#but the biggest thing is that we actually get answers and backstories. payoffs to the promises

[syncogon]

grips you by the shoulders. guys. you need to watch the live action please PLEASE IT'S SO GOOD

u/AdhesiMol on Reddit has been working on fansubs for the Link Click live action adaptation. If you wanted to check out the series but were turned off by the poor-quality machine translations of the source, you can give these a try!

[kyogre-blue]

Finally finished HSR 3.0 story.

It is....................... fine. It's perfectly fine.

Tbh I'm not even being facetious about this, I do think it's fine, and I'm mildly interested in where this is all going. My biggest reservation is that I simply have no faith in MHY being able to actually take the setup anywhere.

3.0's greatest... weakness? is that it's almost entirely setup and pretty much nothing else. Phainon walks off into a trial and even explicitly states that defeating Nikador didn't do anything for his mental state. Mydei's theoretical emotional stakes in this are told to us by others while he's offscreen (more than once) and he doesn't have any particular internal changes based on the events here. Aglaea implies an internal conflict, but it definitely hasn't come to a head yet. Tribbie is just straight up not explained yet. Castorice has the most emotional something going on, which also ends up making her the most interesting character here imo, but again, it's all setup for her search for Death and whatever her deal is.

The setup is fine, but since it does nothing else, everything is going to hinge on where this all goes. And I have yet to see MHY actually payoff a story in a satisfying way. Even Belobog notably tripped over itself in the last stretch specifically. The fact that this is all going to take the better part of a year is.......... ouch. Not encouraging at all.

Aside from that, I would say 3.0 had two issues. One is the "puzzles" they used as padding in between story scenes. I get why these sections are there, and I don't think it's a bad thing to have this kind of break in between talking, but the implementation was lacking. You arrive at a location, you watch some talking, you walk forward five meters, you get three more dialogue boxes, you walk forward three more meters, you get a tutorial popup, and this repeats like 3-5 times per area. And the "puzzles" are basically just interacting with things. It just makes things feel dragged out, a bit stupid, and ridiculous, since this is all supposed to be about fighting anyway.

The second issue is that a lot of character stuff is just not shown to us. Mydei's everything is just told to us by other people when he's not around, so his one instance of actual emotion is when he gets momentarily worked up when asking Castorice about what happened in the memory, which she doesn't even answer, so we don't see his reaction to any of that. Phainon harps on about his internal struggles, with everyone else as chorus, but it's very ambiguous what is supposed to be going on with him. Maybe this is intentional, given that his story is obviously not supposed to be paying off yet, but since he's pretty much the most constantly present character, having his everything be so vague is just not great. Aglaea brings up losing her humanity, but what does that even mean? Etc.

And not helping all this is when they give you a book that recites backstory to you. For four characters in a row. Like... at least stagger the unlock for them or something. But better yet, integrate this stuff in the actual story! Why am I reading a non-canon story book about the characters?

That said, it's not particularly bad about things. The pacing, aside from the "puzzle" interludes, is imo not worse than general fantasy stories that need to do a ton of setup about their setting. The stuff they are setting up seems potentially interesting, with plenty of mystery and twists (a thing that Belobog lacked almost entirely). Castorice in particular had a surprisingly good showing in the last third. I came away liking her much more than I ever expected from that design and the faint wiff of waifu around her early on. And as someone who played games where everyone was a low polygon chibi model, I don't find it a deal breaker that the visuals are generally whatever aside from the background set pieces.

It wasn't bad, and I'm curious where it'll go.

[jngles]

Thoughts You Definitely All Asked For on ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 2 Finale!!

These are in chronological order for the show.

One of my biggest fears about them reintroducing Boba Fett was that by removing some of his mystery, they would make him less cool. Thank god that has not been the case. He’s still an aloof and nasty piece of work but with dimensions added.

We all know the Empire is most often a metaphor for America right? At least when it’s not being Nazi Germany? The Imperial pilot talking about destroying an entire planet (of peaceful weaponless civilians no less) to stop terrorism hits a little too close to home of the nuclear bombs the US has dropped and the endless destruction of the Middle East in the “war against terror.” And of course we frame all our wars in similar language like “our troops died to keep our country safe,” which hasn’t really been true since WWII.

I do think it’s worth noting that this is the first time SW has had someone acknowledge the human losses of the Death Star blasts. Usually it’s framed as a loss in construction time, strategical advantage, and power. The Empire proved time and time again that the lives of its soldiers were utterly expendable, which always made me question why people remained loyal outside of fear. Through this pilot’s phrasing, you can see the propaganda Imperial superiors used to twist the truth to their followers, always blaming those deaths on Rebel aggression instead of prideful Imperial neglect (I.e. not abandoning ship when there was still time) or even direct Imperial aggression like Operation Cinder where they fired on thousands of their own (discussed in S2E7.)

You can’t tell me Din wasn’t into it when Cara shot that asshole pilot. That cold faced revenge shot? 100% Mandalorian style, and also very very hot.

I appreciate that it was a pretty equal match between Boba and Koska Reeves. So much of Boba’s advantage comes from his suit, but since she also has one, it’s a battle of wits on how to use it, and they even out. This both maintains his legendary badassery and also that of highly trained Mandalorian warriors, and hopefully avoids asshole chauvinist SW fans on the internet complaining abujt “pandering to feminism” (fuck off @ all of them, especially since Mercedes Vernado who plays Reeves is a WWE champ and could kick all of your asses.)

Din point blank asked how many Death Troopers there are and Dr. Pershing never answered, and that annoys me.

Why is no one suspicious why Dr. Pershing is being so helpful and revealing so much information? He totally did not have to tell them about the Dark Troopers or any of the specifics of locations on the ship. He’s still with the empire post-fall, implying he’s a loyalist, so... wtf on his part (since no tricks come of it), and “be smarter” on the part of everyone else. Unless he’s been captive as a clone engineer all this time. But couldn’t he have made his escape back in Season 1 when Din killed everyone at that lab to get the kid back?

Bo Katan really could’ve just told them how the retrieval of the dark saber needs to work in the flight before the mission instead of being vague about “he belongs to me.”

Boba Fett’s usage of “Princess” and “don’t worry about me” are a good throwback to Han Solo and the culture they both grew up in. You can never quite tell if it’s based in misogyny or resentment for upper classes, but both of them seem to use it as a shield for begrudging respect they hold for a woman they think is brave but following a fool’s errand (the Rebellion and retaking Mandalore).

The Comms Officer (Katy O’Brian) assisting Moff Gideon will forever and always look like Ilana Glazer to me, and then I get swept up imagining what would happen if the Broad City cast accidentally got transported to Star Wars.

The launch tube sequence has some amazing cinematography.

The second I saw Boba was cut off from the pack, I really thought they were going to kill him again and make his return bittersweet. Glad they didn’t.

God this team of Bo Katan, Koska Reeves, Fennec Shand, and Cara Dune is SO BADASS. I’m just obsessed with all these characters and their various motivations to get shit done. I honestly didn’t even think about the fact it’s all women until my re-watch, showing that the writers made it feel natural, the way women deserve to have their representation done. You can bet I am SO EXCITED for my future daughter and the wealth of possibilities she’s going to have of characters to play pretend as, action figures she can relate to, Halloween costumes to wear, etc. It’s so validating that we’ve gone from only Princess Leia as a female main character to all these women + Rey, Jyn Erso, Ahsoka, etc. etc.

Can’t wait for the trap remix of the Dark Trooper activation noises. (And the transition from that to the minimalist flute theme is perfect.)

The spy movie version of the main theme music is sick.

The Dark Trooper droid faces have a lot of similarity to Darth Vader’s mask. That callback is especially apparent when the one is literally lit from the inside with fire. He was already a martyr/legend to the Imperial remnants, Kylo Ren didn’t start the trend of ignoring his redemption.

Cara’s “excuse me” right before shooting up Stormtroopers is hilarious. Literally “can’t talk rn, doing hot girl shit and murdering space Nazis.”

Finally an Imperial ship got some frickin security cameras. Truly- the amount of times people just wander down hallways they’re not supposed to be in with no one being able to find them throughout the course of Star Wars is ridiculous when you think about the degree of surveillance our real life society carries out. I also love that this means The Mandalorian characters have also seen The Mandalorian.

The storytelling does such a service to Pedro Pascal and his already heroic efforts to portray emotion through a helmet. For example: Din easily could’ve killed the one stormtrooper outside Grogu’s cell much more efficiently, but instead, to show his absolute rage, they wrote in Din choking him out with a spear.

Moff Gideon would have been the BIGGEST pain in the ass in philosophy class. “Assume I know everything” my ass. I want to hear about his backstory (he would’ve been “coming of age” at the time of the Clone Wars) mostly just to hear about him getting bullied at school.

Smart move honestly, to try to tempt Din with the Mandalorian throne, given the Mandalorian power struggles of the past. Proud of our boy for keeping his priorities straight.

So has the blood from Grogu been transferred out of the ship and back to the remnant empire already, or do they have to find a new “donor” to help with building Snoke and Palpatine’s clones? Will they continue to go after him with Luke?

Lmao Din being so annoyed by Bo Katan being stringent about the tradition of winning the Dark Saber through combat is HILARIOUS, coming from a man who up until like a day ago hadn’t shown his face to a living being in decades.

The dark troopers can punch in blast doors but NOT Din’s helmet?? That’s a wild testament to beskar. Somehow that’s the comparison that sticks out to me, more even than its resistance to lightsabers.

This show works because of the cynicism of so many characters adding contrast to the moments of heart. Cara Dune is not a “fan” the way Rey was (for the record I love Rey, don’t come at her, it’s just different). Cara doesn’t see an X-Wing and go OMG THE REBELLION I LOVE THEM. She’s been through too much to believe in the magic saviourism of the “good guys,” and is instead thinking strategically when she, the one Rebel present, brushes off the usefulness of “one X-Wing.” The only positive things she seems to feel in battle situations are moments of relief and brief satisfaction in hurting the empire, with a dark knowledge that it will never make up for the hurt they did to her.

How do you keep a cloak hood on while fighting? Both from a technical standpoint (my hats fall off without me even having to move- is he expending force energy just to keep it on and look cool lol?) and also because idk, maybe it’s just me, but peripheral vision is helpful when surrounded by killer robots on a thin bridge above oblivion. I know his first lesson was to “see” through the force, but every resource helps, right?

Now that she has the ship, I wonder if Bo Katan can reprogram any salvageable Dark Troopers to help with retaking Mandalore?

There is nothing like seeing Luke’s fighting style, with its efficient choppiness and twinge of darkness. I always wonder how much is natural and how much is influenced by his first fights with Vader (that Skywalker diva flair). I love how they’ve advanced his technique but also kept him extremely “grey” here- like to straight up COMBUST a Dark Trooper takes some violent energy lol.

How tf is Moff Gideon alive after threatening Grogu’s life twice directly? That’s a wild testament to Din’s regard for Cara.

I love how seeing Luke slice through a bunch of murder droids like butter probably was a huge point in his favor for Din actually letting Grogu go with him. Like he will only send his child to boarding preschool if he knows the teacher will be a certified killing machine.

Oh my god they finally brought in some OG Star Wars theme music for Luke to take his hood off to 😭 It felt weird seeing him fight to different music, so the emotional payoff is huge when his themes come back for the face reveal.

Whoever added the digital young Mark Hamill face NAILED those classic shining Luke eyes and the earnest eyebrow lift.

Whoever shines the glass of Baby Yoda’s lil puppet eyeballs each day deserves a raise. The light caught in those babies is devastating.

Din is shaking as he takes off his helmet. This is the most enormous show of love he could give him, and possibly the last he’ll be able to for a long time. He only just got Grogu back and is desperate for a moment of real connection before letting him go once again.

This is the first time anyone has touched Din’s face since... likely his parents as a child.

Whoever wrote this scene clearly actually has kids. Anyone who’s ever had to leave a young child even just to go out for a bit or to drop them off somewhere knows that heartbreak of seeing them look in your eyes and hold on to your leg, trying to keep you with them. Especially when they can sense your mutual separation anxiety. The one thing that starts to make them feel better is something fun like a new toy or friend who can be their guide in the new environment, and R2’s friendly introduction is exactly that (since digital Luke isn’t being particularly emotive or child friendly... I hope that’s just because he’s reaching into Grogu’s mind while also keeping an eye on the multiple people with guns trained on him, not because he’s going to be totally unfeeling raising this kid.)

I love that Grogu and R2 are immediately buddies in contrast to Episode 5 when R2 was like “fuck this guy” @ Yoda stealing food and hitting him with a walking stick lol. I would imagine Luke must be reminded of that first introduction too and entertained by this display of playfulness in a *positive* light between R2 and mini-Yoda.

I need to know if Luke and Ahsoka have met- it is KILLING ME.

Does this mean Grogu will get killed by Kylo Ren when he fucks up Luke’s academy??? I will reincarnate Ben just to kill him again if that’s the case.

How does Luke not even fully SMILE at Grogu?? An adorable little baby version of his beloved master Yoda, and you’re telling me he doesn’t have the same heart stopping gasp we all did when we first saw him?? Maybe he did when they first connected through the force. He has a bit of bemusement on his face, and also wonder in his eyes, but I want a grin of recognition and welcome, dammit.

I really wish Luke had somehow acknowledged Cara Dune. Everyone else seems to see the tear drop Rebel sign and know it means Alderaan. He could’ve been like yo I have a badass warrior sister from your planet that you should meet. Or just “thank you for your service.” (I know this actually wouldn’t have been cinematically good but my heart wants it.)

Luke didn’t tell Din his name?? Or ask for any details about the kid and his care?? I could literally never let my kid go with someone, regardless of how worthy, and not be like, “Excuse me sir who are you and where tf are you taking my tiny beloved green goblin in case I need to find him? Here is my contact info. He likes to eat frogs and eggs, and he can have macarons as a treat. He’s 50 years old and his favorite toy is still a ball. Bedtime is 8pm and he’s allergic to dairy.”

Another reason I wish Luke had identified himself would be to see the mishmash of reactions that would ensue. Cara would be like DAMN IT’S THAT GUY WHO BLEW UP THE DEATH STAR AND KILLED THE EMPEROR, ACT COOL (and she would indeed act cool). Fennec would be like ugh it’s that guy who helped kill my best paying client Jabba the Hutt and then fucked over my boss Boba, I helped save the kid for THIS? And I would LOVE to know how Bo Katan feels about him, assuming she’s heard of him, and especially if she knows he’s Anakin Skywalker’s son. That confusion is probably the reason WHY the writers didn’t have him reveal himself- they didn’t want to break the emotion of the scene.

Let‘s all be real I’m just being needy about wanting things from Luke because of what he meant to me as a kid and my resulting innate need to have more canon of him, whatever it is, whenever I can get it. Especially in this form that’s so similar to ROTJ, a movie I watched on endless repeat. Even getting this was incredible though. Who else could we trust this lil heart-stealing green bean with so fully? Yet who would be so arrogant as to try to train a baby yodling (see: Ahsoka’s wise refusal)?

R2 is reckless as hell lmao. Not that we don’t already know that, but for him to just head on in, effectively abandoning Luke’s ship (how can they know if there are more troopers or not who might blow it up?) and also putting himself in the path of the ridiculously deadly Dark Troopers is NUTS. I’m usually on his side but he absolutely deserves a scolding by C3PO for this one.

I wonder if Grogu has any memories of R2 or vice versa since they did occupy the Jedi Temple at the same time. Can Grogu understand droids? They could swap stories about mutual acquaintances.

Does Din pretty much have to go with Bo Katan now since a) he’s shown his face and may not be able to go back to the Watch, and b) because he has the darksaber and has to figure out how to get it back to her without dying?

How in the hell did Bib Fortuna (whose chins age was not kind to) go from being butler to being boss? Were all the henchmen just like, “Fuck yeah, no Hutt parents no rules, let’s do what we want!!” And then they’ve spent the last ten years living off of whatever money they could salvage from Jabba’s non-banked wealth? Why has no one challenged them for that prime real estate and loot? I would love to hear that story.

Fennec Shand says “respect sex workers” so you better fuckin’ do it.

Idk dude Bib Fortuna really was a good butler, and he seemed pretty willing to comply with whoever’s in power. Did he screw Boba over in his attempt to return from the dead and earn that killing shot somehow? Or was this to make sure there was no one left who would have a claim to loyalty? Or maybe Boba just really wanted to sit in that chair.

Does “The Book of Boba Fett” mean we’re not on Din Djarin’s story anymore? Or is it a new show? I would much prefer the latter. I want to see Din help retake Mandalore or at least get a hug.

[artekai]

Trust me, I know how you feel. But honestly I just gotta gush over how well they handled the structure of the story and Koro Sensei's death because even though you know he's going to die, it still hurts so much.

Because you get the first episode where the class gets given the goal of killing Koro Sensei before graduation, so there you go, you know it's gonna happen because that's the whole point of the series.

Then the series continues with Koro Sensei helping the students raise their grades, discover and hone their own personal talents, basically act like that weird goofy uncle everyone loves and you just completely fall in love with him.

Then the backstory episodes come along and you understand his motives and how he became the person he is with the reveal that he's going to die on graduation day anyway, it's just a case of either dying by himself or dying with the earth.

And like the students, the realisation of that sinks in for the people watching that oh yeah, this guy who is just a bundle of joy and an awkwardly enthusiastic dad to his students has to die.

Then there's argument between the students of going ahead with the assassination or trying to find a way to save him, in which obviously the save him faction wins and they give you that hope of his chances of survival are exponentially bigger.

With that peace of mind, they carry on with the every day slice of life style of episodes with Koro Sensei helping the students with entrance exams and figuring out their life goals.

And then they rip that hope right out of you with the final project and the last appearances of Yanagisawa and Reaper 2.0 and instantly remind you of the original goal of the whole series.

And honestly, there's loads of smaller things that make it so much more painful like: the whole series is very fast paced but episode 24 of season 2 is paced so painfully slow, they drag it out for as long as possible to really make the reality of what's going to happen sink in.

Then there's when you link it back to when Koro Sensei first meets the class and he says "How could any of you possibly hope to kill me?" And you see that the answer to that question in the end is because he lets them.

And the main thing that gets to me is how the series starts with Koro Sensei saying, and ends with Nagisa saying "I hope you do kill me... Before graduation, that is."

I really am so sorry for sending you entire goddamn essays but this series just sets something off in me and I just end up rambling endlessly with bawling my eyes out fhssfjjsfdgjdgjdgj

I KNOW RIGHT? It’s one of the most blatant and literal uses of Chekhov's gun you could possibly come up with, but, even though you can see it coming, it somehow still manages to catch you off-guard??

(For those of you who’re not familiar with Chekhov's gun, it’s the idea that, in storytelling, if you show a gun in act one, it must fire in the last act. So, basically, any buildup needs to have a payoff later in the story)

I think part of it is that the series builds this sense that the students truly can’t kill him? Most of the times he comes close to being killed it’s by third parties (or that one time in the island, but even then he still had an ace up his sleeve), so he really does seem indestructible until he’s... not. And then you start picking up on the fact that it’s because any assassination attempt that came anywhere close to succeeding did so well because it involved his students being in danger. And then the bastard scientist guy calls him out on it, as expected...

OKAY BUT WHEN HE SAID HIS STUDENTS WERE NOT HIS BIGGEST WEAKNESS BUT HIS PRIDE AND JOY........ THAT.... THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL T-T

And every episode has been building up to those two things, in a way? The fact that they spend the whole series listing his weakness kinda leads you to think “ah, so his students are his greatest weakness” but then he says that little speech and they show you flashbacks of all the memories they made together and it hits you in the feels... they turn all of those haha funny moments around and it’s incredible :’)

After they stole the research from space and found out that his chances of dying were slim I kinda went “... huh. So... that was it?” but LITTLE DID I KNOW it was just the calm before the storm....... It really was an emotional journey with lots of ups an downs, of course my brain is fried lol

Also, the timing of his backstory reveal was really strategic. Like, if we had known about that since the beginning it wouldn’t have hit as hard because you as the viewer and the students don’t have a bond with Koro Sensei. But after you start warming up to him and have a few of those moments where you are on the edge of your seat thinking that they MIGHT actually kill him this time... that’s when his backstory really hits. And you realize that he isn’t a bad guy who just so happened to be a good teacher, I guess? But a victim of human experimentation. So it kinda reinforces your sympathy for him at a crucial moment shortly before the final confrontation.

Oh god, and the character growth! Like how he realized the flaws he had as a mentor back then when he was human?? (the flashbacks to Aguri, man....) And the moment he killed the Reaper and said something like “congratulations on your graduation”?? O u c h, that was a gut punch and it really drove home the point about teachers also being able to learn from their students...

AND I GET IT.... the assassination as a symbol of coming of age.... oh god....

THE PACING OF THAT EPISODE... yes that was so artistic and PERFECT

Ah yeah!! Nagisa becoming a teacher!!! And the “I hope you kill me before graduation line”....... wow that so beautiful and so great and such a satisfying ending. I’m sure he’ll be a great teacher :’)

Sorry if this doesn’t make sense, I still haven’t gotten myself together and I’m having FEELINGS so I don’t even know what I’m saying adsfdgfjgkfgh

[yossariandawn]

Alirght. Dusk for the ask. I think I know the answers but well see.

my favorite female character: Kate Fuller - Kate is such an interesting character to me. I think she is very unique, both in how she is written as an individual and how she is worked into the broader themes of the the show. I understand she may not be for everyone, but she works so well for me it’s hard to put into words. Long story short, I really like that she is a genuinely good person who cares about people, and who still does selfish things. And she pays for the mistakes she makes too, she’s not bulletproof because she’s nice and has good intentions, bad things happen to her. She has so much agency in the show, and the choices she makes really matter, not just in what happens to her, but in how it effects everyone else too. She may be a symbol of light and love forgiveness, but she is also so much more than that, she’s a person with flaws too, and her flaws are one of the things I love best about her since it highlights the good in her. I’m not someone who believes people who are without the urge to sin are good people, I think that overcoming your darker nature is what makes you good. And the last season may not feature a lot of Kate as herself, but she is still a huge driving force in how it plays out, both in the impact she had on other people, and who she still is underneath Amaru’s control. Plus her faith in God is one of the more honest and nuanced portrayals of someone with a deep faith I’ve ever seen on tv, so that’s pretty neat.

my favorite male character: Seth Gecko - Seth is the perfect embodiment of his type of character, the asshole with the heart of gold. Because the show really does let him be an asshole! He pokes at people,  he says stuff he knows will piss people off, he can be intimidating and controlling and bullheaded. But he loves deeply, and really does care not just about the people he loves (who are few) but also about people he sees as innocent, as needing protection. His view of right and wrong is screwed up, but it’s there and it’s strong and it motivates him. And as much as he scoffs at the idea of salvation and redemption, his belief that he is himself damned proves the lie there. He feels deeply responsible (which is one sure indicator of if a character is going to be my favorite, I love characters who feel a deep sense of responsibility) and he really does struggle with how to deal with that, and while sometimes he runs or screws up, he ultimate learns and grows and becomes a big hero who is willing to do the selfless thing when it counts.

my favorite book/season/etc: Season 3 - I think season 3 has the strongest episodes, best pacing overall, and the most interesting character setups and payoffs of the show. The first two seasons were good, but I think the show really hit it’s stride in season 3. Sure, there are still some plot holes and missteps, but they are minor. I wish overall they had more episodes so they could do more with some characters but with only 10 episodes I think they really did a great job keeping it moving towards the big finale, and paid off a lot of Dusks main themes in new and interesting ways. The monster of the week format gave us a lot of new cool mythology, and most of character growth felt earned and like a natural progression of what we’d seen so far. Plus, the Western Genre is a favorite of mine, so the two parter at the end was just so delightful to me. 

my favorite episode (if its a tv show) La Llorona - Best monster design, amazing atmosphere, and some really excellent character interactions. Not only do we get the obviously great Seth, Kate and SethKate stuff, but we learn a lot more about who Amaru during the interrogation scene, and see her at her creepiest and most effective as a foil to the characters. Amaru works best for me as a villain for how she corrupts and manipulates people, and we really get to see that first hand this episode. Plus, great Burt backstory, sets up Freddie's arc for the end of the season in a cool way, Richie figuring out how to use his connections to the supernatural to help, and Brandon Soohoo gets some much needed spotlight as Scott gets tortured with his past choices in a very moving way. 

my favorite cast member: DJ Cotrona - A lot of the cast seems really great, and like they really like and respect each other, but DJ does stand out as my fave due to his sense of humor, his intense love of film making and character development and just general geeking out about stuff makes him seem so charming. He just seems like a really neat passionate person, who puts a lot of thought into his performance. Plus, he is real easy on the eyes, which doesn’t hurt lol.

my favorite ship: SethKate - Someday soon I hope to finish my ship history meme, and there will be more on this ship, and why I love it so. The chemistry feels natural, and the ship deals with a lot of my favorite themes to explore in fiction, like: how identity intersects with responsibility, the power of love and forgiveness to effect change in ourselves and others, and how loving someone doesn’t make you right, or bulletproof, but it can make you stronger than you thought was possible, strong enough to do the right thing. When I think of Kate and Seth standing at the gate to Hell and drawing enough strength from each other to do the hard thing, the thing that will cost them the most, and smiling at each other so softly and lovingly. That’s the most freaking romantic thing I can think of, honestly.

a character I’d die defending: Scott Fuller - Scott holds a very special place in my heart, and I think he sometimes gets judged more harshly than he should be. Yes, he does a lot of awful things during the course of the show that result in long lasting damage (or death) to other people, but he also starts out as an angry and lost teenager still figuring out who is he, and then given and extraordinary ability to do damage in a world he is just not prepared for. He tries so hard to find a place to belong, and to define himself. Trusts the wrong people at the wrong times, and makes so many mistakes. He learns a ton of very hard lessons along the way, and while he still has a long road to travel, I really love his journey, and want so badly to see what he does next and the man he becomes.

a character I just can’t sympathize with: Sex Machine - Biggest misstep of the show for me, hands down. And it’s not the actual character  (or the actor, who plays him really well) so much as how the narrative treats him like he’s comic relief. His treatment in season three as just one of the gang just bugs the crap out of me. I get the show is about morally grey characters, but c’mon man. Did they really need his “expert” advice so much that they could overlook that he was actively preying on his students? He was clearly turning them because he wanted to have sex with them, which is so gross. What layers are there to this man beyond predatory blowhard? Ok I’m going to stop there because I’m probably preaching to the choir, but ugh.

a character I grew to love:  Richie Gecko -  Richie is the character that grew on me the most throughout the show. He started as someone who was just so unsettling and disturbing, and by the end I really grew to view him as... not that? It’s hard to describe, because truthfully I don’t think Richie had a lot of character growth throughout the show, and he doesn’t really change so much as my view of him shifts, both as we learn more about who he was before season 1, and why he was so uniquely vulnerable to Kisa’s manipulations. But being a culebra actually does balance him a bit more, since him becoming an actual predator makes his story is less about a human wrestling with a very real darkness inside him, and more someone who has embraced that darkness trying to find his humanity. Plus, Zane plays him so perfectly. My favorite Richie is the horchata loving lighter side of him, the part that loves his brother and wants to be viewed as capable, that wants to prove himself and just isn’t very good with people or small talk or social cues.

my anti otp: Freddie/Ximena - They had some cute stuff, and good chemistry, but the romance felt very rushed to me, and just not needed. And they were so doomed from the start! I appreciate that Ximena knew and even vocalized it, but I would have much rather seen a platonic partnership develop where they were both navigating what a Peacekeeper and a culebra working together would have looked like. So, mark me down as anti there. (I’m answering this with canon ships, but I know there are people who ship Kate/Richie, I am just not one of them. I view an actual romantic relationship between them as out of character, and just not supported by what interactions we did get. I do like the dynamic they have in the show though, and would like to see it explored more if the show ever came back. And Seth/Richie seems like a fringe ship but since it does exist out there that’s also a big nope for me. double for Seth/Kate/Richie as an OT3)

Thanks for the ask! 🥰

[junker-town]

SB Nation reviews: Sarah and Duck

Image: BBC

Graham MacAree: So. Sarah and Duck: a great children’s show, or the great children’s show?

Ryan Nanni: The only children’s show. Much like there are many stars but only one sun, Sarah and Duck is the center of our peaceful parenting entertainment system.

GM: It feels like most children’s shows accept that they’re going to slowly drive parents insane and so don’t bother with mitigation strategies.

Whereas Sarah and Duck doesn’t hate us.

RN: No, and this is because Sarah and Duck presents a world that seems much like our own but is, in fact, radically different. Let’s start with the first and most meaningful change: in this universe, all children are quiet.

GM: I wouldn’t swap my children for Sarah. But also, I wouldn’t not swap my children for Sarah (children, don’t read this).

The quietness is so impressive compared to, I don’t know, Paw Patrol. Their introductions couldn’t be more different.

RN: Everything that happens to Sarah and her friends on this show is met with the quiet version of the appropriate emotion. You fall down, and you wince quietly. You get a great present, and you grin and let out a tiny squeal. You eat something that doesn’t taste good, and you stick out your tongue and say “yuck” very softly. Not a single child lives this way, but that doesn’t make it any less aspirational.

GM: Sarah and Duck takes the presumption that quietness is coupled to ‘boring’ and demolishes it through ... I don’t know, sheer surrealism?

Those episodes must be hard to write — there’s no formula. If there’s a problem it’ll get resolved, but the shape of the problem and the shape of the resolution are not telegraphed at all. And mostly interesting, quiet things happen, and are reacted to, quietly. And then the curtain comes down seven minutes later. It’s fascinating that they’ve managed to construct a passable world out of these vignettes.

RN: Sarah and Duck embraces two truths that help with that, I think. The first is that problems come in various sizes. Sometimes your bouncy ball is insufficiently bouncy. Sometimes your yard floods. Both are stressful! The second truth is that resolution often is a matter of shifting your attitude, not changing the world around you. Take an episode where Scarf Lady wants to sell knit goods in the park, but the weather’s too hot for hats or sweaters. The answer isn’t to make something else. It’s to find a different use for those items, so a hat becomes a Frisbee, and a sweater becomes something comfy to sit on in the grass.

GM: The wool Frisbee didn’t work very well, but yes.

Apart from quietness, one of the things I most love about Sarah and Duck is that it is relentlessly, relentlessly kind. The combination of the general placidness and active acts of goodness make it extraordinarily soothing.

RN: There’s not really a mean character on the show, is there?

GM: No. Although Plate Girl is sort of jarring — while she’s not actively antagonistic to Sarah or Duck, she’s a little antagonistic to the ethos. I used to have John in that category too, but Season Three redeems him so thoroughly his appearances in the first two seasons are retroactively better.

Who’s your favorite character?

RN: Probably Moon. He’s got a surprisingly developed backstory and a lot of layers considering the character could literally just be “I’m the Moon, and I hang out in the sky at night.” What about you?

GM: I love Moon as well. It’s the kindness again, I think — we get to see him develop into an extraordinary painter over the first two seasons, and rather than flaunt his skill he is almost perversely appreciative of Sarah’s role in getting him started. I’ve actually started trying to steal his reaction when someone compliments his work: “Do you really think so? That’s very kind of you!” which is a step up from my usual “Well, obviously.”

But since you’ve already picked Moon, I love what they did with Duck.

In a kid’s show about a little girl and her duck, you’d expect them to have the duck talk. Duck doesn’t talk. He’s more communicative and thoughtful than the average duck, but mostly he’s sort of a nuisance who’s just in it for the bread.

RN: They also don’t do the typical kids show thing where Duck only plays one type of foil. He can be the troublemaker, or the coward, or overly helpful, or just tag along.

GM: Right. And then in Season Three, almost a hundred episodes in, they decide to make him preternaturally good at decorating cakes, which is a great delayed payoff to his being fundamentally a duck in all other ways.

RN: Here’s a tricky question. Most television for children is overtly about teaching. Do you think Sarah and Duck adheres to that? If not, is that a strength or a weakness?

GM: Not exactly. But I’m not convinced teaching small children matters much anyway. Really, what you want is to inspire a deep and (hopefully) insatiable curiosity about the world.

By setting up a really interesting world with a coherent, if bizarre, internal physics, I think Sarah and Duck does do that. Things happen pseudo-logically and in repeatable ways. Exploring the world has payoffs in an episode, and well after the episode.

RN: Yeah, the world of the show is oddly fascinating. There are adults, and most of them have normal jobs. (The Cloud Captain is a notable exception.) There’s a big department store and public transit. (Though the bus can also go underwater.) Also all the children seem to live by themselves, but they do responsible things like grocery shopping and cleaning up.

GM: Do they live alone? It’s not clear to me whether the Narrator is an actual presence in Sarah’s life or not.

RN: Let me amend my statement: no child on the show ever refers to their parents or a guardian of any sort.

GM: Right. But the Narrator (he’s played by Roger Allam, who is probably the single biggest reason the show is Quiet) is sometimes obviously Sarah’s dad and sometimes sort of a ghostly presence in her adventures. The show is totally uninterested in resolving this, which is the right approach, because the revelation would be uninteresting.

RN: Wait, I did think of a slightly mean character: Scarf Lady’s nemesis, Hat Lady.

GM: I hope they get further into the backstory behind their relationship. Scarf Lady has enough history to merit her own spin-off show, and Hat Lady is a great pseudo-villain in both episodes in which she appears.

RN: You mean how she’s just casually an Olympian? Or at least the equivalent in this universe, since the Olympics would absolutely sue a TV show for kids.

GM: And owns, for no apparent reason, a jet-propelled hot air balloon? And a talking bag?

As an aside, it is pretty great that everything talks in Sarah and Duck except the animals.

RN: There’s a talking CAKE. Cake winds up living in a bakery, where he watches dozens of his baked brethren sold for consumption and is ... never bothered by it, I guess? Sometimes it’s best to not think too hard about the logistics.

GM: Rainbow is also fun, especially when they start using the mechanics of him getting yanked around by the weather to tell stories.

The way Sarah and Duck manages to expand everything that happens into something else down the line is magnificent. The show has huge, intersecting plot arcs!

Granted, those arcs don’t matter, but the intricacy gives the illusion of a huge world the writers are exploring, rather than one they’re creating per se.

RN: I think that goes back to the spirit of curiosity you mentioned. Sarah and Duck doesn’t focus a ton on existing character dynamics. It takes them into the world and shows them new people or objects or experiences, and it treats them all as equally interesting. And it reflects something very true about children: fascination can come from anywhere. (Any parent who has given a child a Christmas gift where the ribbon was more intriguing than the toy knows this to be so.)

GM: Ultimately, I think Sarah and Duck is trying to be a kids’ show in that it’s built to show off the world through children’s eyes rather than a show built to amuse kids with shiny lights and loud noises.

There’s an ugly cynicism to most children’s entertainment which Sarah and Duck completely elides.

RN: I agree. In most shows, the adults are there to teach and guide the children. The adults in Sarah and Duck aren’t really much wiser or more capable, they’re just older. In many ways, it’s about the value and joy kids find in doing things independently.

GM: The care and craftsmanship isn’t just in the writing either. The overall aesthetic is beautiful, and the music and sound design is gorgeous.

RN: Is it fair to say the visuals are beautiful and complex in their simplicity?

GM: Yes. But also, the attention to detail is stupendous. Watch what the characters and environment are doing when they’re not the focus of a scene, for instance. It all ties back to the world feeling like a place to be inhabited and explored rather than one being sketched in on the fly.

RN: The music is extraordinarily pleasant as well. Most scenes are highlighted by just one or two instruments playing a calm, friendly tune, and the original songs are 1) short, 2) easy for a child or their tone-deaf parent to sing, and 3) again, not shouted.

GM: My one-year-old thinks the ‘theme song’ is shouted.

RN: Again, the show’s quiet is purely an aspiration, not a reality.

GM: Speaking of aspiration, one of the few things keeping me sensible in the year of our lord 2020 is that Season Four is going to be announced. I suspect it won’t be, because that’s how the world goes ... but wouldn’t it be nice?

RN: Season Four would be a wonderful surprise. But if we have to spend 2020 rewatching old episodes, well, that’d be pleasant, too.

Style 10

Content 10

Overall 10

[helloworlddemo1122-yahoopar-blog]

'Riverdale' Season 2 Finale: Here's Why Was Arrested and What's Next in Season 3! (Exclusive)

WARNING: We’re about to give you answers to the biggest questions you have after watching Riverdale’s season two finale. If you have not watched the episode, or do not want to be spoiled — leave now! For everyone else, grab a milkshake and pay attention…

That Riverdale season two finale had everything!

A miraculous recovery? Yup. A shocking arrest? You betcha. A sultry bedroom scene? Oh, yes. And two new members of the Southside Serpents? Check and check!

But despite all of these answers, we were still left with plenty of lingering questions about “The town with pep!” and its ridiculously attractive residents, so we called up Riverdale show runner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and asked him to spill on everything from Archie’s arrest to that casual Black Hood reveal.

ET: Jughead lives! What was the decision behind nearly giving fans a heart attack and trying to make us all think that Jughead was going to die?

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: You know some of the cast members said, “God, that should’ve been the cliffhanger for the season finale!” But we did a version of that with Fred where Fred’s life hung in the balance — and then Fred lived, of course. And I knew that Jughead wasn’t going to die and it felt like making that the season finale, unless we were actually going to kill Jughead, I didn’t want to do it because it would’ve felt like a little bit of a tease, but no delivery. And really when we talked about it, what we wanted was for Jughead to make a real sacrifice in a heroic way for the Serpents and we wanted to play the reality of that. But for us it wasn’t about the cliffhanger or the shock, it was the actual action that Jughead took as a gesture for the Serpents. 

The actual cliffhanger that you decided to end the season with is Hiram trying to frame Archie for murder. We ended the episode with Archie getting arrested in front of the entire school — Can you talk about your decision to end the season that way instead?

Absolutely. I think all season long Archie has sort of been drawn to revenge against the Black Hood and he was drawn into a really dangerous fame with Hiram. He was attracted to Hiram’s power. He was attracted to Hiram’s money. He was attracted to the way that Hiram did business. We felt like though Archie shifted back to the side of the angels with Fred, that there should be consequences for what Archie did this season. He tried to go toe-to-toe with a much more experienced, older mobster and if felt like there should be a payoff to that. 

Also, we can’t forget that Archie actually did lie and take credit for that murder. He was trying to show off to Hiram’s mobster friends and said that he “took care of” that boy in the cabin when it was really Andre who committed the murder.

Absolutely! He did that out of bravado, exactly. So it felt like all the chickens are coming home to roost. And it felt like all of these lies are going to connect to bite Archie in the behind for all the stuff he did.

Let’s talk about our two newest Serpents! We actually saw Cheryl get her jacket in a special ceremony and we say Jughead ask Betty to be his "Serpent queen." What did that mean for you to be able to expand the serpents this year?

The Serpents are currently in a giant state of flux. They’ve got a new leader, they’ve got two new members, and they’ve left their old territory — the Southside — behind. We hope they’re going to exist and Jughead has said that he’s going to keep them going, but how? They’re the Southside Serpents and they don’t live on the Southside anymore and a lot of them have defected. I think that’s a very big question that we hit early on in season three.

The CW

Can you talk a little bit about Betty and Jughead's relationship in this final episode? We saw them have a nice romantic rendezvous in the Five Seasons, which was a nice surprise for that couple. 

Yeah, so much of this season has been dark for both Betty and Jughead, but even more than that, they were on separate tracks. Betty was with the Black Hood and Jughead was with the Serpents and we didn’t see them working together as detectives as much, Betty kept Jughead out of the Black Hood business, and Jughead kept Betty out of the Serpents — nor did we really see them dating or doing any of the normal high school stuff. So I think it was important in the finale to kind of bring them together again as a couple and remind people that they are a romantic couple as well and that again is something that we want to get back to in season three.

I spoke with Madeline Petsch and Vanesaa Morgan two separate times and they both mentioned how excited they were for a few Choni scenes — specifically one with Toni moving in with Cheryl and Nana Rose. Can you talk about your decision to cut that scene from the finale and use it for another time?

In the finale we always write it big, but in the end we have to leave some behind for timing reasons. For instance, at the end of season one, we had shot that the Coopers were going to adopt Jughead. We shot that scene, and I think it ended up on the DVD, I can’t remember. We ended up cutting that partly for time reasons and also because we wanted to see what the strokes for season two were going to be. If we were going to tell that story, the first thing the that would’ve happened in season two would’ve been that Jughead moved in with Betty, — so the same thing was true for Cheryl and Toni. I will tell you though, and I will let all of the Choni fans know, that I’m the biggest Choni fan. If scenes didn’t make it into the final cut, they will be on the DVD and we will try to release them and I can promise you that they are big stories ahead for Choni.

(For more details on the deleted Cheryl and Toni scenes from Riverdale’s season two finale, read our full interviews with stars Madelaine Petsch and Vanessa Morgan here!)

Given the fact that fans were waiting all season to discover the identity of the Black Hood, it was a bit surprising to learn from a brief conversation with Sherriff Minetta that the “copycat Black Hood” was actually Tall Boy. Can you explain the decision to have Tall Boy be the second man under the mask, and if we should really believe that to be the truth?

The central Black Hood mystery was resolved when Hal was caught, and Hiram hired Tall Boy to pose as a copycat from the Riverdale Town Hall onwards. This was almost a coda to the Black Hood story. We’ve seen Tall Boy working for Hiram in the past, so it made sense that Hiram would hire Tall Boy to do his dirty work – afterwards, he was able to dispose of him without any remorse or loose ends to tie up.

If season one was about introducing viewers to the town of Riverdale, and season two was about completely shaking things up, what can you tease about what’s ahead in season three? What is something that you definitely want to include next season?

In season three we’ll see a Riverdale that has fallen to the dark side – you can call Riverdale Sin City in a sense. On some level, this next season will be able how our characters try to maintain their decency and optimism while living in the once all American town, which has now descended into chaos and become a full fledged crime town.

Riverdale’s third season will premiere later this Fall on The CW.

RELATED CONTENT:

'Riverdale': The Black Hood Speaks Out! [SPOILER] Addresses That Confusing & Complicated Backstory!

'Riverdale' Star Skeet Ulrich Reveals the Surprisingly Hilarious Story Behind That 'Traumatic' Cliffhanger!

‘Riverdale’s Lili Reinhart Feels ‘Amazing’ Making Red Carpet Debut with Cole Sprouse at Met Gala (Exclusive)

[ultralifehackerguru-blog]

New Post has been published on http://www.lifehacker.guru/21-biggest-questions-seeing-star-wars-last-jedi/

The 21 biggest questions we have after seeing 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'

Warning: There are spoilers ahead. Do not read on if you have not seen “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is finally in theaters and fans are having a lot of different feelings about it.

Maybe you loved it. Maybe you’re mad at the number of unresolved answers provided from 2015’s “The Force Awakens.” (We want to know who Snoke is, too!) Maybe you’re just wondering what some of those weird scenes were about. The more you think about “The Last Jedi,” the less some of it starts to make sense.

Whatever you’re feeling about “TLJ,” we hear you. Let’s wade through this together.

Keep reading to see the biggest questions we have after the movie.

View As: One Page Slides

1. Who is Rey?

No, really. Who are you?

Lucasfilm

Let’s start off with an easy one.

Yes, we know Kylo Ren gave us some sort of answer. He said Rey is no one, a nobody from Jakku with nobody parents who sold her for money. Could Ben Solo have been lying? Rey seems way too advanced without proper training in the Force to not have some Jedi lineage.

If that really was the big reveal, boy was it a letdown.

You can read more on Rey’s reveal and what we know (or don’t know) about her here.

2. So, who was Snoke?

Does it even matter who this guy is at this point?

Disney/Lucafilm

Another letdown. “The Force Awakens” built up this mysterious villain, spawning two years worth of theories on his identity, only to kill him off without giving us any backstory whatsoever on him.

Sorry, gang. Your theories didn’t matter. And that’s a plot point which is most likely going to fracture the fandom — annoying those who invested so much time in something that had absolutely zero payoff.

If you decided to pick up any of Disney’s tie-in novelizations you got a little more of a peek into Snoke (but not really). You can read more on the character here.

3. Is Luke dead?

Luke just peaced on this entire franchise. Deuces.

Disney/Lucasfilm

In short, yes. Luke finally made peace with his demons and found some sort of resolve with his nephew. Now, he’s one with the Force. Maybe we’ll see him return as a Force Ghost like Yoda.

And if you’re not convinced, director Rian Johnson confirmed as much during a post-screening Q&A.

“I had huge hesitance,” said Johnson. “I was terrified. It was a growing sense of dread when I realized this was going to make sense in that chapter.”

4. But is Luke going to appear in another “Star Wars” movie?

Who knows at this point?

Disney/Lucasfilm

Maybe with Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher out of the picture, Hamill decided it was his time to move on, too.

At the film’s post-screening Q&A, Hamill seemed hopeful he could return.

“I’m just still holding on to the line, ‘See you around, kid.’ I can be in Episode Nine!” Hamill said. “I might consider catering the film just so I can hang out.”

You can read more about Skywalker’s departure from “The Last Jedi” here.

5. Will R2-D2 stay awake or will he go back into his droid hibernation?

R2 has seen some stuff.

Disney/Lucasfilm

We know R2 was deep in droid sleep because he was sad his master Luke went into exile.

Though he woke up at the end of “The Force Awakens” when Luke’s location was found and was overjoyed to reunite with him in “The Last Jedi,” what will he do now that Luke is gone? Will R2 go back into a deep slumber or will he go back to hanging out with his best bud, C-3P0?

6. Is Carrie Fisher going to be in the next “Star Wars” movie?

It seems weird that Princess Leia is still alive at the movie’s end.

Disney/Lucasfilm

One of the most surprising reveals of “The Last Jedi” is that Princess Leia made it through the movie alive. Does that mean we’ll see her in “Episode IX”?

Disney CEO Bob Iger has said the company would not use CG to bring Fisher’s character to life.

7. What was that entire scene with Leia floating in space?

I’m sorry, but it felt like Disney was toying with our emotions a bit on this one.

Disney

Perhaps the most mind-boggling scene in “The Last Jedi” — and there are several — is one that occurs early in the movie. It looks like Princess Leia is going to be killed off, but then the rug gets pulled up from under us.

The camera comes back to Leia floating in space and she slowly wakes up and gets herself to safety.

What gives? Can people all of a sudden breathe in space? What sort of Force powers does Leia have where she can wake up (in space) and fly through the air like Peter Pan to safety?

We’re just going to sit tight and wait for answers right now.

7. Why is there a Force-sensitive kid on Canto Bight?

You can be a Jedi and you can be a Jedi. Everyone can be a Jedi!

Lucasfilm

Perhaps the strangest (and most unnecessary) reveal was that one of the kids in the casino city Finn visited is Force-sensitive. That revelation leads to a lot of questions.

Is that child related to a famous Force user? Are there more Force-sensitive kids on Canto Bight? Is the casino city a dumping ground for potential Force-sensitive kids or can anyone be Force-sensitive now?

In the larger scope of “Star Wars” lore, is this how we’re explaining Rey’s mysterious Force powers?

10. How does Rey know how to swim?

Shouldn’t she have drowned?

Disney/Lucafilm

Rey falls into a body of water on Ahch-To and masterfully makes her way to shore without a problem.

This girl has only ever lived on a desert planet her entire life. When did she learn to swim?

10. How does Ben and Rey’s Force talk work?

It’s like they were Skyping.

Disney/Lucasfilm

We know Snoke was responsible for connecting them together, but they were still able to speak to each other after the Supreme Leader was killed.

And how were they able to see each other while connecting? It’s never seemed to be that way in the past (that we know of). Luke and Leia and Luke and his father would communicate, but it only ever appeared that they heard each other.

Is Disney just making its own Force rules now?

11. If Snoke was linking Ben’s and Rey’s minds why did he connect them together when Ben was shirtless?

We appreciate shirtless Adam Driver, but that was weird.

Disney

Did Snoke think seeing Ben shirtless was going to get Rey to come running to their ship? That’s a bit invasive.

12. What was up with that trippy mirror scene?

Was Rey looking into the Mirror of Erised? This felt like something out of “Harry Potter.”

Disney/Lucasfilm

Rey didn’t get any answers about her parents from this magical Force cave in “The Last Jedi.” For whatever reason, she didn’t bother asking Luke about the mirror cave when he may have been the one person who knew what it was.

12. Why was Yoda the only Force ghost in this movie?

Is everyone else on vacation because we were hoping to be reunited with Obi-Wan.

Lucasfilm

Where’s his Force ghost dad or his old pal Obi-Wan Kenobi? We know Ewan McGregor wants in on some more “Star Wars” movies.

13. Why don’t all Stormtroopers have chrome suits?

It seems like it would be cost effective in the long run.

Disney/Lucasfilm

There’s a scene where Rose tries to shoot Captain Phasma late in the film and blaster fire bounces off of Phasma’s chrome armor.

If blaster beams bounce off of chrome armor, shouldn’t all Stormtroopers get with the times and wear chrome armor? Is it too expensive? Just leave Phasma with that awesome cape to stand out.

15. Why didn’t any allies respond to Leia’s cry for help near the end of the movie?

Leia told the Resistance to use her code specifically when they reached out to allies on Crait.

Universal Studios

Is everyone else dead who aligns with Leia or is there no hope left in the galaxy?

16. Is Rey going to have a double-bladed lightsaber in the next film?

Imagine this as a lightsaber.

Disney/Lucasfilm

Rey and Kylo Ren snapped Luke’s original lightsaber in half near the film’s end. Rey sat with the broken lightsaber next to Leia at the film’s end.

We’re hoping the kyber crystal from the weapon can be used to build her a new weapon and one that would resemble the staff she’s used to wielding.

17. Do the Jedi matter anymore?

This is a real question.

Lucasfilm

We seem to get some differing opinions on this matter from Luke Skywalker and Yoda. It’s a bit confusing and a bit frustrating.

Most of the movie, Luke preaches that the Jedi need to end.

I get it. Luke makes some good points about the Jedi giving rise to Darth Vader and Darth Sidious. They’re not perfect. The perfect balance of the Force would be something in between a Jedi and Sith, a true balance of light and dark which Luke never suggests.

Here are a few things he says about the terrible Jedi:

“I’ll teach you the ways of the Jedi, and why they need to end.”

“To say if the Jedi die that the Force dies is vanity.”

“The legacy of the Jedi is failure.”

When Rey leaves him to find Kylo Ren, Luke goes to burn down a sacred Jedi tree. He pauses, but then Force ghost Yoda shows up to finish the job. The two sit around laughing and smiling as they watch the tree go up in flames and decide that the Jedi are over.

A few scenes later, Luke meets up Kylo Ren (in hologram form, but whatever) and tells him that the Jedi will not end with him. There’s another. The scene cuts over to Rey.

What? You just said the Jedi were done Luke. Which is it?

18. Will “Episode IX” take place in the future?

“Episode VIII” doesn’t exactly leave you excited to see the next chapter right away.

Lucasfilm

Actually, what will “Episode IX” even be about? “The Last Jedi” sits nicely on its own as a standalone movie.

I guess the Resistance still has to take down Kylo Ren and whatever is left of the First Order, but what’s the real end game here? Are they trying to bring down Kylo Ren or turn him to the light side? Leia seemed to give up all hope on her son by the end of “The Last Jedi.”

The fact that Leia Organa is still alive at the end of the movie also makes it difficult to believe the film won’t have some sort of time jump. Disney has said it won’t CG her into future movies. Otherwise, the character would need to be awkwardly written out.

19. How did Rey get on the Millennium Falcon near the movie’s end?

Great to see you Rey, but when did you get on that ship?

Disney/Lucasfilm

After Rey leaves Kylo Ren, General Hux says that she took Snoke’s escape ship. When we next see Rey, she’s aboard the Millennium Falcon on Crait. Rey had to have stopped somewhere in between to ditch Snoke’s ship and get on the Falcon. For all we know, Snoke’s ship is just floating out in space.

20. Does Rey have the sacred Jedi order texts?

You may have missed this moment.

Disney/Lucasfilm

We thought we spied them tucked aboard the Millennium Falcon in a drawer, but we’re not 100% sure. (Others have told us they spotted them, too.)

Luke never made it into the Jedi tree to get them out. Yoda simply told him Rey had all the tools she needed to carry on.

21. Is Reylo going to be a thing?

Please don’t let them be related.

Disney

We were totally getting those vibes and we support it.

(C)