#saw gerrera could

[tennessoui]

love that saw gerrera in rogue one was like yes jyn erso I abandoned you when you were sixteen….because everyone was starting to figure out you were related to the imperial scientist galen erso….because I did not change your last name after adopting you…..

it’s giving yes luke skywalker your dad was famous Jedi anakin Skywalker a Jedi knight i trusted who fought in the clone wars with me but sure your uncle said he was a spice runner please don’t use space google on your last name which is different from your uncle’s

[knxfesck]

so happy I live in the timeline where I get to see a star wars character calling his people comrades and saying "revolution is not for the sane" and huffing space poison gas for fun. Literally could you invent a cooler guy

[mrkestis]

Am I the only one who needs a novel, a comic book, a short story or just something spanning the time period between the mantis crew splitting up and the beginning of jedi survivor?

I need to know everything Cal felt after his found family left him, and I need to see him throw himself recklessly into rebel activity with Saw Garrerra as a way to cope.

The mission to Coruscant in jedi survivor gave us a brief glimpse into the relationships Cal has with his new crew, but I need details. The failed coup on Norsid, the job on Cardia and just… rebellion shenanigans! Gabs’ backstory as a syndicate slicer and Bravo’s past as a military pilot could be so interesting, along with whatever they come up with for the twins.

[luthanraels-bignaturals]

old man yoai EPIC FAIL! Sad!

[chipthekeeper]

me when i’m insane about a tiny detail in a show that no one else has seemed to notice or care about

[iamburdened]

The world would be a better place if I didn’t have to watch so many Saw Gerrera content. At least Hera hates his guts but not enough honesty

[chamerionwrites]

Complaint #3722 about TCW is that they made Admiral Ackbar and Saw Gerrera into annoying monarchists

[tangents-within-tangents]

I think what bothers me the most about people doing this is that I always see them say something about how Saw "unnecessarily blew up the base" that it was "entirely useless" and he was just "stubborn" and "couldn't see the bigger picture"

And like 1, WE have the dramatic irony of knowing that Tarkin and Krennic are going to survive bc we saw the other movies, Saw did not. 2, It wouldn't have been "useless" and "unnecessary" if his plan had succeeded, and he obviously didn't know it wouldn't succeed.

Rewatched the scenes recently (bc I got in a fight about this on pinterest of all places lolll), and there's a very important detail people always ignore:

The Batch being there messed up Saw's plan too. They both didn't know the other would have a mission there at the same time and both missions suffered for it. The Batch maybe could have gotten away with the disturbance in the hangar, and Saw's team could have gotten away with hacking the cameras, but both together drew too much attention and the Imperials discovered them. (which, side note: makes me think back to episode 1, when Hunter tells Saw you can't defeat the Empire and Saw says "not alone we can't." like maybe if they had been working together with the rebel groups they could have better coordinated their efforts)

Saw had no reason to give up his mission, that he surely planned and worked for for weeks, with just half a minute of talking with some guys he ran into. Why should he give up his mission that was equally important to his cause anymore than they should give up theirs? Also why is this fandom acting like trying to kill Tarkin is a bad thing??? Hello??

Saw: Taking out several of their top commanders is a good start. Tech: Well, that victory will be short-lived as their ranks will quickly be replenished.

I just really don't think this is true. Tarkin is a big player, like 3rd in command after the Emperor and Vader, I don't think that taking him out of the picture would be useless. Think of how much work and sacrifice went into assassinating Reinhard Heydrich during WW2. Or how taking out Dooku and Grievous was a major factor in ending the Clone War. Rogue One also shows that Krennic is the main reason the Death Star even happened, bc he championed the project and brought Galen Erso back to the Empire. And if Hemlock had died then? Yeah the clones would need to find another way to find Tantiss base (which they end up doing later), but Omega never would have been captured (something else people like to blame on Saw). And if Hemlock dying at the end of s3 is what leads to Tantiss and Project Necromancer being abandoned and Omega finally being safe, I think it's safe to say that the ranks wouldn't just be replenished without any significant impact.

Taking out major leaders is a valid strategy, especially if a bunch of them are in one place. Like literally if Saw's plan had succeeded maybe the war could have been cut in half with one attack. That is the definition of the bigger picture! Yet bc Tech the oh so smart guy said one thing about it being short-sighted (in typical bad batch 'fighting the Empire is futile' fashion) everyone agrees that it was for nothing. Like honestly with all this in mind the Batch are really the ones who should have given up their mission for Saw's. And saying it was useless just because his plan didn't work out is like saying something like Operation Valkyrie was useless because it failed.

And again, it didn't work out because the Batch being there interfered. So basically, if yall are gonna blame Saw for Tech's death, then by that same logic you should blame the Batch for the Death Star and Alderaan.

Also, I think it's kinda messed up that they gave Saw this line "sacrifices have to be made for the greater good" as if it is radical, dismissive, and selfish (or at least that is how I always see people twist it), a year after Andor s1 came out which showed a Saw who clearly understands and feels the weight of those sacrifices.

For those who didn't know fans have been blaming Saw, it's been happening since that episode aired but Generation Tech did so in a recent video and you'll see plenty of this annoying sentiment in the comments. Literally saying "Saw KILLED Tech" and never mentioning Tarkin who had the car shot off the track. (They do it so violently too, I've seen stuff like "get your pitchforks" and "he must be drawn and quartered" and even "I bought an action figure of him just to torture him" like babe get a life and it's not his freaking fault!!)

I think what pushed me over the edge is seeing some people say "if only the Batch had followed orders and killed Saw in the first episode then Tech would still be alive"

like

I hope they were just joking bc um WTF??

"If only they had FOLLOWED ORDERS"???? You mean Tarkin's orders to literally kill civilians and CHILDREN?!? The orders that pushed them to leave the Empire, arguably the only moral decision the Batch (minus Echo and Omega) ever made in regards to the Empire?? Those orders!?

I'm so uncomfortable with fans blaming Saw for Tech's death, when arguably there were so many other factors. Saw isn't wrong for deciding to stage an attack when all of Imperial High Command was in one place.

I think it's unfortunate that Tech died, but with the way Bad Batch fans talk about Saw you'd think he was being malicious towards Tech in the first place. Mind you, he warned them, and didn't immediately blow the place up.

There's more smoke for Saw than there is for Tarkin or even Hemlock, in that scene. Wasn't Tarkin the one who sent reinforcements that contributed to Tech having to sacrafice himself? Even if Saw didn't blow the place up, they would have been cutting it incredibly close.

I think another layer is they wouldn't even be there if it weren't for Crosshair working with the Empire to begin with.

Idk why but whenever there are ample examples of other people besides Saw who contributed to Tech's death (namely, you know, the Empire), the blame is unfairly placed on Saw.

And if you want to say what Saw does doesn't do anything on the Grand Scheme of things, then fair. But same with Rex and his clone revolution. Regardless though, they are still acts that manage to negatively impact the Empire, no matter how small.

It's not Saw's fault Tech died. It's Tarkin's. It's the Empire's.

[andorerso]

rebelcaptain + the hunger games au

When Jyn Erso was eight years old, her mother died and her father left to become a gamemaker for the Hunger Games. Adopted by Saw Gerrera, her mother's friend, she became Jyn Gerrera and was forbidden from ever revealing her true identity to anyone. Ten years later, it's Jyn's last reaping. Saw, the forgotten victor of the 32nd Hunger Games, had rejected every reward the Empire offered him, preferring to live as a recluse at the edge of the forest in District 12, as opposed to the luxury in the Victors' Village. It's been decades since anyone in the district even recalled that Saw was once a victor himself, but he had made sure to teach Jyn all he knew of self-defense and combat training. It's the only thing she has of him left since his passing two years ago. Now, Jyn just wants to get through her last reaping and survive. But when she hears the name of the young girl she trades with sometimes, Jyn doesn't hesitate to volunteer in her place. She has nothing to lose, except her life, and every reason to believe that with Saw's training, she has a chance at winning the games. A chance that 12-year-old Kerri Andor wouldn't have. Things get a little more complicated when Kerri's brother is picked as the other tribute. Jyn is good at surviving, but Cassian, with his quiet cunning and surprising talent with a bow and arrow, could be a threat. Not to mention that Jyn knows he's the sole provider for his young sister and aging mother; a family who needs him. Who may die without him. Nobody is waiting for Jyn back home. When their mentor's plan to make them seem like star-crossed lovers triples the attention and sponsors they receive, Jyn is forced to play along with the scheme and pretend she has feelings for Cassian. Worst of all? She's not sure where pretending ends and where genuine feelings begin. The gamemakers say they can both go home if they're the last two tributes standing, but Jyn knows better than to believe the pretty promises of the Empire. Soon, she'll have to make a choice. Will she do anything to survive? Or will she let Cassian Andor go home to his family - even at the cost of her own life?

[niobiumao3]

So, agreeing with all of what @heyclickadee said, and I just want to add:

Though Disney has given creators/creatives free reign to tell lies to keep the spoilers, Rau and Corbett haven't lied at all. NEITHER of them has said he was dead.

There are plenty of losses and consequences which aren't death. He can be significantly disabled in a manner which keeps him out of the field or limits his ability to contribute. I am SO TIRED of everyone acting like death is the only consequence, like daring acts of bravery can't result in a disability which significantly alters your life. That's a loss! It's a consequence! Can we stop talking about being permanently disability like it wouldn't be a big deal?? And certainly being without Tech allowed Omega to get captured and Crosshair to endure MORE trauma in captivity, and gave Wrecker and Hunter some incredible emotional burdens. Consequences, we have them.

What I do think they were concerned about is people reacting badly to him coming back, and IMO the solution there was to show Tech badly injured if alive and in danger in a stinger. I get why they opted not to (engagement! marketing! discourse! omg he's dead! no wait he's not!) but I hate that and IMO anyways fake out 'deaths' are dumb and I need to stop seeing them. They are not good narrative calls. Stop telling me someone is dead if they may or may not be, just TELL ME their path is uncertain. Show me him in dire straits, trust me we will ALL talk about that for a fucking year. But, whatever, that ship has sailed and is rounding Cape Horn.

As heyclickadee said, everything they've done looks quite intentional in terms of preventing a return from being received poorly: plenty of outs in the actual event, no body, no processing of the grief on screen, no one getting the news (not even Crosshair from Omega, our POV character, let alone Phee, the teased love interest; arguably the two most IMPORTANT people who didn't yet know to find out).

We will, if reviewers are correct, not be seeing anything remotely like what would be needed to bring home an actual departure. His absence is 'felt' but never discussed or processed. You don't do that if you want a death to be real, unless you suck at writing or are doing your character dirty. And I really don't think that those are the case here.

So I’m starting to listen through all the promotional interviews that were done with the cast and crew that were released earlier in the week, and something stuck out to me listening to the round table on Skytalkers with Brad and Jen about the loss of Tech.

It was mentioned several times, and they are very firm in their usage of the words “loss” and “sacrifice”, but I honed in on Jen saying:

1. They spent many many hours of planning, storyboarding, and shooting in order to get that scene right (in other words, it wasn’t a snap decision, they spent a very long time deciding to pull that trigger)

2. That they had to convince themselves (and convince themselves several times over) that it was necessary.

I remember them saying that Filoni mentioned to them that if they were going to go into Tarkin’s turf there had to be a price to pay, bc he is too cunning and powerful of a character for them to leave Eriadu without consequences. That I agree with and understand. But I wonder if they went too far in the convincing themselves that Tech had to die be lost in order to get that point across. Like it really still feels like a miscalculation to me at this stage of the story.

I’m still going forward kind of on the fence about whether we get him back or not, bc I don’t want to be overly burned if we don’t. But, I just think it’s interesting that really nobody, creators, actors, and fans included, wanted him gone, and yet they felt like it was necessary anyway.

[skellymom]

"MELEE"

A Bad Batch SMOLL Fic

Word Count: 777

Background: A certain someone has his ass handed to him. Tech is rescued and Crosshair still has his hand.

Warning: Star Wars canon violence, angst.

(Credit: Cool dividers by @4ngelic-Wh1spers, @plum98 @strangergraphics-archive Pics credit: Disney)

“Careful with him!” Hunter leaned over the gurney with worry “Been through A LOT.” 

“We’ve got it, Sarge” The Rebel medical attendant reassured “Your med droid’s gonna be a big help!” 

“Hunter!  Let them do their job!!!”  Crosshair hissed. 

Wrecker picked up Hunter, carrying him away. 

“Wait...” The sergeant protested. 

Wrecker patted Hunter’s back gently. 

The attendant whisked Tech away to a bacta tank with AZI and Phee in pursuit. 

Wrecker plunked Hunter down on a bench, settling in beside him.  Omega plopped down on the other side of Hunter, leaning against him.  She hugged his arm tightly.  “They’ll take good care of him.” 

Hunter sighed heavily.  Wrecker intuitively sensed his brother’s guilt, draping an arm over his shoulders, and gave Hunter a gentle squeeze. 

Crosshair chose to stand and pace, aggressively chewing his toothpick. 

Echo entered the unit, Emerie in tow navigating his way through the crowded clinic waiting area.  The clones and children they had rescued stayed together outside. 

The unit was crowded enough as it is. 

Echo had parked their transport outside of this thrown together mobile medical unit.  Spotting Crosshair, he made a beeline for the sniper.   

Crosshair could already anticipate what Echo would say.  “Took Tech back right away.  He’s in good hands.”  Cross nodded towards Hunter. “Worried about Hunter though.” 

Echo glanced over.  Hunter slumped down, face in his hands, while Wrecker and Omega attempted to soothe their brother. 

“All that guilt is gonna kill him.”  Echo shook his head. 

He then wandered over to the caf machine, poured a cup, raising the carafe to Cross. 

“I’ll pass.” He grimaced.  “Probably cold and burnt by now.”  Flinging the used toothpick into the trash and replacing with a fresh one. 

“That’s what sugar and creamer are for.” Echo joked as he poured a huge amount of both into the cup. 

Emerie listened to the interaction quietly.  Echo poured a second cup for her “What do you take in yours?” 

“Nothing.  I drink it black.”  She answered. 

He handed her the cup, she sipped, then grimaced.  “Crosshair is correct.  Burnt...and horrid!” 

They scanned the mobile medical unit waiting area.  Men, women, children, refugees, military staff, even a lone senator sat waiting for medical attention...or the status of a loved one... 

Stress and grief hung in the air.  Forlorn faces.  Some covered in dirt, others with dried blood.  A few people crying quietly, the rest in total shellshocked silence.  So many with haunted expressions... 

There Hunter sat, face in hands...and barely registered someone approaching... 

“So, you’ve decided which side of history to be on.” 

Hunter sluggishly raised his head to stare into the eyes of Saw Gerrera. 

Whatever malaise Hunter may have had IMMEDIATELY turned to WHITE HOT ANGER! 

“YOU!” he spat. 

Gerrera’s expression changed to mild surprise. 

Hunter shot to his feet 

“YOUR SHORTSIGHTED ATTEMPT AT A MISSION IS THE REASON TECH’S HERE!!! 

Omega held tight to Hunter’s arm, trying to prevent whatever MIGHT develop. 

“Hmph...he even managed to FAIL at executing his prime objective.”  Crosshair scolded under his breath. 

Echo finished Crosshair’s thought. “Yep, BIG FAIL killing all those generals...and Hemlock...”  

Wrecker stood up menacingly, dwarfing EVERYONE. 

Gerara callously replied with a statement he’d regret for the rest of his life. 

“Sacrifices NEED to be made...” 

Hunter SUCKERPUNCHED him. 

But it didn’t end there... 

The WHOLE UNIT scurried to escape the brawl as Hunter basically swept the floor with Saw Gerrera.  Omega barely held Wrecker back from killing him. 

Echo and Crosshair stood across the medical unit...passively watching things...unfold... 

Emerie grabbed Crosshair’s arm in shock without any realization she was doing so.  He unconsciously patted her hand in reassurance. 

“My guess he’s going down in history as an IDIOT.”  Crosshair sneered. 

“’Bout time he had his ass handed to him” Echo added. 

Then he sipped his cold, burnt, sugar laden caf without complaint. 

Tech awoke a day later. 

He bobbed weightlessly within the bacta tank.  From his perspective, he may have awakened at night.  Less staff, the lights dimmed, creating a calm ambience around the overlit tanks. 

Peripheral movement caught his attention, and Tech turned to see the bacta tank next to him occupied. 

Saw Gerrera floated in the bacta fluid, nodded to Tech, and flinched. 

The severity of his injuries indicated Saw must have been in one HECK of a fight. 

Tech’s impeccable intellect deduced exactly WHO may have put Saw in that condition.  His eyes widened. 

Saw stiffly signed in standard basic: 

My sincere Apologies 

Tech nodded in understanding. 

Saw turned away in embarrassment. 

From that day onward Saw Gerrera carried a scar.  

A reminder of acting rashly with other people’s lives: His left eye was never the same since. 

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[antianakin]

Rewatching Andor and I think it's one of the most interesting breakdowns of all the types of rebels, mainly Mon Moth trying to do things slow, quiet, and "right". Luthen building a network of more independent actors and spies, Andor and most of the thief team being basically mercenaries, the true believers etc. and honestly I think the best show of it is Kreegyr. We never see him or his people except a brief image.

Luthen finds out about the trap and his spy wants out but can't, Luthen's morality is purely gray, he can either warn the attack force and risk his spy or he can keep his network intact and let it happen. He chooses to let them die, and we see the horror at the choice and Saw, who is given the choice to interfere and doesn't.

Honestly I think that Andor does a better job with "Axis" then Rebels does with "Fulcrum" we never really get to see Ahsoka do anything spy/black ops and we never see Kallus have to make a hard decision by sharing Intel.

I really hope we get more of these different driving forces for the rebels esp since the ending of S1 implies Cassian is operating off "nothing left to lose"

Yeah, one of the things I like about Andor is the way it emphasizes that there are different ways of rebellion and running a revolution and that all of them can be right and even necessary even if they serve very different purposes. Luthen has the entire speech he makes to Lonni about how he's sacrificed all sense of kindness and calm in order to be the person who does the dirty work, but that the rebellion needs its heroes that it can look up to and be the face of the movement, too.

It's the difference between most of the characters of Andor/Rogue One and the characters in the Original Trilogy. This is the in-universe justification for why Cassian, Jyn, Bodhi, Chirrut, and Baze get no acknowledgement for what they did, while Luke and Han get an entire medal ceremony. The Rogue One crew aren't heroes, as per Luthen's description of it. Jyn maybe could be counted as one, but in many ways her narrative purpose is to get down in the dirt and make the sacrifices that need to be made so that the heroes like Luke can have a victory. No one will remember the name Jyn Erso or Cassian Andor or Bodhi Rook the way they will remember Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. But Luke Skywalker wouldn't be able to BE Luke Skywalker, he wouldn't be able to do the things he does, without people like Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor. And that's the whole point. You NEED both, but the requirements for them are radically different.

And I love the way that it does introduce more moral ambiguity to the rebellion without taking away the importance of people like Luke and Leia who are less morally ambiguous and without painting the entire rebellion as nothing more than a corrupt organization that is no better than the Empire it's trying to topple. It's such a careful balance that Andor and Rogue One have to keep and I personally feel like they do it masterfully. At no point do you really question whether the Rogue One crew or even the characters in Andor are still the good guys because it's made SO SO CLEAR that the Empire are still unequivocally the bad guys and anyone willing to stand against them and work to take them down are the good guys.

While I haven't been able to get access to this book at the library yet, my understanding is that the Reign of the Empire series is doing something similar by looking at Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Saw Gerrera and the different ways they approach fighting against the new Empire. Each of them has different knowledge and resources, but they ultimately do share the same end goal. So even though they all have different approaches, it doesn't necessarily make any of them wrong.

As for Rebels, what I will say is that comparing Rebels and Andor is almost like comparing apples and oranges, so it's kind-of an unfair basis of comparison. Rebels is not and was never trying to be a spy thriller, so of course it doesn't handle those topics as well as Andor, which IS trying to be a spy thriller and has been from the start. Rebels is also much more of a show for kids while Andor is aiming at a more adult audience which gives it more freedom to tackle some of these more complex topics.

HOWEVER, that being said, I do think that the concept of Ahsoka being a spy is really ridiculous given what we'd known of her, and it feels like they took the easy way out by just never showing her while she was doing more spy-related things and then once we knew who it was, she really didn't do anything spy-related at all, and what little she seemingly still does is all off-screen. So it just kind-of feels like they took a cheap cop-out on actually making Ahsoka into a spy. I'm willing to believe Ahsoka COULD'VE potentially grown into someone who could be a good spy, but since there's absolutely no real exploration of that period of time for her showcasing some of the work she would've had to put in to learn those skills, it just feels like they made her a spy so they could do a big reveal of her identity rather than because it made any sense or because it was a direction they wanted to explore with her character.

And the less said about Kallus the better.

[kazoosandfannypacks]

I took note of every time a character in the Rogue One novelization was complacent about their own death. I then realized I was writing too big and started writing smaller. I still didn't have room to fit them all. Complete list and alt text under the cut.

Image ID: a sketchbook page featuring cursive scribbled sentences that get closer together and smaller as the reach the bottom of the page. big red letters across the whole image say "SOMETIMES GOOD PEOPLE MEET BAD ENDS." most of the following sentences are included:

Lyra loved her daughter, but love wouldn't save them today. In a fairer world, he would be the one lying in filth with a burning hole instead of a heart. She'd come to Wobani Labor Camp alone. She expected to die there that way, and, very likely, it wouldn't take long at all. She didn't think much about her would-be murderer, knowing that if Kennel didn't kill her something else would. People died fast from blaster bolts; she'd seen it enough. She didn't think it would hurt much. Jyn, an escaped convict drafted into the mission, wouldn't be strangled until second, or third, at least. You messed up bad. Cassian told himself. This time you get to pay the price yourself. No, don't lie to yourself. You've feared your death for a long time, and more with every day. He stumbled to his feet, readied himself for the pain of death. He was going to die after all. His rescue was over. And it was all his own fault. When Cassian had found her in Saw Gerrera's chambers, she'd been lost in oblivion, awaiting her own death. Maybe that wouldn't be such a terrible way to go. He'd assassinated better men than Galen— an Imperial collaborator, the man who'd built a planet killer, remorse be damned. And if Jyn came after Cassian, he'd die for his crimes. There were worse deaths. She preferred to die moving than to die out of caution. Cassian looked at the platform, at the shadowy figure of Jyn, and thought to himself: I've killed us all. She had to leave or die with her father. She looked like she'd stepped out of her own cremation to take vengeance on the world that had done her wrong. Death had chased Baze for a long time. He bared his teeth at it in defiance. If everything went well, even if everything went perfectly, not everyone would make it out alive. She followed Cassian and tried to think of worse places to die. She reached a trembling hand toward her pistol. She could die. So could they. She nearly loosed her clutching fingers, nearly followed him into the abyss, but a swell of vertigo shocked her out of her horror and impelled her to cling more tightly to the stack. To die cowering in sight of unachievable victory was a humiliation. Maybe death always was. The violence inflicted upon his body troubled him less than the violence he had inflicted upon others. He was dying, of course. When death had come for him in the shadow of the walker, he had faced it with defiance. Now there was grief. There was no fear. Baze Malbus died in pain, but it did not last long. ...she wouldn't die, refused to die holding still. She planned it, fantasized it. Yet when the moment came, she wasn't ready.

End ID

[fanfoolishness]

Cal Kestis needs to be needed.

I'm replaying Fallen Order and able to pay a little bit more attention this time (the first time around, I was mostly just dazzled). Cal has just landed on Kashyyyk having taken down an AT-AT to help partisans fighting the Empire. Saw Gerrera thanks him for the help, but when he hears Cal's here on Jedi business, he's skeptical and scoffs that the Jedi are dead.

It gets interesting here. Cal holds out his lightsaber, a challenge to Saw's offhand comment. And Saw needles him. Asks him if he got the lightsaber off a corpse. Cal fixes Saw with one of those thousand yard stares the boy is too good at and tells him quietly that his master gave it to him.

Saw is a master at what he does. He's charismatic, he gets people to lay down their lives for him and his causes. He knows how to handle them. He sees this fresh-faced kid in front of him with a lightsaber, who immediately starts asking about how to help the Wookiees, and Saw realizes he's got his angle.

(I think Cere clocked that he was sizing Cal up right away, and was concerned well before Saw left the planet.)

So when Cal meets up with Saw in the forest trench to find out the plan, Saw knows just how to play him. He gives Cal the mission of entering the Imperial base and freeing the Wookiees. Is this strictly necessary for Saw's plan to work? Probably not, but it'll be a useful distraction, and more importantly, Saw knows how Jedi are drawn to helping innocents like moths to a flame. If the kid becomes loyal to him for this mission, he'll be a useful tool in the future; if he fails, the main plan isn't jeopardized and he's still a good distraction.

So he lays a hand on Cal's shoulder and tells Cal to free the prisoners. With his lightsaber. The same weapon he just called Cal a graverobber about. Someone older and wiser might have seen a red flag there! But Cal Kestis?

Cal is ecstatic to be needed. To be helpful. He's so proud already he has to brag to BD about it immediately.

Cal instantly looks up to Saw. I think he recognized Saw's leadership skills, his charisma, and his battle prowess, and was taken right back to Master Tapal; but he's not old enough or experienced enough to see the way Saw is looking at him and figuratively licking his chops. All Cal sees is someone who's fighting against the Empire, making a difference, and thinks that he could make a difference again, too.

Cal is the classic smart kid who achieved too quickly, never learned how to fail, wound up spending a lot of time with adults who praised his skills -- and he hungers for that praise still. You can see how he lights up in general when he realizes he's done something really skillful -- taking out that AT-ST walker puts an actual grin on his face, the same grin he probably got as a Padawan when he knew he'd executed something tricky. He loves to be told he's done well, especially after five years in the Bracca scrapyards where standing out could mean being found by the Empire.

(Look at this smug little dork, getting hydrated after destroying a scout walker. Also, two seconds later Cere asks how he's doing with the Force and Cal cheerfully says well, he's not dead yet! and he'd rather not talk about it! But that's a whole rant for another post.)

The Jedi Order specifically put Cal with Master Tapal because they realized he had a problem with not knowing how to handle failure, but because their training was cut short, Cal never did learn the lesson. He blames himself completely when something goes wrong (Cere reminds him that saving the Wookiees and the Partisans is out of his control, a warning he shrugs off instantly even before they get to the fight); he can get a success, but he craves more. He's always looking for that person who can tell him that he's done right, who can give that external validation to help him feel useful. He sees instantly that Saw -- clever, resourceful, respected -- could be a person like that, and Cal just glows around him despite having known him for all of five minutes.

Cal doesn't realize he was being handled, and very skillfully so.

He still doesn't realize that going into Survivor, is still working for Saw, but there's a reason Cere isn't on these missions with him; not only does she have her own goals, but she doesn't trust Saw or his methods. I'm sure she sees that need Cal has to feel needed, to feel useful, and frets about it privately; there are some things that are just too entrenched to root up entirely. Once Cal starts growing comfortable with his powers again, the urge to help, to succeed, to do right by those he looks up to is very, very strong.

After all, how do you think Bode found his angle?

[mariacallous]

"I believe we all agree that the regime is dangerous and deeply entrenched," she said. "Palpatine and his allies will not be removed by an act of the Senate or by an act of terror. If the solution was ever that simple, we're past that point now.

"It is also becoming clear that the worst excesses of his administration will not stop now that Palpatine has secured power. The death of the Jedi was a beginning. Now he plans mass arrests. He plans-"

"Who is this speech for?" Saw asked. "Is it for my benefit?"

Mon fell silent.

"I have my own speeches," Saw said. "They don't waste as much time, but they come to the same point: If you stand and watch, things get worse."

"There are other ways that things get worse," Bail said. The anger was gone, though the intensity remained. "I met your people, Saw. They're dedicated, proud, loyal to you and the man they believe you to be. But if you turn them into tools or weapons-"

"As you are tools of the Emperor!" Saw replied. "You debate in the Senate while people are dying. You have the habits of a people at peace, but there is no peace! You talked about treaties with the Separatists, but the Separatists never wanted a treaty. Now you seek to remove the Emperor's power through law, but the Emperor doesn't care about law-"

"We have all failed!" Mon's voice cracked. "Not one of us has done anything meaningful to stop the Emperor's rise - not my bill, not Bail's search for truth. And you, Saw Gerrera - you've won more enemies than friends. What happened to Eyo-Dajuritz-"

"We were not to blame for that."

Her voice fell. "It doesn't matter. The whole galaxy could hear about what you did to the prison camp, but they'll remember you for Eyo-Dajuritz."

"Where are you going with this, Mon?" Bail asked. "We wouldn't be here if we weren't ready to listen."

It was a gentle handoff. He was on her side. It didn't make the words any easier to say.

Star Wars: Reign of the Empire: The Mask of Fear by Alexander Freed

[bberry005]

lowkey feeling like that while the pacing within arcs is decent, the time jumps are not doing anything good for the writing in andor season 2. and like i feel like this format is doing the character writing a huge disservice especially. like the plot and themes still remain amazing but we're losing a lot of that character depth and interaction that made me love season 1 so much. we still have masterful conversations that showcase character's ideals and relationships, but they don't have that same punch as the one's in season 1 because none of these conversations and moments have pay-off that we're going to see. like we aren't seeing the immediate, big picture fallout of huge moments like character deaths, wilmon joining saw gerrera, bix killing gorst, etc so we're missing out on things that are pivotal to our understanding of where the characters stand on key issues. for example, they can't really show cassian and bix's reaction to wilmon joining saw gerrera a whole year later, because realistically they'd know he's joined that group much, much faster than that. idk what i'd even do to fix it, but maybe even like four episode arcs instead of three could help, or doing a longer time jump mid season while having shorter ones more evenly interspersed throughout the other arcs. like you know how they do their time skips in rebels with a few months between seasons 1 and 2, a much longer gap between seasons 2 and 3, and barely any time between seasons 3 and 4 with little days to weeks time jumps within seasons? something similar to that could work better. like not to compare to rebels but i literally can't think of any other comparison that'd make sense