#proceeds to write a whole post about Ahsoka

[maxime-is-back]

I have no real strong opinions on Ahsoka, it's definitely better than Mandalorian season 3. I'm not necessarily looking forward to it each week (in fact I'm a few episodes behind) but at least I'm not bored, there's even some things I was genuinely excited by.

A lot of my issues with the writing were the same with Rebels but I'm maybe subconsciously less forgiving with a live action series than with an animated show (which was more open with the fact that its target audience was children)

I also believe the show should have had more writers, Filoni cannot write good dialogue by himself please just give him a hand! A more diverse set of writers probably couldn't hurt especially considering the cast and characters. (BREAKING NEWS: Local TTRPG guy thinks collaboration makes for better storytelling)

What I love about the show is that it's not ashamed of the prequel trilogy like a lot of Disney stuff has been. This was also not the case for mandalorian and obi-wan but I feel it even more here.

Anyway, can you believe it's been a year since ANDOR premiered??? Perfect show, no notes, you're doing amazing sweetie

[spacelesbiandisaster]

What did happened with the Padawans Ahsoka save in Wasskah???

OK, I'm starting to feel a little frustrated by how many interested characters appear in Ahsoka's arc's just to be forgotten and never mentioned again.

I already did a few posts on Trace Martez, and Barriss Offe (how are both minor characters in the clone wars series, just look at their actual screen time) but there's also her relationship with Plo Koon, Joscasta Nu, Tera Sinube and Ayla Secura who should all been more explored. I feel like Ahsoka is only allowed to share screen time with Anakin, Rex and Padmé (Obi-Wan and Lux Bonteri too if the writes were feeling generous) and that pisses me off!

So today I'm talking about Kalifa (the human girl), Jinx (the Twi'lek boy) and O-Mer (the Cerean boy)!

Ahsoka meets the Padawan group (I not sure if they are actually Padawans or just senior Younglings) when she is kidnapped by Trandoshan who took her to Wasskah (the moon of their homeplanet) and proceed to try to hunt her.

Trying to scape she meet Kalifa and her friends, all Jedi who allegedly were "abandoned" by their masters and were doing everything possible to survive.

Note: they weren't actually abandoned, rather also kidnapped. But their masters weren't nowhere near looking for them, so I guess the word abandoned works where.

Between the events of this arcs we actually see Kalifa dieing in screen

And after that Ahsoka managers to save Jinx and O-Mer (with the help of Chewbacca for some reason). They go back to the temple and Ahsoka gets to reunite with Anakin in a very heart harming scene

It is really cute and nice to see these two characters care so much about each other but it is also very annoying to see Jinx and O-Mer being reduce to background characters after spending a whole arc rooting for their survive. And this is the last time we ever seen them as well! On my first watch I tough that there being implied that they straight up leave the Jedi order bc they already feel way to disconnect from the Jedi by the time they got back at the temple (we don't even know how much time they spent being hunting in that moon), but rewatching there's no evidence of that, so I guess we supposed to assume they got back to their masters just like Ahsoka did.

That is flat out laziness though, they could very easily show them walking in the temple on later episodes similar like they did with the Younglings Ahsoka took to Ilum, just so we know they were alive and well, but they never do that! It's like Jinx and O-Mer never existed in the first place and there's a particular arc that they could had a major role and would make total sense.

The wrong Jedi arc.

I already comment about how I think they only blame Barriss Offe for the temple bombing bc Ahsoka didn't had any other friends who could betrayer her like that and even made a hole theory what could justify her motives for the attack (link here) but you know who had very reasonable motivation for doing that?

Jinx and O-Mer!

God, did Filoni just forgot about theses two boys there were left to rotten on Wasskah by the Jedi?

They could very easily been portrait as Ahsoka's friends for all they pass together and would be even easier to tell a story about how the grow resenting the Jedi Order for never looking for them after their kidnaping. On top of that, assuming they return to their training as if nothing was happened, they probably were send to battlefronts just like all the other Padawans in the order.

So let me explain their situation:

First they passed for a very traumatic experience by being separated from their masters and hunted down by lizards for months, then their best friend died while trying to help them scape this living nightmare and when they finally get back home and ask about why no one looked for them they probably get the standard Jedi speech about having to let go of attachments and how everyone thought they were death and the council couldn't afford sending rescue missions bc of the separatists (I'm assuming all that bc this is exactly what they told Anakin when he wanted to go find Ahsoka, so it's not only the voices of my head) and after a few days of rest they were required to go fight a freaking war.

They have more reasons (in cannon) to bombing the Jedi temple that Palpatine did! How they aren't even suspects?????

And imagine Ahsoka's reaction if the boys she helped to salve were the responsible for not only killing civilians, clones and Jedi, but also framing her for murderer?

Don't get me wrong, I do like the plot twist of being Barriss, but for that make sense we should had seen what made her to that and we never did, but if Jinx and O-Mer that problem wouldn't exist. Just put a dialogue of them (or one of them) talking about how their lives only got worst after returning to the Jedi and all of us would understand immediately!

But we don't get that because Ahsoka apparently isn't allowed to have more than one friend in the Jedi order.

I always stick with my theories about Barriss motives and how she became so radicalized, but its honestly a waste not to put other Padawans who had a connection to Ahsoka and were turning disenchantment about the Jedi. Imagine she having a little talk about the bombing of the temple and the protests that came together with Jinx and O-Mer and there like "I hope you and Master Skywalker find the bomber, but I do get the point of these protests. It was only a matter of time until this war get the better out of us". You get the idea, my point is that The Wrong Jedi arc should had focus more on changing Ahsoka's perspective on the order, not just because they don't believe she was innocent, but because the Jedi were actually losing their way for everyone she loves and for the galaxy. And these Padawans were a direct reflection of that! I don't care how many wars the Jedi were fighting, losing four kids and refuse to go look for them should be a galactic crime! Were is the Republic child protective services???

Please talk to me if you have any headcanons regarding theses characters, I really would appreciate having someone to share my ideas for the fanfic I working on at the moment and I definitely are going to include Jinx and O-Mer in some way.

[kaaragen]

Still on my mental health break from writing, which is going well so far. I am feeling better, but taking my time and not rushing back.

In the meanwhile, though, I thought it might be fun(?) to share some behind the scenes stuff from And if we Fell Together and A New Dawn Breaks. Starting with, the opening crawl summary for A New Dawn Breaks, which went through several drafts XD

This whole style of summary came about by accident. When starting AiwFT I didn't want the summary to give away the twist at the end of chapter one, or hint to it, so getting around it I went with the crawl style opening, fully intending to replace that after a couple of chapters when the story was more established. But, it didn't seem to be deterring anyone from reading so it stuck around. In keeping with the timeline, it also had more a feel of the TCW opening episode narrations.

For ANDB, moving into the Rebels/Original Trilogy era I wanted it to reflect more of that sound - so it is conciously imitative of ANH (particulalry with the opening line). But it was a struggle to get together, as you can see from these initial drafts!

Supreme Leader Maul has launched a devastating attack on the Empire. The vicious General Grevious leads the combined army of the Outer Rim in a surge across the inner-world systems, taking control of the vital Mid-Rim world of Naboo.

In response, the Emperor has despatched Grand Admiral Thrawn to lead a strike team to Naboo, intending to breach the blockade and retake the strategically valuable world.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Ahsoka Tano and Barriss Offee have made a lightning raid on Haruun Kul intending to rescue Barriss’ former Master, Luminara Unduli...

It is a period of war. Supreme Leader Maul has launched a devastating attack on the Empire. The vicious droid General Greivous leads the United Outer Rim in a surge across Imperial space, capturing the strategically vital Mid-Rim world of Naboo.

In response, the Emperor has sent Grand Admiral Thrawn to lead the resistance to Greivous’ assault.

Taking advantage of the chaos, BARRISS OFFEE has journeyed to Haruun Kul, intending to break into the fortress prison the Spire and rescue her former Master, Luminara Unduli...

It is a period of war. Supreme Leader Maul’s United Outer Rim, led by the vicious droid General Greivous, has won a decisive victory against the Empire, capturing and occupying the vital Mid-Rim world of Naboo.

In response, the Emperor has dispatched Grand Admiral Thrawn to lead the retaliation as he seeks to recapture the planet before it can be used a staging post to launch a wider incursion into imperial territory.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Barriss Offee has journeyed to Haruun Kul, intending to break into the fortress pirson the Spire and rescue her former Master, Luminara Unduli...

In the intial ideas, we would have started with Barriss raiding the spire fortress (relocated because it's Rebels location was in Mandalore territory). Maul's alliance is also somewhat vaguer. The intial thinking was he would have control of the whole of the Outer Rim, but that felt ridiculous. No way Sidious would ever allow that to happen! We also see Ahsoka quickly drop out from being part of the inital raid, to Barriss alone. Thrawn was also named, to give a face to the response.

There were a set of major problems with this though. First it was too much information - the crawl was trying to do too much and set up too much so it had no real energy. We also had nothing on the Spectres, who would play a role here. And secondly, these were all a set of disconnected events.

It took a while of thinking (and embarassingly long time actually), but eventually I managed to solve the problem by connecting the events - that the rescue of Luminara could proceed because of the war. Which led to a major rewrite for the thing.

It is a period of war. The fragile truce between the Galactic Empire and Mandalore Ultima has crumbled. Skirmishes are fought across a thousand worlds.

The rebel group known as the SPECTRES, led by Hera Syndulla and Jedi Kanan Jarrus, have intercepted a transmission about the Imperial’s capture of Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and her imprisonment at the Spire, a prison fortress on the world of Naboo.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the Spectres race to Naboo with the intent of slipping past the defensive blockade and rescuing Master Unduli...

It is a period of war. Supreme Leader Maul has launched a devastating strike against the Galactic Empire, with the vicious droid General Grievous leading the forces of Mandalore Ultima in a furious sweep towards the inner-system worlds.

Intercepting a desperate transmission, the rebel group known as the SPECTRES, led by Hera Syndulla and Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus, have learned of the Empire’s capture of Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and her imprisonment at the Spire, a prison fortress on the world of Naboo.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the Spectres race to Naboo with the intent of slipping past the defensive blockade and rescuing Master Unduli...

It is a period of war. Supreme Leader Maul has launched a devastating assault against the Galactic Empire, with the vicious droid General Grievous leading the forces of Mandalore Ultima in a furious sweep towards the inner-system worlds.

Intercepting a desperate transmission, the REBELLION has learned of the Empire’s capture of Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and her imprisonment at the Spire, a prison fortress on the world of Naboo.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Jedi Knight Kanan Jarruss and his apprentice, Ezra Bridger, race to Naboo with the intent of slipping past the defensive blockade and rescuing Master Unduli...

Here things get a bit better. There's a bit of back and forth on how much information is being given in the opening paragraph (it's still too much), and also how much is being given about the Spectres (still too much). Barriss has been dropped, we don't need to be introduced to her and it works better for her presence to be a mystery as the story unfolds. The general rule with crawls, as well, is they should give the impression of having missed a couple of episodes (with The Last Jedi being the exception to this rule), that you're being caught up on.

But because of the connection the energy is now in a much better place. It feels faster, more urgent and more like a string of players interacting and working off each other. Ultimatley, this set are still too 'explaining the status of the galaxy' to really work. Likewise, it was still undecided whether Kanan and Ezra would be heading out on their own, or whether the whole gang was going.

Eventually, I settled on putting the Spectres as a whole in. This was to make a better introduction to the whole group; up the chaos level; and also because I finally worked out why Maul was launching his attack now as opposed to some other time (he'd caught wind of the Death Star so needed to launch). That meant I needed to have more of the team about so that the Rebels could also learn of this and drive part of the plot forward. So with a few more tweaks we ended up with:

It is a period of war. The LEGIONS OF MANDALORE have launched a vicious attack against the Galactic Empire, laying siege to the vital Mid Rim world of Naboo.

As a result of the battle, the Rebel Alliance have intercepted a panicked Imperial transmission revealing that Jedi Master Luminara Unduli is being held prisoner on the planet.

Racing against time, the SPECTRES speed to Naboo intending to slip through the siege and rescue Master Unduli...

Much cleaner. No real unnecessary information about characters cluttering things up, and the energy is a lot faster and urgent.

So that was the journey for that! I'll probably bore you with some more bits and pieces here and there, so if you are interested keep an eye out!

[jasontoddiefor]

This is entirely @excuseme-howdareyou ‘s fault so here we go

A Hopefully More Or Less Complete List Of My Star Wars AUs with honorable mention of @anakinskywalkher as the person I usually bother with my stuff. We also have more AUs together. No, they’re not here because this post is incredibly long already.

I tried to summarize one AU in one sentence. I hope you’re happy.

Here are the AUs I’ve actually written something for [AO3]:

Obi-Wan raises Luke AU: in which Obi-Wan can’t give Luke away and Luke, set after ANH, drags Vader to the Rebellion kicking and screaming

Self-Made Jedi Anakin: In which Anakin wasn’t accepted into the Order and proceeds to study old Jedi temples

Counterpart AU: Jedi and Sith as yep halves of the same order co-parenting their younglings

Grandfather Vader: Pre-ANH Luke as a teen Dad with toddler Rey making Vader realize he needs to change his plans

Accidental Sith Shmi: Shmi, leading the slave uprising on Tatooine, becomes a Sith

Qui-Gon Padawan Reversal: Anakin as his first padawan, Feemor as the baby of the lineage

Female Anakin: Genderbend Fix-it in which the Republic falls but there’s no Vader

Assassin’s Creed AU: Anakin in the 21st century struggles with the memories of his ancestor Vader

Tyrant of Tatooine AU: Anakin is never found and leads a slave uprising

Tiny Emperor Luke AU: Vader kills Palpatine and makes 10 y/o Luke Emperor [AO3]

Eldritch Anakin: Anakin is only half-mortal

Stuff I’ve started writing

Propaganda AU: in which the Rebellion makes use of the fact that Vader is Luke’s father in the most genius way, currently an estimated chapter count of 23, though I won’t actually start posting until I’ve finished this story

Wings AU: In which being a Skywalker is a bit more literal

Another AU in which Luke is a slave and one where he is highly psychometric and touching his father’s lightsaber is a terrible idea

Soulmate AU in which Obianidala are soulmates with three very different cultural views on soulmates and accidentally save the Republic through cultural differences

No Sequels everything is Happy and Luke setting up the new Jedi Order is basically just straight up parenting a bunch of force sensitives kid for the first 10 years

Ideas I’ve entertained and might write in the future or toss into the abyss

Gods AU: in which our main casts are gods given human form

Vader inserting himself as tiny Leia’s teacher to spite Sidious while Bail is Stressed

Another non-Jedi AU which is honestly just an excuse to come up with my own Force-sensitive culture and put Anakin in fancy clothes and have him wear jewelry

One where Luke sneaks off to the academy and meets Han. The sole purpose of this is Han, a rebel, going “what do you mean the short blonde kid i was always saving is Vader’s #2″

Naboo resigning from the Republic, Anakin not being taken in by the JEdi Order and ten years later Padmé and he are separatists trying to get Jedi Master Obi-Wan and his Padawan Ahsoka to help them figure out what’s actually going on

Anakin and Shmi as accidental information brokers/heads of an outer rim criminal empire

Padmé as the Senate representative for the Jedi Order

Role Reversal OT trio with Leia Skywalker as Obi-Wan’s Padawan, Han as Rebel Prince Organa and Luke as a smuggler

Prequels trio role reversal with Senator Anakin, Padawan Obi-Wan and Jedi Master Padmé

The one where Anakin finds a dragon egg on tatooine and keeps it

Obi-Wan, on his way to bring Luke to his relatives, gets attacked by pirates who call Vader. Obi-Wan manages to take out the pirates but suffers a head injury and loses his memories causing Vader to go”could be my revenge,,, could be Obi-Wan joining my side”

One in which more Jedi survive and they all show up on Obi-Wan’s doorstep or on Alderaan and they kinda rebuilt the Order in secret and the twins grow up with a lot of aunts and uncles and cousins

That one where Sabé pretends to be Padmé and raises the twins

Happy ROTS ending where Anakin “Hero of the Republic” becomes a stay at home dad and shows up to the twins’ PTA meetings with space starbucks

One in which Luke is allegedly a clone Sidious created, just wants to be a person and Leia is a Jedi because gosh damn it just let her be a Jedi you cowards-

Too many Time Travel ideas I’m not listing them all just fix its. a lotta fix its.

Jedi Palptaine AU in which Luke accidentally time travels, kills Plagueis as he’s about to drag still innocent Palpatine off and Luke figures good parenting can fix the galaxy

One were the handmaidens stick around both twins and paint vividly different pictures of Padmé depending on whether they were more tasked with being political help or protection detail

A whole bunch of happy modern AUs that I’m not elaborating on bc this list is already too long

THAT’S IT DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TOOK ME TO WRITE ALL OF THIS DOWN??? Ages. Ages. there are probs still some missing but idc anymore

If you have any questions, just sent me an ask and I’ll be happy to elaborate!

[maulieber]

My thoughts on Phantom Apprentice

Warning, VERY unpopular opinions, swearing & spoilers, proceed under your own responsibility.

I think this episode’s providing us with a fucking lot of information, in a very subtle way, so this is going to be hella long.

Maul’s anxiety and frustration

First, we come to see a Maul that’s anxious, very anxious about Sidious plan. He’s like acknowledging the plan is actually going to be executed and he’s suddenly realizing the vastness of it and the implications it has. And probably, that it will affect him as well, since he’s no longer a sith apprentice and thus the order to kill the jedi will also include kill Maul.

I LOVED his pause between the Darth and the Sidious, because it shows us two things. First, he’s fucking scared of sidious and with good reason, because he’s perhaps the only one in the whole galaxy that actually knows him and knows what he is capable of doing. Second, because of the plan itself. I honestly think Maul realizes that the plan’s fucking crazy and that he must warn and actually help other force users to stop Sidious.

Ahsoka’s blindness

The problem: since he’s the baddy, no one listens to him. I liked how Ahsoka was at first like “ok, I see your point, let’s do it”, until anakin pops up in the conversation, then she’s just in denial and completely blinded about him and then she turns against Maul. this is plain stupid on her. Especially because Kenobi had already told her that Anakin had killed Dooku, thus giving her a reason to doubt of Anakin’s pure heart. 

We see Maul completely desperate to find someone to actually listen and help him, and the only one that shows up, Ahsoka, isn’t willing to help in the end. I bet Ahsoka in the end will feel very guilty because Maul was fucking right and she could’ve done something to help and she just didn’t.

Anyway. 

Recruitment speech

In my humble opinion, I don’t really think Maul was actually recruiting Ahsoka to be an apprentice. I think he was just saying ‘let’s team up’, and then we’ll see what happens.  I think this is clear in the fact that he says “the padawan needs a lesson”. He called her a padawan, thus implying he’s not making her his apprentice, and also, calling her short-minded by putting her in her former role as a jedi padawan, when he knows she had left the order.

The syndicates

Maul tells the syndicates leaders to hide. This is very important, but we’ll get on it later.

Gar Saxon

Ok so to me Gar Saxon is by far the one that lost the most in these events. First, I think he’s really the most loyal to Maul, the way some kind of lawful-good characters are, following their leader because he ultimately thinks he’s the right one. He even customized his armor to put the horns on it, like holy shit, he admires Maul to death. 

Maul ultimately betrays him, I think it’s actually a part of his plan. Probably Saxon feels so betrayed it makes him join the Empire in return, instead of fighting for Maul’s followers. Remember Saxon’s the Empire’s puppet after this events until he gets killed in Rebels.

Rook Kast

Well everyone knows Rook’s a favourite of mine. I think she’s an interesting character and probably much closer to Maul than anyone. With this I’m not implying there’s any kind of romantic involvement (i’d love to, though), but anyway I think she’s his right hand and the only one Maul trusts enough to share his complete plan with. 

Also I believe she’s the one waiting for him at the ship, so you know. She already saved him one in Son of Dathomir (also, did you notice there was a reference to it in the episode??) and she’s doing it again because she’s probably her bodyguard.

She is also the spokesman with the syndicates, as we see in the end of Son of Dathomir and in the previous episode, when Almec tells her to call the syndicates and put them to date.

Bo Katan

Funny, we see her complaining about the “occupying forces” in Mandalore. BITCH YOU BROUGHT THEM THERE WHAT DID YOU EXPECT. YOU ARE RUNINING MANDALORE, NOW FUCKING SWALLOW THAT.

Almec

He was obviously going to be killed. I never liked this character much, but I kind of respect him more ever since last episode when he actually fighted Bo-Katan like a fucking boss in spite of how old he is.

Maul and Kenobi

This is totally a random thought I keep having, but I kind of believe Kenobi knows Maul’s plan. My guess is that he thinks he can handle Anakin on his own, thus he sends Ahsoka to help Maul deal with Sidious? 

Also, there’s something Sam Witwer said about “something that we didn’t know happened happening”, and it hasn’t been revealed yet. I have a few theories on it but I prefer to share them in another post.

Maul’s paradigm swift

This is the really important point in the episode. Here we see Maul actually being mercyful (sparing Jesse’s life, for fuck’s sake!!!!!!!!!!!!), and actually letting bo-katan go help their soldiers occupying Mandalore. This is really something new to him. I was honestly impressed. Also, in this scene we get to see hints of Rebels Maul, I think he subtly is playing a joke on both Ahsoka and Bo-Katan in the way he speaks to them. 

Also, we see him trying to do what’s correct. It’s obvious he’s terrified of Sidious. It’s obvious he’s not happy doing this, he’s anxious and we get to see him truly desperate. But still, he keeps trying. He says his plan was to lure kenobi, since kenobi isn’t there, he tries to talk to ahsoka. He even offers her a second chance, allowing her to joing him and escape with him in his ship. 

Honestly, perhaps he hopes that, after killing Sidious, he’d try to have the Galaxy under his ruling, but i don’t think it’s hinted at all, it’s just Ahsoka saying it and nothing more. He’s like WHAT THE FUCK I’M PUTTING MY LIFE IN THIS GIRL.

The ‘let me die’ line

That’s when he has the mental breakdown. I honestly don’t think he’s suicidal or that he had planned on dying in this battle at all. My thoughts are that he’s just so frustrated about his plans not working out the way he wanted, and Ahsoka don’t listening, even he warned her, even he’s trying FOR ONCE to do what’s correct. 

He’s just venting his rage and throwing a tantrum. I’m sure he’ll regain his composure in the next episode and he’ll still try to do what’s correct.

Also there’s lot of self-killing in this show (for example, the first time the Death Wath is presented), and recklessly putting one’s life on threat for the greater good (in like, every fucking episode?). This is definetely NOT a kid’s show. There is a lot of death, drama and blood here. 

****

Ok this was long and I’m sure I’m forgetting stuff.

I think this adds a lot of depth to The Twin Suns. If I’m right and Kenobi knew about his plan, no wonder Maul would feel betrayed. I hope we get more insight on this soon.

What I liked:

Maul trying to be a hero and not being so good at it, but I think it adds humanity to his character and that’s what I love.

Maul sparing Jesse’s life

Gar Saxon being so loyal

Rook Kast speaking. Anything Rook does is fine to me.

Maul being emotional and frustrated. Again, I think this adds to his character. I confess this is what I wanted to see.

What I didn’t like:

Maul betraying Saxon, in spite of him saying “die well, Mandalorian”, like acknowledging his creed and his way. 

Almec being killed. Not good.

Bo Katan. Man I hate her. I hate her so much.

I’m still not happy about how the Republic army is in Mandalore illegally and nobody complained about it. Guys, that’s plain imperialism, colonialism and fascism. You can call it the way you want, but you can’t deny the truth.

Man I can’t wait for next episode. If my theory is true I’ll fucking die. I’LL FUCKING YELL AND YOU GUYS WILL HEAR ME.

Thaks for reading. I hope you understand these are my personal thoughts and opinions and I’m not willing to receive hate mail like I did with my thoughts on last episode, so if you just don’t like what I write feel free to unfollow and block me. 

[forceprojecdin]

Mortis Explained (In Star Wars Rebels & The Clone Wars)

SPOILERS about Rebels season 4 ahead.  “Ezra, it’s art, everything has a meaning.” -Sabine Wren. Rebels season 4, ‘Wolves & A Door.’  Before I begin, keep this quote in mind. Nothing done in these episodes is an accident. Every detail is utterly and completely intentional. They just told you so. This post will be an ever expanding explanation of all things Mortis, as seen in Star Wars Rebels and The Clone Wars. Hopefully, this might aid some people in a fuller understanding. The Clone Wars ‘Mortis Trilogy’ (season 3) was essentially George Lucas explaining in greater detail, what The Force is to him, and now by extension, his Padawan Dave Filoni. I even see a lot of this in The Last Jedi (but that’s another blog!) As Joseph Campbell writes: “It will always be one, shape-shifting yet marvelously constant story that we find, together with a challengingly persistent suggestion of more remaining to be experienced than will ever be known or told... It would not be too much to say that myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestation.” The Mortis stuff (even the Yoda arc. TCW season 6 etc ) is the attempt to further express these inexhaustible energies. Before I go further, we need to understand the true purpose of all this stuff through the lens of Joseph Campbell. and we need to see through it translucently. As Campbell noted, “The problem of the theologian is to keep the symbols translucent, so that it may not block out the light it is supposed to convey.” What needs to be cleared from the lens is the view that Mortis could be anything other than what spirituality has always been in mythology through the ages: an attempt for the hero to return and show us that all is One. That all physical life in space and time is actually literally one with the spirit realm. This is what Campbell was on about and by extension (as it is more that well documented), this is what George Lucas was intentionally on about, in directly translating Campbell’s ideas to screen. The truth is that SW conveys spiritual ideas of the world – the ones that all the spiritual teachers have spoken of through time - SW does not make up its own spirituality. So to understand Mortis, one must understand Campbell’s view on spirituality in myth, more than Star Wars. Finally we need to understand what Campbell was telling us about the symbols. Their importance is not in the literal meaning, but in how they seem to magically transport us to the other world. They have always been used to this great effect in Star Wars. I.e. It is not so important to literally understand who The Father, Son and Daughter are in Mortis episodes, as it is to feel the “tone” that they bring through a common “Trinity” archetype, like The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, or Thought, Word & Action, or Body, Mind and soul, etc. Now, let's get started! The Two Kingdoms Are Actually One Let’s start with this George Lucas quote and then compare it to one of Campbell’s: “The role of the artist is to find the common threads that make all people one.“ In contemplating this quote, we begin to see that Lucas was making his intent very apparent. Yes, this is totally in line with everything Campbell was saying in his work. The mission could not be more clear! Compare to Campbell: “And here is a great key to the understanding of myth and symbol – the two kingdoms are actually one… and the exploration of that dimension, either willingly or unwillingly, is the whole sense of the deed of the hero.” Simply watch the Mortis stuff with that quote in mind - the two kingdoms (i.e Heaven and Earth) are actually one - and you will begin to notice your awareness of its metaphors telling you something. As the character of The Father said, “What happens here (on Mortis) will happen in your universe.” This may seem like something mysterious and bewildering, but it is in fact something that is actually quite utterly clear; he two kingdoms are actually one. This is why in The Clone Wars season 3 Blu Ray special features, director Dave Filoni said that he would not explain” Mortis - because it would rob the viewer of their ability to understand the metaphors. That is the purpose of this blog post, to uncover the language of the symbols. Which Star Wars did not make up, it is using, and always has used, the tried tested and true one. We finally see more of a conclusion to the “Mortis Trilogy” episodes, in Star Wars Rebels season 4, titled ‘Wolves And A Door’ and ‘A World Between Worlds.’ And wow what a conclusion! Everything that has been given so much more clarity. As I had been speculating, it is fully apparent now that Ezra Bridger’s last name was chosen to symbolize that he was to be a “bridger” between the Two Worlds. In the latter episode, Ezra comes to “understand” the Mortis mural on Lothol’s Jedi Temple, and thereby is able to walk through to the spirit realm. Interesting to note that religious art in cultures all over the world has always been thought of as a “window” as such, by the devout. In the Easter Orthodix Christian tradition, their painting are literally thought of as “Icons”  that mysteriously actually transport one to the oether realm (like this famous Holy Trinity Icon by Russian Iconographer Andre Rublev). Here is a screenshot of the mural. Anyhow, once there, Ezra walks along pathways encountering many circle shapes, which turn out to be actual windows through time (more on that later), but here is my instagram post and screenshot of the circles.  They are essentially a symbol for wholeness of the universe, and even the cyclical nature of time. Noted concept artist and Star Wars commentator Paul Bateman shared this Taost view on the circle symbol, on a post of mine on facebook. Paul commented, “It's all in the Tao - or Enso if you prefer. Microcosm to macrocosm, from the atoms to the spiral arms... it's all circles my friend from the womb to the tomb. The nothing and the all.” The microsom of the macrocosm is inside us all. Oh, it should be noted that Ezra Bridger was also walking across bridges to get to the circles. “Bridger.” Bridging the Two Worlds.  The Great Deed Of The Supreme Hero After a careful re-reading of the The Hero With A Thousand Faces, I noticed Campbell was saying (repeatedly to make a point) that the hero’s great deed is essentially that he/she discovers that everything in life and the universe is one, that there is literally no separation between oneself, the cosmos and the spirit realm. He wrote, “The great deed of the supreme hero is to come to the knowledge of this unity in multiplicity and then to make it known.”   Anyhow, Campbell adds the modern psychoanalytical side: that unconscious is also where we find the symbols and that other realm. Therefor, the Mortis trilogy starts with Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka fall asleep into the dream world, the unconsciousness. In the Jungian psychoanalytical view, we enter this other world symbolically through dreams.  Once there, there our three heroes find they are one with dark and light (Son and Daughter) and even other ‘dead’ beings like Qui-Gon Jinn, who says “I am here because you are here.” This statement could actually not be any more unambiguous; when all is one, you are connected to everyone everywhere, whether “dead“ or alive, simply because you exist. Again, the physical, spirit and unconscious realms are literally one.  Anakin even sees a vision of himself as the future Vader. Even time is one, meaning time all happens at once. More will be said later on the nature of time in a universe where there actually is no such thing as time. For now, let’s quote Campbell, “What is understood is that time and eternity are two aspects of the same experience-whole, two planes of the nondual ineffable.”    In Rebels episode ‘Dume’ (s.4 ep. 11) the Wolf tells Ezra his name is “Dume.” This could also not be more clear, in this sprit realm that Exra has been transported to, Kanan (Caleb Dume) and the wolf are one and the same, and the oneness of Kanan, the wolf and the entire universe is already and always inside us. Here is another Campbell quote to clarify even more: “And so it is that the cosmic symbols are presented in a spirit of thought bewildering sublime paradox. The kingdom of God is within, yet without.” That bewildering sublime paradox, of The Force being both within you, yet also everywhere outside you, is Mortis, as Mortis itself is both within our heroes and without them. It is an apt metaphor of the microcosm and the macrocosm. I can’t think of two better words than bewildering and sublime to encapsulate Mortis!  We Are The Light And The Dark George Lucas’ explained this stuff to The Clone Wars writing team, available as an easter egg special feature in the saga Blu Ray set: “We have a selfish side and a selfless side, when those two are kept in balance, we can do a lot of good.” I paraphrased a little, but I’ll watch this feature again sometime soon to get the exact wording. That’s the scene where Anakin tames the Son (Dark) and Daughter (Light). It’s that simple. Even the Dark and Light sides are one. The obvious lesson here from Lucas (and all the mystics through time) is that if we repress our dark side, and pretend it is not there, it will grow uncontrollably and take us over, to a point of imbalance.  Campbell explains the wholeness of these sides with the Taoist view: ‘Yang, the light, active, masculine principle, and Yin, the dark, passive, and feminine, in their interaction underlie and constitute the whole world of forms… They proceed from and together make manifest Tao.” By acknowledging the existence of our dark sides, we can understand and see clearly what we do not want to chose. We can begin to chose more selfless actions, and thereby live more fully in the light. The Eternal Moment Finally, a heavy idea and concept idea finally explained more fully in the recent Star Wars Rebels‘Mortis episodes, is the idea of time and space and how it relates to the galaxy and the ‘Cosmic Force’ in Star Wars. Today’s New Spirituality has admirably attempted to expand it’s understanding alongside science, with a concept that is sometimes called The Eternal Moment, where everything is happening all at once. Where even time and space are one! Walking around that circle, as the Wolves do in the Rebels episode ‘A World Between Worlds,’ would be the ultimate symbol for that, as there really is no begging point nor end to time. I’m no scientist, but the basic understanding of modern science is that there is no such thing as time, and I understand that basic premise. Some teachers and gurus in modern spirituality, also call it a “Divine Dichotomy.” If time is happening all at once, one would assume the future is written, so how could one have free will? The simple answer can be found in the idea of multiple parallel universes. We experience our differing chosen fates on different planes of existence, simultaneously. You might be saying “rubbish”, that’s okay, just follow me a little further here. The important thing here in mythology is not whether this is true or not, the important thing is that the symbols and metaphors of myth evolve and continue to attempt to express the insights of it’s time. I commend Star Wars creators for continuing to follow George Lucas’ intentions in doing this! The Daughter expressed this to Anakin on Mortis, “I am the beginning, the middle, and the end.” So basically, in the Rebels season 4 episode ‘A World Between Worlds’, Ezra peers through one of the circles (a window through time and space) to save Ahsoka from being killed by Vader on Malacor in the Rebels season 2 finale. This is also insight into “The victory for all time” that Yoda spoke of in the very last episode of The Clone Wars - the victory of all time is to exist all the time! But I digress. The knowledge that Ezra gains here is that he needs to learn from Kanan’s final act, to also selflessly let go of his attachments - and further, to accept the will and intentions of others. Ahsoka explains this to him, as she herself choses to return (travelling through time) back to her “decent” into the temple on Malacor. Finally, this now further clarifies why The Father made Anakin forget his vision of his future as Vader on Mortis in The Clone Wars season 3 episode. Anakin sees but one of his possible futures, but he needs to forget if, if he is to have true free will, when the moment comes for him to chose. Interesting that they have The Father touch Anakin’s Third Eye as he makes Anakin forget, using Hindu symbolism. Oh! By the way, this is also why when Anakin, Ahsoka nd Obi-Wan wake up from their Mortis “sleep”, it only registered as an instant in time. Just another Eternal Moment! Your Focus Determines Your Reality (Even In The Other Dimensions) Other concepts in modern spirituality heavily focus on thought as manifestation of reality. This is something I am convinced that George Lucas was studying heavily between his two trilogies (see my final note in this blog for recommendations of who to start checking out). Qui-Gon Jinn’s quote from The Phantom Menace defines what I have come to believe was Lucas’ key artistic statement regarding spirituality in the Prequels, “Your focus determines your reality.” This is essentially what Anakin did, he focused on Padme’s death, and that focus made that his reality. He killed her. He created this fate through thought. Dave Filoni further explained how this works even faster in the Cosmic Force. He explained: “You have to be careful when you’re moving through these big powerful dimensions and what you’re wishing for. Everything he [Ezra] wishes for, out loud, is a dangerous thing to do. If you watch and listen when Ezra talks and he makes certain statements, there’ll be a thunder clap, and that thunder is representative of something else listening.” The time between what you think and what is created is instantaneous, like thunder. Thought is creation. Or as more commonly heard in the Western religion, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was made flesh." Through this lens we even begin to understand other quotes from the Mortis Trilogy. When Qui-Gon responds to Obi-Wan, “I am here because you are here”,  we see that it's because the two worlds are actually one, and everyone is always already connected to everyone else - even through the oness of space and time. It just takes a willingness to be aware of that. Or it takes  being a Jedi who’s awareness is more honed, while also on a specially connected nd Force strong place like Mortis or Lothol.  The Mortis Mural As a Fine Art college grad and someone who apprenticed with an Eastern Orthodox “Iconographer” for many years, I was struck by how on point the Mortis mural on Lothol was. It reminded me most of this famous Eastern Russian Orthodox "Icon" by Rublev. Especially with use of hand gestures and the way the Daughter turns and bows her head to the central figure. This bog is getting long, so for brevity I’ll just say that the basic concept of “Icons” are that they are actual windows to heaven. Not painting but actual doors. So the Mortis mural pays homage to these iconic “Trinity” paintings, and uses the symbolism most appropriately. The Two Worlds Are Actually One.  I love that they keep telegraphing what they are doing by using key words that clearly and utterly indicate what language they are doing. Another moment like this, is when the Trandoshan worker say’s, “Lord Hydan, we have discovered more symbols. Symbols. Another word Campbell repeats to ne end. Sabine even say’s that the mural is a “language,” and calls the Father, Son and Daughter, “Archetypes”. It’s a language of “archetypes” and “symbols”. That’s Campbell. That’s the power of Myth, That much should be totally and completely clear by now! The Message Continues In Rebels, &The Sequel Trilogy So, even though the answers were there all along in symbol and metaphoric language, we now have more clarity on the Lothol Wolves, the Owl and Ahsoka. Ahsoka basically expresses that the Owl is another manifestion of The Daughter in who once helped her to survive. The Wolf is clarified as a manifestation in The Force of the “will” of Caleb “Kanan” Dume. Now that we know time is a circle, happening all at once, we see why Caleb Dume appeared to our characters even before Kanan had died! The Eternal Moment. This is great mind blowing stuff! Star Wars is so concisely expressing some of the heaviest concepts of spirituality and the universe. We see that dialogue has been obviously happening between Dave Filoni and the creators of the Sequel Trilogy. There are endless ties to cite that show this, like the Ying / Yan mural on Mortis to the one in the cave pool on Ahch-To, but I’ll stop there or this blog will go on forever. Dave Filoni is obviously Lucas’ Padawan with this stuff, for now I’ll just start with something Filoni said in the Rebels Recon episode on the season 4 episode ‘Jedi Night.’  "I could just see his (Kanan's) eyes, that's a moment where he could see here (Hera). In this moment, because he's in this point where he's this kind of energy, where he's about to die, where he's more one with everything than he's ever been, he'd have this moment of clarity, where things like physical sight just doesn't matter." Again, actual literal oneness between the physical and spiritual realm.  The title of Rebel episode ‘A World Between Worlds‘ is literally a riff on what Joseph Campbell repeatedly said is the great “deed” done by every hero in mythology, they return from their hero’s journey to show that “the two kingdoms are actually one.” Ezra has now returned from his bridge just in time for the series finale! We will see him return, like all heroes, to bring the treasure of “One final lesson” - to make his community one and whole again. The circle is now complete. 

Photo: Anakin was “chosen” to be whole with himself, everyone else, and the entire universe, by balancing his light and dark sides. As is Ezra. As we all are too. *  *  * Here are  few of my related blogs on this theme: A blog on a spiritual phrase used often in The Clone Wars - “Who You Really Are.”  This is an essay on Ahsoka’s fate in the Rebels season 2 episode finale. A blog about Luke Skywalker’s Buddha and Jesus-like hero’s journey in The Last Jedi. * All Joseph Campbell quotes are taken from his classic book, The Hero With A Thousand Faces.  If you truly enjoy this stuff, please check out Joseph Campbell as a starting point for these concepts in traditional world religions and mythologies.. If you are intrigued by how modern spiritual teachers speak of this stuff, please check out the writings of Neale Donald Walsch, Eckhart Tolle and Wayne Dyer to name but a few. Try some of the great poets like Kahlil Gibran, or even a great speaker like Alan Watts. They are all saying the same thing.  But remember, these new teachers are only expanding on the core messages of the mystics through the ages, in all mythologies and spiritualties!