#missing scene from totf

[i-will-always-love-the-jedi]

(please click for better quality:D)

Waiting…

…

[bikananjarrus]

time for my thoughts on temptation of the force! (with a healthy dose of the eye of darkness thoughts, bc i forgot to do a wrap-up post for that book whoops).

spoilery thoughts under the cut:

To start with (maybe?) an unpopular opinion: as much as i loved this book (and i really did!) i think (PERSONALLY) i liked the eye of darkness just a bit more (if i'm just going to compare the phase 3 adult books).

this is definitely due to just my personal tastes; i love stories about grief. eye of darkness was so much about grief, and loneliness, and getting knocked down over and over, and struggling for every inch of ground to claw one's way back to the light, back to hope and home. eye of darkness was also (in a way) a ghost story. the ghost of stellan, the ghost of starlight, the ghost of the other jedi that were lost, the ghosts of the people missing across the stormwall, etc.

which that kind of love - the kind that creates grief, that creates these kinds of ghosts - that's one of my favorite things to explore in stories (and my own writing), which is probably why eye of darkness spoke to me a bit more. the more i think about it the more i realize how much i loved that book.

however!! i did still really love TOTF, and i like that it had a bit more positive tone as we gear up for the big finale next year. avar and elzar being reunited, being stronger together, figuring out the stormwall (mostly), actually getting some wins, things are going better. it was so well-done, and i really loved it. it just didn't floor me in quite the way i expected it to, but that's not a bad thing; it was impactful in a different way.

that said, let me talk about the things i loved about this book! starting with the non-firebrands/non-elzar+avar highlights:

burry pov!!! it was so wonderful getting burry's pov in this book. the way burry describes the Force and his empathetic connection to the people and world around him was such a treat to read. the scene in the beginning when he was on oanne and he touched the grandfather tree was an incredibly beautiful scene. additionally; him understanding why the oanne locals won't--can't--leave their home planet, bc wookiees have such a strong connection to kashyyyk too; him having empathy for the dying drengir bc it was dying alone, disconnected from the rest of its hive; him realizing at the end that the empty feeling of the blight is homesickness. i just loved the way all these things tied together, and it being burry to make these connections bc he understands it in a way the other jedi don't (which was a nice tie back to LOTJ with him being the only one to realize there were survivors on board pieces of the legacy run emerging from hyperspace)

also burry and bell's friendship means so so much to me. burry being able to defeat a nameless bc he felt bell's fear and refused to let bell die. bc bell saved him from the eiram ocean, and he couldn't let bell die afraid the way he almost had. i just....i love them a lot <3

i adore cair and xylan. xylan is such a fun character, who we know hides a lot of his true feelings behind ridiculously thick walls and a bunch of different masks and many layers of fancy silks, and it just makes me want to crack that man open like an oyster. i think cair feels the same lol. their relationship is just so interesting and that scene with xylan locking cair in his bunk to force him back across the stormwall was OOF. i can't wait to see where they go from here.

marchion was marginally more interesting for me in this book. the thing is, i like him as a villain! he's smart and i appreciate that he has a million back-up plans, and he's got an aesthetic and sticks to it! but i'm not really sure what to do with him so far in this phase. i feel a bit similarly with the nameless. i think marchion and the nameless were more interesting when they were such an unknown factor to the jedi.

the most interesting marchion part in this book for me was the chapter where he was envisioning ghirra and viess being consumed by the blight and just totally ignoring their bickering. i think it's a precarious line to walk with making villains stereotypically "crazy" or "mad", but i think the THR authors have done it well so far. and giving marchion this mysterious air with seeing visions and dead ancestors was really enjoyable.

(i know i will learn more about his ancestors and history of the nihil, nameless, etc. in phase 2, so maybe i will feel differently and understand his motivations more after that)

but right now, he's lost a bit of luster for me; but i trust charles soule will be able to bring it back for the finale.

now for my beloveds, elzar, avar, and the firebrands:

chapter 1 and 20. that's it, that's the bullet point. i live in those chapters now. they were absolutely my favorite parts of the whole book. after so much miscommunication and misunderstanding between elzar, avar, and stellan over the course of the adult books so far (really starting after LOTJ), getting to see elzar and avar just sit down and talk and reflect, and talk about stellan and everything they've been through, it meant a lot to me.

i adore elzar and avar on their own, but for me (personally) the real heart is the three of them. so for me, the elzar avar scenes where they talked about stellan were just a smidge more impactful for me than just the elzar avar scenes alone, which is why chap. 1 and 20 really hit for me.

that being said, i still loved all of elzar and avar's scenes A LOT. avar's love confession to elzar was so so beautifully written. and when she kissed him on naboo in front of everyone!!!!!! LOST my mind!!! elzar's "i don't think i've known you without wanting you"....... what an insane thing to say. what an insane thing to WRITE, tessa. and avar's "in my worst moments, i've loved you. in my greatest grief and failure, i still loved you, and it didn't turn me down the wrong path - it's what got me back on my feet...love is limitless." OOF. truly truly one of the most beautiful love confessions i've ever read.

i mean i could talk for five hours about avar's confession and her understanding of how she loves elzar, and in response, elzar's talk with yoda about love and attachment. that needs it's own post, honestly. but to sum up: tessa wrote love and attachment so fucking perfectly in this book. like tessa GETS IT.

the scene at the end, when avar lends her strength to elzar to fight off the nameless, and it being described as a star. stellan's strength right there alongside avar's, giving it to elzar so he can fight back. the song, the sea, and the star imagery will always make me feel so insane.

(but even with the star imagery at the end, my one, very nitpicky thing, which is also just personal preference again, is that i wish stellan's name had gotten mentioned one or two more times at the end. i don't think his name was mentioned at all in the last 50 pages or so, and there was a perfect opportunity to do so when avar had her brush with death. either she could've thought about joining stellan in the force, or elzar could've thought about already having lost stellan and he won't lose avar too. i get that the focus was very much on avar and elzar at the end there, but i think to really bring it full circle, there should've been one more mention of stellan)

i think elzar is going to play a huge part in defeating the nameless. it's been hinted at before, even back in LOTJ, the unique way he sees the force, and uses the force; the fact that he has touched the dark side of the force, and has a better understanding of the force and how it affects him; him being able to shut himself off from the force in such a way in the fallen star that for a while, he wasn't affected by the nameless on starlight as much as the others; and then here at the end of TOTF, with the way him and avar are now connected in the force, i think his understanding of the force is going to expand and he's definitely a key component, i think, to the eventual defeat of the nameless.

my last thought for now: about halfway through eye of darkness i was getting a strong feeling that, by the end of all this, elzar might die. i still think this is a possibility. but now, i think there is also a stronger possibility that if he dies, he and avar will die together. just based on how connected they are in the force alone, i think if one goes, the other will follow. (i also maintain that i don't think any of the adult-adult characters are super safe, bc there's been such a strong emphasis on the younger adult characters, and this future generation of jedi, that i wouldn't be surprised if they killed off more of the older adults to make room for the young knights).

overall, i really did love this book! but strangely enough, i think this is the one i need to sit with the most. the first half of the book was REALLY hitting for me, and then idk, by the end i was like "that was really good, but....that's it?" who knows, it could be that having read all these books back to back in such a short amount of time finally caught up to me haha, and my brain just shut off. i think i just need to sit with this one more, and reread at some point. but right now, in my honest opinion, i didn't like it as much as eye of darkness.

(as always, i'm happy to hear everyone else's thoughts, so feel free to send me asks/dms/replies on this post etc. i feel like me not liking this book as much is definitely not the general consensus, so i'm curious what everyone else thinks lol)

[valeriemperez]

I feel like Barry getting arrested in 4x05 along with his friends and getting a complaint for harassment in 4x07 could be tidbits or hints of what's to come if the writers do the Trial Of The Flash storyline.

They do tend to foreshadow what the B-side of the season will be about in the A-side, so I agree with you that Trial of the Flash is probably coming. We do know that Iris and Barry will be tested as a married couple by external forces later on, and Grant said it would get darker…

Theory time… What if Devoe blackmails Iris into helping him? Like, maybe he threatens to harm Barry or get him sent to jail, unless Iris does something for him (and she can’t tell Barry or the team).

Hmm… It would certainly make for some good angst, and we know Iris would do anything to protect Barry, but I hope they both know they can talk to each other by now.

After watching the extended promo for next week, my theory is that the thinker is somehow manipulating the team, Iris. There’s no way she wouldn’t believe Barry unless something was controlling her somehow because usually she’s the only one in his corner. Do you speculate this as well or have you given up predicting anything on this show?

I guess I’m reading it differently from most people. Based on Candice’s interview, I think Iris is more concerned by how intense Barry is being about it, and the fact that he has nothing on the guy so he’ll be the one in trouble with the law if he goes after him.  

But we have yet to see that the Thinker can literally control people, so if it’s a matter of Iris flat-out not believing Barry then it just means Devoe and the Mechanic put on a really good act.

Do you think Barry’s babbling and scribbling may be connected to The Thinker at all? I had a thought that maybe Devoe knows how to read that code Barry as writing in, or that perhaps the things Barry babbled about that haven’t happened yet will all happen during Devoe’s storyline. (And G did hint that all those things would come around this season.) Do you think there’s a possible connection, or do you think all that nonsense was purely speedforce-influenced?

I think he knows whatever is locked away in his brain thanks to the Speedforce, but I do believe some of it will be about the Thinker or contain the key to stopping him. 

@eboniangelvibez said: 

Tati, hope you’re having a great week. 4.06 of The ⚡️was a bit flat, for me. The exception the last 2 minutes. It lacked ❤️ (WA). Barry+the team met the Big Bad in S2+3 in epi 6, maybe that’s what I was expecting. IDK. 4.07 looks to intense. I love that Barry is sort of taking on Joe’s stance from S1 (being suspicious of the guy in the wheelchair with seemingly noble intentions.) I definitely think a version of TOTF is coming. I hope Iris is instrumental in exonerating him of any guilt! 🙏🏾

I pretty much agree with all of this, lol. I really hope 4.07 raises the stakes and gives us the Westallen we’ve been missing. And thank you, my week is quite alright so far!

I’m really surprised no one slapped Ralph in that episode the way Barry is gonna get slapped next week. And correct me if I’m wrong, but Julian didn’t get this much screen time in the beginning like this guy, right? I can’t believe I actually miss him. Hope Ralph is sidelined in the crossover.

They are all over Ralph like they never were Julian, and sadly I think his inappropriate sexual comments are being played for laughs. Hope that changes, and I don’t think he filmed for the crossover.

I hope the critics haven’t been too nice with The Flash lately due to the lighter tone. I hope they can tell something is not quite right like we do. What’s the consensus been with people close to you? Should a legal document be hand delivered to Todd H about our concerns? *wish I were kidding*

I mean, I genuinely enjoyed the first five episodes for the most part. I thought there was some heart to be found in each of them and liked how we were easing into the villain. Last night’s episode is the first one that disappointed me, and I feel like the critics I’ve seen/know agree - at least with very much enjoying the start of the season and only now being like, “Wait a second…” 

(1) Maybe its just me, but I do feel the spark that WestAllen have from Season 1, 2 & 3 before they’re a couple and officially engaged seem to be lost. The way they longing, pinning, teasing and those subtle and not so subtle exchange when they look or touch each other, are not there anymore. Don’t get me wrong. Grant and Candice chemistry on and off screen still unbelievably amazing and undeniably the best pairing ever. It maybe the writing, directing or editing. They can incorporate WestAllen(2) scene without making them the center of the episode/story. They should show how a healthy relationship looks like especially after the boy get the girl. After being engage and especially after marriage. A loving relationship that build a home/family. They can just held each, hugs or kiss after defeating meta or just talk about their day. This is what we need to portrayed especially in this chaotic world. Maybe they focus too much on the humor, they lost heart. Any opinion on this?

It’s not just you, I’ve seen some others say the same thing. I personally think the first four episodes did just fine with WA, and it’s only the last two that haven’t given them much room to be cute even in small moments. And yes, it has nothing to do with Grant or Candice, because when they do have scenes together they shine. 

I think it’s just a matter of them not having thought to write in domestic WA scenes because they’re doing just fine right now. WA had (imo) very sweet scenes in 4.01 - 4.03, then Joecile and Cynco went through some hurdles in 4.04 and 4.05, so they got cute scenes then. And no one got anything in 4.06, lol.