ME CRY ANAKIN YOU STUPID THRICE COOKED TOILET SEAT LEAVE AHSOKA ALONE.  *cough*  Ok, fine, I’ll stick with only one ep for the other two series.  For Resistance, gonna have to go with the latest ep, actually!  We get to see Kaz being clever and caring about his fam on the Colossus, really cool designs for Aeos and its people, Tam angst, and just everyone shining!  For The Mandalorian, it’s gotta be the finale, Redemption, we get Din name, Armorer kicking everyones asses and me loving it, BABY YODA DOING THE HAND WAVE, Din getting over his issues with droids and connecting with IG only for IG to FUCKING DIE, DIN AND BABY YODA BEING AN OFFICIAL CLAN OF TWO, Taika just knocking this whole episode out of the park with the funny scouttroopers at the beginning who still deserved the ass-whooping they got for fucking murdering Kuiil and hiTTING BABY YODA YOU SLIMY FUCKNUGGETS–

FAVE CHARACTER: Alright, look, I can narrow it down to FIVE and that is IT.  I just love too many Star Wars characters, I can’t go lower than top five!  Ok, so my four favorites are Obi Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Leia Organa, Kanan Jarrus, and Finn Skywalker-Dameron-Tico (i SAID what i SAID.)  AIGHT so for starters, a lot of my favorite characters in different franchises fall under various archetypes I have for faves.  Obi Wan fits one of my more popular ones: “Old, reluctant and more than slightly-questionable parental badass with a mysterious past that makes you love them all the more when you realize just how beautiful and tragic and deserving-better they were when that past is revealed”.  I latched onto this dude from the start when I just liked the OT (tho Leia was always my fave lol), and I wanted to know about him, and then when I finally started getting into the PT and TCW, it was just a steady stream of “oh no he’s hOT?” “oh no he’s sAD?” “oh no he’s nICE?!? REALLY FUCKING NICE AND A BIT OF A MESS HELP” and then I just totally latched on because he’s hypercompetent at literally everything and looks damn good doing it and boy do I have a thing for competence, charming as all hell and goes through so much and comes out strong despite the fact that fate hates his fucking guts and tries to destroy his life constantly and guys he tries so hard and he’s kind of messy sometimes and a bit of a dick and I love him all the more for it because he’s trying, none of that do-or-do-not shit, he is doing his damn best and deserves happiness and not Anakin tearing him apart.  SPEAKING OF SAND MAN.  Ugh, so I love Anakin to fucking death and that makes me REALLY MAD ABOUT IT BECAUSE HE MAKES EVERYONE ELSE I LIKE SAD.  So I love Anakin regardless because he’s not your typical protagonist.  He’s fucking brilliant, hot when he fights, is amazing at fighting and flying and building stuff and there’s that competence thing for me again, oh boy!  He’s funny and kind and he cares.  And somehow, this bitch manages to have the two most beautiful, amazing people in the galaxy in love with him and willing to do basically anything for him like the fuck?!?  Jealous much??!?!?!?!  I am!!!!  He’s so fucking bright and it’s impossible to look away.  He’s also a dorky, messy disaster who’s not good with people or feelings or emotions and he panics over stuff and doesn’t know self-control and is kinda really bad at his job a lot and pushes away the people who care about him and screws up literally all the fucking time and he always feels like he’s drowning and alone and I get to watch him crash and burn under the weight of it all.  Basically, minus the anger issues and the child murder and the murder in general, I kinda relate a lot to Anakin.  I feel like a self-hating mess who doesn’t know how to control my ow head and the world hates me a lot too.  I can project my mental issues onto him, enjoy the good parts of him, live vicariously through the things he does that I can’t like be loved by pretty people and be hot and athletic and smart, and then when he crashes I can side-eye and remember that at least someone’s doing worse than me lol.  So yea, I love this messy boi to death and he’s the one I get the best characterization reviews on, so I guess we have an understanding.  Leia I loved since as a kid.  I’d want to be her, brave, talented, smart, strong as hell and snarky to boot.  I realize that Leia fits another fave character archetype of mine: “Powerful young adult raised for greatness, did not ask for all the horrible shit that’s happened to them, highkey wants a break and for the bad guys to just roll over and die, is generally clever, hypercompetent, and 100% done with everyone else’s shit, overdramatic as all hell and enjoys insulting people”.  Her and Han were my first Star Wars ship and she just always made me happy seeing her kick names and take ass.  She’s gone through almost as much hell or maybe more so than Obi Wan, she also keeps getting back up and fighting, she deserved SO MUCH BETTER than what the Sequel Trilogy gave her and you may quote me on that.  She’s also gorgeous and I wanted to wear all of her clothes (bikini not included).  I also love her relationship with Luke and I am so goddam happy it is now canon that Leia Organa did Jedi training and can use a lightsaber!!!  She has a lightsaber!!!!!!!!!!  Ugh oof I love her.  Kanan fills the similar “mentor” archetype as Obi Wan does, but with a smidge of youth because he’s younger when he gets dropped into this role.  He’s more of a punk, more of a mess, and oof.  Basically I’ve said it a zillion times how Rebels resparked my love of Star Wars, but really, it was Kanan on the screen that did it.  It happened when the Rebels season 3 premiere eps ended up on the TV and I saw it and I thought in order 1. holy shit that Maul fucker’s actually alive? and 2. Oh no sad blind Jedi man!  He’s cool and mysterious and I want to know why he’s sad and who made him sad and also want to give him a hug!!!  He was my fave character all throughout Rebels and his training dynamic with Ezra, struggling to help this kid all while flying by the seat of his pants because he had Issues and no clue what he was doing and no support and ugh, he was smart and brave and I’m so sad he’s dead and yea.  Finn!!!!  Last but not least!!!!  He was my favorite character from The Force Awakens.  People have said it before, but he was just so new, a rebel Stormtrooper stolen and brainwashed at birth, finding the good guys and fighting to do the right thing!  Possibly Force Sensitive!  Super duper cute!!!  Funny and kind, dammit, when not many other people in the galaxy were!!!!!!!!  I was so, so sure Finn was gonna be a Jedi along with Rey at some point, that might have been my biggest letdown when I saw TLJ, but ugh I just loved his enthusiasm and his war within himself, ultimately loving his friends and trying to do what was right at the risk to his own safety, even though that was why he ran scared in the first place!!!!!  I shipped him with Rey and with Poe and now I am NOT above the post TROS Jedistormpilot shipping!!!!!  Finn was just always the most interesting part of the Sequel Trilogy for me and I personally feel like they could have done more with his character.

FAVE ACTOR/ACTRESS: Aight, so I try my best not to “stan” anyone famous because literally no one is perfect and everyone’s done something problematic at some point and if I dare say I like a famous figure, someone’s gonna find something about them and come after me all “OMG THIS PERSON DID/SAID/IS X YOU MONSTER GO DIE!!11!!1″.  In terms of performance, I think all the actors in Star Wars did a lovely job and I’m happy with all of them!  If I had to crush on any, it would probs be Ewan McGregor, John Boyega, or Diego Luna cuz, uh, they hot.  If I had to pick one I liked most, it would honestly probs be Carrie Fisher.  Maybe that’s just partially from missing her now that she’s gone, but I really admire her advocacy and transparence for mental health, and she just seemed like such a funny, kind, strong person.

FAVE PLANET: Aight, this is HARD and I refuse to only pick one planet!  Ok, gonna start off with Coruscant because an endless city planet made up of lights is amazingly gorgeous and it has a Jedi Temple stacked on top of a Sith Temple and is just so cool aaaaa.  Also love Felucia just for being so bright and colorful and pretty.  Mortis for being just as weirdly gorgeous and also Weird Force Shit.  Lothal for the beautiful mountains, the wolves, and the fucking lightspeed center of the planet passage what, Dathomir is delightfully creepy to look at, Crait is really cool with the salt and the red and the ice foxes, Kashyyyk because Wookiees and it’s pretty and I love their treehouses.  Basically if it makes me clap my dumb monkey hands and go “oooh pretty!”, I love it.  The more “not like Earth” it is, the more I love it.

FAVE SPECIES: Hmmmmm, this is a tough one…….  There’s just so many cool-looking species that we know so little about, ya know?  I wanna say either Togrutas or Wookiees.  Togrutas just because the character design is incredible and so fun to work with and also I love Ahsoka, and Wookiees because they have such an interesting culture and backstory and also I want to give Chewbacca a hug.

FAVE CONCEPT: Uhhh, not quite sure I get the question; you mean like just story concept in general?  If that’s it, I’m gonna have to go with just the whole concept of the Force and the Jedi in general.  I mean George, George my man, what the fuck?  How the hell did you come up with this?!?  Mystical psychic space wizards with magic abilities to connect with and use the sentient godlike life force that combined the entire galaxy together.  Oh and also they have COLORFUL GLOWING LASER SWORDS?!?!?  It’s honestly one of the most creative things I’ve seen in popular culture, and that makes me sad that Star Wars now seems to be trying to separate itself from what I think is its most interesting quality because “ugh not EVERYTHING should be about the Jedi guys!”, when like, y’all, without the Jedi, the entire SW universe is basically just another military scifi war story……  Just my opinion tho.

FAVE SHIP: Ok, since pairing was already up there, I assume this means actual ship?  Well, uh, gonna have to be square with y’all, I’m a bad Star Wars fan for this part; I’ve never been the one to memorize ship names and designs and know the exact make and model number of some fancy ship, I’m real bad at that lol.  I’ll say my favorite ship is the Ghost.  Hera flies it and the Rebels Fam lives on it and it’s super cool and it makes me happy!

FAVE WEAPON: LIGHTSABER.  LIGHTSABER LIGHTSABER.  LIGHTSABERLIGHTSABERLIGHTSABERLIGHTSABERLIGHTSABER.  Y’all, c’mon, what did you think I was gonna pick? xD  Lizard brain want glowy shiny colorful big stick that goes whoosh!

FAVE BACKGROUND EXTRA: Again, not entirely sure what this means, but do you mean fave background character?  If so, then it’s a tie between Wilrow Hood and his ice cream machine for the memes, that one clone in TCW who yeets a plate of toast at Cad Bane’s face, or that one background soldier who scoots between Han and Leia arguing in ESB and also Hera and Kanan arguing in Rebels (yes I do headcanon it’s the same guy lol)

FAVE MOMENT/SCENE: This one’s actually pretty easy.  Anakin dying in Luke’s arms in ROTJ, and then his ghost showing up to Luke later at the Ewok party.  I just care so ridiculously much about stupid Anakin and his stupid story and mistakes, and even before I was a prequels stan and had only seen the OT (and wasn’t a huge Vader fan, believe it or not), some part of me just felt so solemn, so fragile watching this, watching the giant monstrous machine falling apart as he fades away to reveal a weary, tired old human man, and it always made me wonder, what the hell happened to him to turn him into that thing?  Seeing that young, beautiful man, basically Luke’s age, showing up as a ghost later, just the fascination, the tender look he shared with Old Ben, just how young he was, that made it all the more mysterious and knowing what I do now, it’s just so much better because my poor, horrible Disaster Man finally did the right thing and he finally found peace and it’s just the only ending I could be happy for Anakin with,  And Luke, I always felt so bad for Luke, being so strong, so brave, finally getting his father back for like five damn minutes and then having to lose him again and just hurting for him but also knowing that it was gonna be okay because Luke had more family now, the ghosts, and Han and Leia and Chewie and R2 and 3PO and Lando and everyone.

FAVE KISS: Luke and Leia (HANG ON LET ME SPEAK) forehead kiss in The Last Jedi.  I know (this one) isn’t meant as romantic, and I know the question is probs about a romantic one and I know that it’s not even a real mouth kiss.  But.  That Luke and Leia scene was my favorite part of the entire movie.  Again, I was missing Carrie a lot, and ugh, after all these years, after not getting to interact the entire previous movie and not at all during this movie, the ONE scene with Carrie and Mark and the pure emotion of it all just knocked me out of my fucking seat.  You could see how connected they were as siblings, how much Leia had missed Luke, how much he had missed her and how sorry he was for leaving, sorry for Ben, sorry for having to leave her again now, Leia knowing Luke was about to die, and just, acceptance.  Love and acceptance.  It was just a final, tender kiss on the forehead, and it was perfect and yeah.  If I do have to pick a romantic lip smooch, it’s probably the Hanleia classic “scoundrel” kiss in Empire Strikes Back.  I still remember watching ESB the first time as a KID and being all eeeeeeee are they gonna– YES they kissed they kissed they kissed finally! and that’s enough for me.

FAVE FIGHT: Obi Wan and Anakin on Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith.  WIthout question.  It’s brilliantly and precisely choreographed to show the intricate nuances of the Obikin breakup in alllllll of its painful glory.  It breaks my heart every time I watch it because every time I watch it I still hope it’s gonna end differently.  That Anakin realizes he can’t kill Obi Wan and ditches Sidious and goes back with Obi Wan to save Padmé.  That Obi Wan realizes he can’t let Anakin die and saves him from burning and from Sidious and takes him back too.  That Obi Wan at least puts Anakin out of his misery which would be godawful painful, but would save him from the horrid life as Vader.  That while they’re fighting, a lava monster appears like in the concept art and Vader and Obi Wan have to put aside their differences and fight the thing and remember how much they mean to each other.  But ugh, this fight was beautifully choreographed and was originally supposed to be a MULTI-MINUTE SINGLE SHOT WHAT THE HELL???  Oooof Hayden and Ewan did such an amazing job and the whole thing just rips my heart out every time in the bestworst way possible

 FAVE LINE OF DIALOGUE: Now THIS is hard, I’m not the best at picking favorite lines.  Hmmm, this is HARD.  Let me think.  Gahhhh, it’s hard because I have so many lines I like and I can’t even just narrow down a couple!!!  Ultimately, it’s probably gonna be Yoda’s monologue from Empire Strikes Back: “Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter…”  Just that entire line saying how basically all of us are more than the sum of our parts, that everyone is their own sparkling light made of stardust, I loved it as a kid and I love it now. 

FAVE BOOK/COMIC: Answered here

FAVE HERO: Gonna go with Obi Wan!  I already rambled about why I love him, but y’all……. I love him.

FAVE VILLAIN: Anakin Skywalker/Darth McFucking Vader.  I loved him when he was a hero and the silly poor sad boy makes me sad when I see him as a villain all while being an overdramatic asshole and it just makes me wanna hit him with a newspaper for ruining his life and everyone else’s I love him.

FAVE OUTFIT: Answered here

FAVE CREATURE: I love Lothcats/Tookas!  I just heckin’ love cats and now there’s spACE KITTIES WITH SUPER FOOFY TAILS AND BIG EARS OMG Y’ALL I LOVE THEM I JUST REALLY DO AND I REALLY WANT ONE SO I CAN CUDDLE IT ;_;

WHEW.  That was all of the faves, thanks so much for asking me!!!  Sorry this took so long to do, this was kinda a hell week haha!

[interludesugas]

if we're still going to be with din djarin for the next season (and hopefully a little more), that season 2 finale was okay (not great but ok fine).

if that finale was the END of it? that would be a bad ending. i said what i meant and i meant what i said.

no writer in their right mind would let that happen narratively. no fucking way. not even the worst writers.

(1) din + dark saber ??? his confusion???? BO-KATAN??? HER PRIDE????

(2) grogu and din meet again but when, how and WHY???

(3) grogu's blood!!! whatever cloning projects!!!! WOULD ANY CARING PARENT BE OKAY WITH A FASCIST REGIME HAVING THEIR GIFTED CHILD'S DNA FOR EXPERIMENTATION

(4) din and the discourse about what makes a "true" Mandalorian. is there only one way? what does that mean for din djarin?

...and so many more loose ends.

i really hope this is not the end of din djarin and grogu. i really hope "the book of boba fett" is truly a spinoff on its own as rumoured (source: SCREENRANT), and that season 3 of the mandalorian is still very much about DIN DJARIN — the street level star wars protagonist who deals with issues that all of us face in our own capacities. we need him.