#the BB trailer is getting me thinking about clones again

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

BB Season 3 Trailer Breakdown

I am very excited, as you know, for the final season of The Bad Batch. Despite its ups and downs, this show means a lot to me and I adore the characters, particularly Omega and Crosshair. So, without further ado, here we go!

The trailer starts off with the Empire pursuing the boys on a turbo tank as they escape from some sort of facility (I think). Later in the trailer, we see the same tank firing upon the Empire while they head away from wherever they are.

As Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair (he can be seen for a split second) realize that they can't get out of trouble with the tank, Phee drops in to pick them up, commenting "not exactly a stealth exit boys." This makes me wonder if the boys snuck in to get information on Hemlock or Mt. Tantiss. I also believe that this sequence with the tank chase correlates to the episode titled "Juggernaut." It makes sense to use a name meaning something big while the Batch are in a huge tank.

We then see some sort of transport (?) ship headed towards Coruscant. The next shot is of Rex and Hunter talking so maybe they're on the ship. Rex says that ending the war would mean that the clones would no longer be killed in battle. However, we see that's not the case; the clones are still used as soldiers, experiments, or left to die without a thought. The end of the Clone Wars only made things worse for them.

While Rex says this, we briefly see the palace on Teth, burning. I believe this is where we'll see Ventress as that's where we first meet her in Clone Wars. However, this is pure speculation because the only other place I can see her being is Dathomir. Then, we see a downed ship with two figures walking away from the wreckage. Based on the image of Omega desperately piloting a ship later in the trailer, I think she and Crosshair somehow managed to escape. Unfortunately, only Crosshair was able to actually get out. I think we could see this event happening between episodes 5-8.

Rex then says he was wrong about the clones' fate before we get a brief flashback to the railcar incident and Tech falling to his presumed death. Rex continues on, saying "we can't just walk away" whilst images of an imperial occupation flash by. Citizens run away in terror so this could either be Pabu, found at last, or another planet in which the Batch travel to. Rex finishes by saying "not with the Empire imprisoning the kid."

Then, we cut to images from Mt. Tantiss, including post and pre-time skip Omega. Omega walks in and sees a broken Crosshair. Since this looks like the first two are seeing each other, I think these are shots from the first episode "Confined." Hemlock is shown next saying to secure Omega in her cell. There are two Delta Squad commandos behind him. Now, I'm not sure what Omega is holding in the cell, but it looks like she's being scanned. We also see Emerie looking somewhat unhappy. Hunter says that Omega's been waiting for them for a long time and we see her pre-time skip in a cell overlooking the outside world. Perhaps this is a privilege for cooperating? Hunter also says a "long time," so I'm guessing that it's been at least a year since season 2. Hunter concludes with that the Batch's mission isn't over yet.

The next several scenes show a ship being chased (maybe the one Omega is flying?) and what I assume to be a mirrored shot of Hunter and Wrecker because of their facial characteristics being flipped. Then, we see Palpatine with Nala Se and Hemlock saying that their operation is most important to the Empire's future and Hemlock will have everything he needs. My crazy theory? He wants to build an army of force sensitive clones. Will this come true? Idk.

The Empire is seen firing upon a ship (again, the one Omega stole?) and we get a glimpse of a new antagonist, the dark armor-clad figure commanding the TK troopers. While I Initially thought it was Cross because of the helmet design, I feel like that's backpedaling on this character arc so I'm gonna say it's Tech or CX-1, a new clone we see later. If it is CX-1, then it makes sense why we hear him say that the Batch will be hunted down. I'm not sure who this is but I'll be theorizing later. Speaking of that line from CX-1, we see flashes of Fennec, Cad Bane, and Nala Se. While Cad Bane will definitely be after then, I think Fennec will help because she's spotted on the boat when Hunter almost gets eaten by an alligator.

We later see in the trailer, Hunter on Pabu, Wolffe hopefully leading an early clone rebellion, and two clones running towards a big explosion. I'm not sure what's happening, but it could happen during the "Infiltration" and "Extraction" episodes. There's also a clone with a flamethrower so it could be during the same sequence. There's one shot of Echo walking towards... the Batch, Rex... idk. We'll find out together.

Wrecker, in true fashion, asks for a "real challenge" so I think we hear this in the episode "Paths Unknown." It sounds like the Batch are trying to get money or something to pick themselves back up. There are several shots of ships flying; to where, I'm not sure. Hunter and Wrecker are also getting ready to fight. We see the same two clones from earlier in combat and Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair aiming at someone. Hunter says they're not big on following orders. This is proceeded by more shots of Tantiss, TK troopers being attacked by creatures, and troopers being shot at. Hunter tries to hijack a gunship as well. Maybe this happens during "Flash Strike" or the other action heavy episodes. We'll see.

The trailer ends with Asajj Ventress, alive and well, swinging her yellow saber as blaster bolts fly at her. She says that she doesn't plan on killing "you," but "you're" making it very tempting. She might be talking to the Batch. Based on the shot of Hunter and Wrecker, maybe they ask her for information on Tantiss or she is hunting them down. Idk.

Anyways, that's all I have for now. I will be doing some theories on CX-1 and the mysterious imperial as well as what I think might happen based on episode titles and Palpatine's ultimate plan so stay tuned for that!

[communistkenobi-archive]

“Acceptable” Slavery in The Clone Wars

I think one of the most insidious aspects of tCW’s politics is the emphasis on how well the Jedi treated the clones, something that has been accepted more or less uncritically by the broader fandom.

I don’t mean to suggest that the Jedi treating the clones with respect is bad in and of itself, but rather how that treatment is framed to the audience - that the Jedi are “the good ones”, that they can be morally excused from the practice of using a slave army to fight a border war for the Republic because of their politeness. The Jedi Order may not own the clones as property directly, but the Jedi are the representatives of the Republic (which is the body that legally owns the clones as property). The Jedi were the people tasked with maintaining the Republic even before the Clone Wars began - their primary function was to maintain peace and order. So even if they don’t hold the legal documents in their own hands, they protect and serve the ones who do. They more or less function as a middle-manager between the clones and the Republic government.

I think the best way to demonstrate the larger point I’m about to make is by using the Umbara Arc as an example - we see the clones mistreated by a (supposed) Jedi General, and the conditions Krell puts the clones in are so intolerable that the only thing they can do is stop listening to his orders and rebel. The clones are so dedicated to this mutiny that they refuse to participate in any form of military administration - they lie to Krell about updates, they don’t execute any traitors, and they actively take the mission into their own hands. It is then revealed at the end that Krell is not actually a Jedi any longer, that he has turned to the dark side. And because this is the only major example we get of a “Jedi” mistreating clones in the show, the audience is encouraged to come to the conclusion that any Jedi who treats the clones badly is not a “true” Jedi.

Why this is a problem is because it makes a neat distinction between intolerable forms of slavery and acceptable ones - the Jedi participate in the latter. To own human beings as property and force them to die for a colonial government isn’t the problem; the problem is when the slaves’ commanders are personally rude to them and treat them as they are legally obligated to - ie, they treat them like they are property. You can own slaves, but just don’t like, make a big deal of reminding the slaves that they’re slaves, or otherwise they’ll get upset and commit treason.

And the entire foundation of the Republic’s military is based on this politeness contract the Jedi have with the clones. The clones control a vast portion of the Republic military, not just as front line soldiers but as officers, administrators, medical personnel, and so on (they also act as a security force for the Republic). If they all refused to do their job for even a single day, the military would instantly collapse. Not to mention the fact that the clones vastly outnumber their generals and even the senators who make up the Republic, and all the clones are armed and have access to incredibly destructive military technology. And, as we eventually see in ROTS, the clones can easily overpower the Jedi and take over the Republic government provided they work together. Why have they not mass defected, or rebelled? They have the infrastructure, the numbers, the equipment, the training, and there is very conveniently an alternative government being built by the Separatists who would welcome them in their ranks with open arms. Do they not rebel because the Jedi are nice to them? Is that the reason?

THE PROBLEM with this is that, again, the story justifies the conditions the clones live under with this continued politeness - it makes the argument that the clones by and large (with only a few exceptions) are generally fine with BEING OWNED AS PROPERTY as long as the people who own them are nice to them. It positions the institution of slavery in the universe of Star Wars as a problem of manners as opposed to a facially abhorrent practice. I think the more troubling conclusion of this is that it implies that the clones themselves are not the ultimate authority on their own lives and how they feel about the way they are treated (which is, again, as property) - the Jedi are. If the Jedi are nice to them, they’re okay with being slaves. If the Jedi are mean, then suddenly they’re not. This is a pretty dehumanising framework, because it turns the clones into unthinking and unfeeling people who only respond to the emotion of individual interactions with others. They’re largely ambivalent about being slaves, provided they are emotionally supported in the moment by their Jedi commander.

And the fandom has more or less accepted this outright (something I’m not immune to either!). The Jedi are often defended in the broader discourse on the grounds that they treat the clones with respect and are nice to them - which again, is all well and fine, but that doesn’t remove the fact that the Jedi are legally treated as equals who are in immense positions of political privilege and power in the Republic, and the clones are slaves. You couldn’t have a more stark power imbalance. It is not virtuous for the Jedi to treat a person who is owned as property “politely”, because that politeness can be revoked at any time for any reason, and it does nothing to improve the actual reality of clones living (and much more commonly, dying) under the Republic. And of course, the Jedi are eminently sympathetic figures, but only because the audience is clairvoyant about their eventual fate. In order for Order 66 to be truly horrific, the Jedi have to be as sympathetic to the audience as possible regardless of the heinous war crimes they commit.

I am not suggesting there is any circumstance under which genocide is ever justified, or that the victims of it need to be sufficiently “sympathetic” to be empathised with. What I’m saying is that the narrative of tCW works backwards from Order 66 to paint the Jedi as good and kindhearted people BECAUSE of Order 66, which necessarily includes positioning them as “good” slave owners. The broader problem is that the way the PT set up the Jedi in canon is politically incoherent, especially because the Jedi were a core part of the government that genocided their own people. And when you combine that with the Empire being a very obvious Nazi Germany allegory, this becomes extremely fucked up. There is essentially no way to have a take on the Jedi that doesn’t lead to some pretty problematic conclusions - either they were a colonial police force that commanded an army of slaves (and therefore “deserved” Order 66), or they are unimpeachably good people who just want to help everyone (and therefore are also “good” slave owners). This isn’t something the PT is a stranger to, either - Watto is an incredibly antisemitic stereotype who owned (mostly) white slaves. Like. What the fuck do you even say to that lmao.

At this point, the PT era is so politically messy that you can’t really read any coherent message from it other than a 3rd grade understanding of history - Nazis bad, genocide bad, slavery bad. Except even then, the narrative itself makes exceptions for all these things in one circumstance or another. The clones function as a narrative tool in tCW to simultaneously exonerate the Jedi because they’re “nice” to clones, and to also exemplify how corrupt the Republic is because they own a slave army in the first place. The show somehow generates a centrist take on what should be incredibly easy moral problems, such as how to answer the question “is slavery bad?”. The strongest response we get are given is “well, it depends on how you treat them.”

[darkelite020]

Bad Batch thoughts & predictions Ep 7

Continuing these written reactions/predictions somewhere cause itd be fun I think to see what actually ends up happening and remembering what I thought at the time so im dumping it here, youre welcome. (Feel free to discuss if you want) if you want to keep up with it im gonna be tagging these as #jay rambles about bb

- Ruby? Did I forget? Who/what is Ruby? -- Oh ok. Interesting bounty I suppose. - Wrecker and Omega have a completing mission tradition? That is SO cute. - Hooded person is here >>  -- I’m still holding out on my rex or ahsoka predicition because I think it would make sense for the sisters to call them since theyre friends with ahsoka and obviously she knows about clones and Rex is/was with her last we saw him... but the hooded persons eyes definitely aren’t ahsokas so I think it’s rex and if it is Im gonna be so happy - “Thats not her ugly side?” FFF Tech you bastard I love you - I SEE THE WHITE AND BLUE ARMORED ARM IM GONNA SCREAM - I’M SCREAMING -- REX I MISSED YOU SO MUCH I’M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU AGAIN AHHHHH --- I KIND OF POKED FUN AT MYSELF THIS WEEK REBLOGGING A MEME OF A GRANDMA SAYING ‘REX WILL BE IN THE NEXT EPISODE’ AND SOME YOUNGER PERSON EXCORTING THEM AND SAYING SOMETHING LIKE ‘OK GRANDMA LETS GET YOU INSIDE’ OR SOME SHIT BUT **VIOLENTLY POINTING AT THE SCREEN** MY LOVE IS HERE - Cid shut the fuck up he is a KING how dare you - Oh no. Oh god. “thats a long story.” Is he going to talk to him about his pov with 66 and about the ship and Jesse AND FIVES OH FUCK -- So it skipped to Rex talking about the end of the war but we didn’t hear really the story itself, and I really hope thats not all we get when it comes to him talking about the people he and at least echo knew. Like if he talked about Fives learning about the chips and not being listened to and that resulted in 66 because of the chips where activated and made them betray the jedi but we get no reaction from Echo I’m going to be pretty disappointed honestly. Like I get the bad batch not really knowing the squad so they have excuses but Echo did, and I really hope they don’t do the thing “Oh well Echo was caught by droids so now he doesn’t care about them anymore” because... that sucks. Like honestly Echo wasn’t even super crazy about seeing Rex either tbh (I get that Echo feels like he doesn’t fit in with regs and thats all fine and dandy) but it kinda feels like he doesn’t give a shit about what he’s gone through with other people. ---Rambling and getting off topic now because I have some shit between Echo and Fives: but if thats the case like we all know it fucked up Fives when he thought Echo was dead so if Echo isn’t the same way about Fives I guess thats just like... depressing and it sucks because everyone sees them as “that duo”. Again we really don’t know what Rex said exactly so its possible it didnt get brought up but if it did...  - Wrecker picking up Rex is so cute but you can see the fucking worry in Rex’s eyes for being picked up by him cause Wrecker would throw him and agjsdb I love it. - Omega straight up being like “youre old” while looking at Rex’s face PFFT no filter kid. - REX KNOWS ABOUT WRECKER -- Good I’m very happy Rex is calling them out on this inhibitor chip shit. ‘Oh crosshair was just an exception’ should definitely not be an excuse. - Oh alright so the glimpse in the trailer was a junkyard and not the same thing. Same kind of ship but not where the graveyard is. Honestly thats kind of a relief. - OH SHIT I WAS TALKING ABOUT FIVES NOW THEY ARE BRINGING HIM UP IM GONNA CRY ABOUT FIVES ALL OVER AGAIN -- wait.... now I don’t know if they know or not about him. - The scenery in this show is really pretty im just gonna go ahead and give some appreciation. - Oh no Wrecker! Pull up the rope!!!!!! He can climb but you can also pull him!!!! -- Thank god. - Omega talking about if something goes wrong? It’s not like theyre all gonna die at the same exact time.... like theyre only gonna do the surgery one at a time so... Omega what are you imagining sis? Like if one person turns? It’s still kind of unlikely that they could defeat the other very talented people in the room. - OH SHIT TECH YELL FOR HELP - HEY THIS HURTS MY FEELINGS DAVE HEY HEY -- LIKE YEAH THEY CANT POSSIBLY KILL THEM ALL CAUSE THE SHOW NEEDS TO GO ON BUT HEY --- Lowkey predicting they could all turn by the end of the show season cause like if they dont beat wrecker and cant use the medical bay then they are fucked. Also especially think this is gonna happen because one of the directors literally said the second half of season 1 is gonna get emotional and holy shit can you imagine. ---- WHAT IF THEY DO AND ITS JUST OMEGA AND REX TEAMING UP TO SAVE THEM HOLY SHIT AND ITD GIVE EVEN MORE OF A MEANING TO THE WORDS “THE BAD BATCH” - Holy shit this fight Wrecker grabbed ECHO BY HIS FUCKING FACE - Ok I was seriously wondering about Omega’s concerns but now HOLY SHIT CAUSE THATS ALL I CAN SAY LIKE THEYRE NOT DEAD BUT OH MY GOD I DIDN’T THINK ITD GO DOWN LIKE THIS - THANK YOU REX OUR HERO - I know we’re all having a moment after Wrecker but can you guys like team up to move him off the table and get your own done like even if its a bit risky cause we don’t need a repeat of what just happened like yeah theres not enough time in the episode for it but still - The *immediate* little head pat “Hey kid” ;-;

- Ok I’m glad theyre getting them out - THE GENTLE REASSURING TOUCHES IN THIS EPISODE *deep breath* ARE GIVING ME SERATONIN  - Wreckers apology ;-; THIS IS SO FUCKING SAD AND CUTE - Rex is leaving already? :( Be safe you funky little space soldier. - Not really surprised the empire is gonna know they were there cause it was only a matter of time but if theyre smart theyd get off planet and back to Cid before the empire gets there to see whats up.  -- Im sure they’ll realize they removed their chips though, I wonder if crosshair will show up (he probably will) but if he does rather its gonna be a fight there between the empire and bb maybe the bb can win and save crosshair or they have to retreat and something else goes on idk. - Would love if Crosshair was saved because he really got the short end of the stick and is being called “the bad batch” but like he’s not even really there with them for the show so far... also you can tell subtly that he doesn’t like being alone which is fucking sad :tm: because all his friends are gone and it hurts even more now because wrecker was talking about how he didn’t want to do things and he was trying not to hurt them and stuff in his apology and you know damn well Crosshair is the same way about his friends he’s probably just a lot less expressive about it.  -- Honestly even bad batch aside can you imagine how terrible all of the clones feel like all the regs over all knowing theyre the downfall of the jedi and thinking that they were trying to resist it too. Like they know whats happening and deep inside theyre themselves but they cant do shit about it. That fucking hurts me.  This is a longer post but this episode was a roller coaster for my emotions.

[nadziejastar]

It's funny that Saix is the one member of the True Organization XIII who isn't a current or former Keyblade Wielder

It’s interesting that you mention that. I really disliked the scene in KH3 where it was just quickly explained that Xehanort gathered them all there because of their ties to the Keyblade War. That felt so lazy and contrived. I think Marluxia, Larxene, Luxord, and Demyx (MLLD) got the same treatment that Lea and Isa did. They originally had a completely different backstory and explanation for being in the New Organization. But due to BBSV2 getting cancelled, their backstories were altered to better fit in with the new plot arc, revolving around Union X lore and characters. Now they’re amnesiac former Keyblade wielders from the distant past. I highly doubt that is going to feel anything but pulled out of the ass, just like Lea and Isa’s plot with Skuld.

I think most, if not all, the organization members had specific backstories in mind even all the way back in 358/2 Days. Luxord’s MG was originally a $10 bill. Maybe it implied that he lost his heart to the darkness due to greed or something. I think Luxord had a sad backstory. Whatever the case, the Mystery Gear had a specific meaning related to the secrets of that character’s past.

“That which we treasure has power over us, Roxas. His heart is captive to it. And that makes it his weakness.”

“Captive…? I don’t get it.” Everything Xaldin said only got harder and harder to follow.

“Nor should you. You have no heart to love with. Let’s not linger here.”

That’s why Saix’s Mystery Gear is Moon Rabbit, even though that weapon seems like the last thing that represents his personality. When you first play Days, it’s supposed to seem absurd. I remember on the forums, people were racking their brains trying to figure out the meaning of such a cutesy ass weapon. It has a smiling bunny and a rocket being launched by a heart. That weapon even has the crescent moon symbol on it. Then when you play BBS, that’s the same symbol on Isa’s jacket.

“Understood, sir,” Saïx replied, and Xemnas disappeared.

“…Well, do your best. The best a kid without a heart can do, anyway,” said Xigbar, and he too disappeared.

Its not hard to see that the idea behind Isa was that he was the polar opposite of Saïx. Isa was always supposed to be a selfless innocent person, unlike his Norted counterpart. That’s why his redemption felt so half assed. He wasn’t supposed to need a redemption. 

And yet, Axel couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his response. “Well, nice to know where I stand.” He said it with a grin, but the hint of a frown tugged at the scar between Saïx’s brows. Apparently, the joke wasn’t very funny. 

“You made it back in one piece, didn’t you?” 

Were you worried I wouldn’t? Axel almost said, but he didn’t want to deal with putting him in an even fouler mood.

It was heavily, heavily implied that Isa cared about Lea a LOT. He lost his heart because he had his weakness (love) exploited. His character was warped beyond recognition to fit into the new plot arc with Skuld as the main focus. But it didn’t fit the established groundwork built up over the course of the games and the novels.

For the record, I think anybody who is a special Nobody has a strong enough heart to have the potential to wield a Keyblade. I think Isa was probably supposed to become a major character after the Xehanort Saga was over and gain a Keyblade (It’d be cute if it was based on the Moon Rabbit). I’d be fine if MLLD eventually used Keybades at some point, as long as it felt natural in the story. I just don’t think that their original backstory was Keyblade wielders.

“Missions… speaking of that, don’t you find what we’re actually doing pretty unclear?” Larxene asked, and then stood next to Marluxia.

“In order to take back our hearts,” said Marluxia, repeating Xemnas’ exact words.

Larxene cast her eyes down for a moment. “But I don’t really want or need a heart. It’s painful with a heart. Right now I’m pretty comfortable,” she muttered.

“Maybe that’s true,” answered Marluxia, and started walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Larxene.

Marluxia’s Mystery Gear is called “Dainty Lilies of the Valley”.

More flower symbolism. IMO, Marluxia always had a tragic backstory. He was a sad character who was trying to find happiness again. Like Isa, he had a redemption planned long in advance.

I can accept that the idea was that he always was trying to save his sister, Strelitzia. There’s enough hints that Marluxia wanted to rescue a woman and had a very painful past. Okay, fine. I just don’t buy that he and the others were always envisioned as Keyblade wielders from the age of fairy tales. Just like I don’t buy that Lea and Isa were envisioned as apprentices who were trying to save a female test subject back when BBS first showed them sneaking into the castle over a decade ago. The implication was that they were the test subjects.

In many ways, KH3′s story was a total mess that seemed thrown together at the last minute to make it lead into KH4. They made it seem like M and L knew all along that Xehanort saw them as nothing but empty husks who were just being used as tools. The whole reason Xemnas kept it a secret from them in the first place was because he knew none of them would never accept being vessels (except Braig). So why is everyone perfectly fine with it in KH3?

In Corona, Marluxia spoke like he actually believed in the organization’s goal. He didn’t speak like he knew he was a tool. His quote about maintaining balance between light and darkness made me think that the original idea was that Xehanort tricked M&L into joining the New Organization. 

Xemnas: However–through weakness of body…weakness of will…or weakness of trust–most of the original members we had chosen for the Organization were inadequate. Thus, naturally, they never had a chance to attain their goal. Yet, even this was to be expected.

They had their own reasons to join of their own free will, even if they weren’t necessarily loyal to Xehanort himself. They really thought they were maintaining balance and furthering their own agenda, just like in the original organization. Same with Luxord, I’m sure.

When they are in the Disney worlds, they maintain their own personality and goals, which is not consistent with the idea of them being “another Xehanort,” “vessels,” or “empty husks”. Both Marluxia and Larxene were concerned with the Princesses of Heart. Luxord didn’t seem like he really wanted to be in the organization, (neither the old or the new one). But he had his reasons for following Xehanort, just like in KH2.

In the old trailers, Marluxia didn’t even have yellow eyes when he was in Corona. My theory is that when they joined the New Organization XIII, they became Nobodies again, but they weren’t really Norted until the very end (it’s a gradual process). They were 100% themselves in the Disney words. Saïx wasn’t in any of the Disney worlds because he actually was an “empty husk” from the very beginning. He always had yellow eyes and he was retrieved while he was unconscious. 

I don’t buy that Marluxia had amnesia in CoM, or that he was always supposed to be from the distant past. He had some other backstory when Re:CoM and KH3′s original story was written. The novels implied that Marluxia and Larxene fully remembered their past, that they were acquaintances, that they were often bored as humans, and that they thought losing their heart wasn’t so bad, since it was less painful that way. That’s not really what I saw in KH3.  

I’m not sure if this was always the case with Demyx (his Mystery Gear is just a broom), but there is definitely more to him than meets the eye. He was chosen to join the New Organization over stronger characters like Xaldin and Lexaeus. Despite him seeming like just an ordinary goofball, there’s something very special about him, and he knows it. He’s hiding something, though I personally doubt that he’s the MoM. IMO, he also joined the True Organization for his own personal agenda.

When Larxene asked if Demyx was sent to any worlds, he complained that he was “benched”. Larxene was confused about that, and Marluxia said that Saïx brought Vexen on board and mentioned his Replica program. Demyx said that the Replica stole his spot. This, to me, if proof that Xion was never intended to come back as her own character. There was literally no room for her in the plot. She took Kairi’s role in the final battle, she took Isa’s moment of glory rescuing Lea from Xemnas, and she took Demyx’s spot in the True Organization. There was just no place for all these clone characters. I like Xion but she should have been “revived” through Kairi. If not for her and Roxas, I’m sure we would have gotten a very cool boss battle with Demyx in KH3.

[buttersgra42]

Rumination #5

I’ve been enjoying writing these, its a very unusual kind of project. So let’s talk about the Gig Economy and my favorite game of recent memory. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCI396HyhbQ

This is Death Stranding. An oddball passion project by acclaimed Japanese Video Game Director Hideo Kojima. I want you to watch this trailer and tell me what you think this game is about. 

If you said to me “This is a game about the Gig Economy, and ultimately the importance of the human condition as it relates to the differences between the body and soul, and also having Norman Reedus throw Poop grenades at conceptually strange Eldritch Horrors” you’d be correct. 

So let’s break it down in detail. 

Sam Porter Bridges (played by Norman Reedus), is a Porter, basically a delivery guy for a post-apocalyptic United Cities of America. His job is to help use his organization BRIDGES (the company that is owned by his mother, who is dying of cancer). The way this is handled is Sam has to trudge all over the ruined United States, delivering important resources (water purification filters, energy conduits... pizza in some cases) to people all over the country. All while avoiding the horrible creatures called “Beached Things” or BT’s which are strange Eldritch Horrors that have broken through from an alternate dimension called The Other Side. There are also rival porters who have gone insane wandering the wastelands, called MULE’s. These people are addicted to the Gig Economy and are ultimately tracking you and interested in stealing your packages as you’re carrying. 

Another major point in the game is the difference between Body and Soul. So allow me to go into an Ian Gratton (trademark) Lore Dump about this universe. SO BT’s are hunting down the dead bodies so they can feed on them, which will trigger something called a Voidout (basically a small nuclear explosion that leaves behind a monolithic crater) followed by something called Timefall (Where a rainstorm brews up that causes incredibly fast aging followed shortly by death). To get around the BT problem, technology has been created called Bridge Babies, or BB’s. These babies can help detect BT’s when combined with a sensory apparatus. These babies are a commodity for Porters. And the babies are ultimately burned alive at the end of a year or else they become “unstable” due to their exposure to BT’s. 

We ultimately meet an artificial person played by Guillermo Del Toro in this game (shoutout to him, he’s cool as hell and I love his work), and he is a person that was developed to be used as a Bridge Baby, but he experienced a malfunction and was forced to oversee the production of BB’s. As a result of the fact he lacks a soul (BB’s are typically raised solely for this task using cloning), he can’t interfere with BT’s and also cannot experience the afterlife. Several other characters discuss this importance through the usage of the Egyptian terminology of Ka and Ba, referring to Soul and Body respectively. 

We also meet two women named Mama, and her twin sister Lockne (both played by Margaret Qualley). Because Mama is the mother of Lockne’s daughter (via surrogacy), her soul has been consumed by a BT (which is another 6 paragraphs to explain how that works) but as a result of this, her soul has been consumed while her body goes on working. Eventually, she instructs the player to hunt down her BT to mercy kill it, so she and the BT (in actuality, her stillborn child) can both move on. When this happens, her soul merges with Lockne (again, this game is FUCKING OUT THERE) and is ultimately able to live a full life as a result of their spirits (broken) and merging. 

Why do I mention this? Because ultimately, I think that we get so caught up in the hustle, it can sort of consuming your soul a bit. Working as much as we do can leave us feeling like soulless mannequins. It takes us reconnecting with each other, and indeed, ourselves (including the shattered parts of ourselves) is just as important as the hustle. 

Death Stranding is an odd game, if you have time, you should definitely check it out. It’s a very unique experience to watch/interact with. It also covers alot of what we talk about in last class. 

[princesssarcastia]

Let the past die? I think not

Almost a year ago, I posted a little plot bunny about Rey, Luke, and Force visions.  It was hella weird and kinda stream-of-consciousness style, which I don’t usually like? I heard that line from Kylo Ren, “Let the past die; kill it, if you have to,” in the trailer for Last Jedi and basically thought wow, fuck you, and then wrote a story specifically about the force also saying fuck you kylo ren, the past will never die. 

And then that little plot bunny grew legs! This time with more original thought from me.  So, in honor of the new trailer, part two of force visions: in which Rey thinks about Luke, figures out what she wants, and gets a teacher...sort of. Some spoilers in the tags.

Rey is used to being alone; she’d been alone all her life before BB-8 came to Jakku.  That doesn’t mean loneliness doesn’t ache inside of her, make her long for companionship, comradery, to be part of a larger whole. A family.

The only time it ever eased was when she had been with Finn–or Poe, in the brief time between Starkiller and here.  Finding Luke had given her hope she could ease it again, with someone else like her. Echoes make their way to her through hernotherother, telling her the feeling isn’t wrong, just misplaced.  

She knows Luke is at peace here; not happy, no, but the quiet solitude soothes his restless mind. Her presence does not.  It reminds him of burning, the New Jedi temple is burning, bodies scattered across the floors– the clone troopers advance through the temple, slaughtering the sick and the weak and the young, the only ones who remain, while their commander marches to the tallest spire and finds–

The memoryvision cuts across her mind, shattering what little peace she’d earned in trying to meditate.  It keeps happening: flashes of the past being drawn out of the deepest reaches of her memory, memory that isn’t hers yet is, because everything is hers, now.

Sometimes it’s her own words, or Luke’s.  Her thoughts; his thoughts.  Once she touched the R2-D2’s dome and the resulting wash of memoryvisionlovelosspainis enough to bring her to her knees. Every time it happens, they settle into her mind, and it feels right, like fixing the wiring on her speeder; like pulling parts from the starship wreck in the desert.  Finding something worthy of keeping in the devastation of the past.

She just wishes she weren’t drowning in the emotions tied to them.

--

Rey seethes and grows to hate Kylo Ren more every day she stays here.  For Finn, who still hasn’t woken up (she’ll know when she wakes up; and this certainty in herself shakes and amazes her), and for the damaged man who is supposed to be her teacher.

There are memoryvisions in her head of a boy, one who was born from pain and darkness and love and lived with his heart filled with the lattermost.  He loved his father despite all that he’d done; he loved his sister from the moment he met her; he loved the galaxy, he loved his students; he loved Ben, his nephew.  It was the last that had broken him, in a way that pulled at her mind until–

the fumes from the magma river swirl thickly through the air, but this isn’t what he’s choking on.  Darkness lies burning on the shore, and his soul is tearing itself apart. You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you.  Even then, though, the Temple hung ruined in his mind, and so he turned away; he was not feeling merciful–

Kylo Ren betrayed someone who loved him so deeply in pursuit of a false idol, of power, and once again the galaxy was thrown is darkness because of it.  Luke, the last Jedi in existence, allowed his grief to swallow him up and fled into exile like his masters before him.  He allowed his fear to smother him and refused to teach her any more.

Sometimes, she could do what she had done on Starkiller Base: close her eyes, allow the call of the Force to wind through her, and open them again armed with knowledge and skills she hadn’t had before. But it wasn’t enough.  She needed a teacher.  A real one, not the corruption Kylo Ren offered or the hesitant half-truths that were all Luke could give her.

The more frustrated she became, the more the center of the island called to her.  An ancient Jedi temple’s ruins lay at its core, uncorrupted by anything but time.  Still sacred and hallowed.

Luke turns away from her, speaking of his own fear and despair at her power.  It isn’t the first time, but for a brief moment Rey’s chest tightens and her fists clench and it’s hard to breathe.  This isn’t what she wanted.  

So, she closes her eyes for a moment, reaching out with the Force (one of the only things Luke was willing to teach her) for what she does want.  She isn’t exactly sure what that is, but–

The ruins call to her, waves of tranquility and history and power; come, come and see; find what you seek.

Rey opens her eyes and starts towards them, leaving Luke standing in her wake.

Scavenging wreck after wreck in the desert left Rey with a keen sense of space.  The old Star Destroyers were huge, gaping maws under the hot sun, easy to get lost in if you couldn’t sense their borders, how big they were on the inside.  But the cavern she was in now…

Rey had watched this island appear in the viewport of the Falcon; she’s been training here for weeks. She should know this place by now, know its edges and size.  And yet it seems–impossible.  Too big for the rock that contains it.

Sunlight filters in from above, a hole she hasn’t found from the other side yet.  Looking around here makes shivers ripple through her shoulders, makes something inside of her always been there then I was there has been an awakeningawake hum contentedly.

Strands of a massive stone carving stream from the center of the far wall of this place, like waves of solar energy from a sun.  Something about the pattern is captivating, hypnotic.  Tranquility in disorder, or– harmony.  Harmony from chaos.

There is no clear path to the stone plateau, so Rey makes her own.  Her fingers find holds in the rock, and where there are none the Force nudges her, surrounds usguides her. Power leaks into her limbs, letting her push further than should be possible, with more strength and balance than she knows she has, to the next hold.

When she finally reaches it, the sunlight has changed.  Everything in the chamber glows with it, and her breathing echoes across and then back to her.

A collection of flimsiplast lies just off-center, bound together in a way that Rey knows is ancient. She crouches down next to it, her hand reaching out to brush against the symbol on the cover.  Golden, with lines so intrinsically familiar to her it aches, feels like the comradery and family she seeks.  

The Balance, the Force whispers to her with her own voice, and Rey closes her eyes.  Her legs settle comfortably underneath her of their own accord, until she’s kneeling in front of the symbol, her other hand resting on her thigh.

Breathe, Just…Breathe. Luke’s voice, another memoryvision that fills her with regret because this beautifully kind man used to be a teacher, filled with patience and guidance the galaxy sorely needs, but now lacks.

She takes his advice, even if it wasn’t meant for her.  In, out. In…out…. i  n  . .   .

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Her eyes drift open, and she finds herself bathed in the light of a fire, instead of a sun.  Rey breathes, and feels hernotherother pulse through her veins in the place of her lifeblood, slowing any panic she might have felt.  A strange figure sits across from her.  Rey breathes and knows them.  Not their face or their name, but their self.  Light personified.  Ferocious. Burning.  Loving.  Sorrowful. Powerful.  

Curiosity breaks through her calm where panic couldn’t.  “Are you a Jedi?”

The being smiles at her, compassion with a predator’s teeth.  “I am no Jedi, young one.”

Her words ring out like a canticle in the Force, and Rey waits for another vision of things long past to overtake her.  When nothing happens, her curiosity grows, swirling around with the peace the Force is providing her with, balanced.

“Then what are you?  A teacher?”  She looks more closely.  The woman’s montrals let her tower over Rey, even sitting as they are.  Her hands rest on her own thighs, mirroring Rey’s position exactly.

“Sometimes.  Sometimes not,” the woman says, and Rey feels exasperation mix with her curiosity.  She sees the other woman’s smile take on an edge of humor, and suddenly there is a vision in her mind, except– no.  Not a vision, shoved into her head by the Force, but memories shared with her, offered for her to take or leave.

The kindness of it makes her beam, and she takes it gladly; Yoda is amused beside her, and she lets herself be amused, too, instead of embarrassed, and holds her lightsaber up to the younglings.  This weapon is your life; don’t lose it–

Rage, terrible and powerful revenge is not the Jedi wayovertakes her.  Her ‘sabers lash out in a whirlwind of death, and bodies fall to the ground just moments after their heads–

She stands, darkness before her: I am no Jedi.

“Ahsoka,” Rey murmurs. Daughter, the Force murmurs back.

Ahsoka grins at her, age crinkling her eyes.  “Rey.”

They sit there for a moment, each studying the other closely.  Rey notices her lightsabers hanging from her belt, feeling them thrum in tune with the teacherwarriorwolf.  “Can you help me?” She asks.

Ahsoka shifts until her legs are crossed in front of her and rests her hands on her knees, and Rey finds herself mirroring her position now.  “Perhaps. That depends on what you want.”

The warm light from the fire flickers, pulsing at Rey and reflecting in her eyes.  “I need someone to show me my place, in all of this.” She gestures around them; not to the cavern, but to the Force.

Ahsoka exhales a laugh. “I know this isn’t the answer you’re looking for, but…” She angles her head to the side.  “That all depends on you.  Your place is your choice, just as everyone else’s place is theirs.”

Unbidden, Kylo Ren appears in her mind’s eye, running through Han with his lightsaber.  Rey’s hands tighten into fists and now fury joins the other emotions, altering the harmony within her without erasing it.  Ahsoka’s face smooths out, as if she sees what Rey is remembering.  She probably is, now that Rey thinks about it.  

No elaboration comes, pulling more exasperation out of her, but instead of voicing it Rey seeks the answer on her own.

First, she reaches out into the Force, but its answer is the same as Ahsoka’s: blank, uncompromising potential.  She pushes harder, looking for threads of the future, threads she has seen Jedi manipulate in her visions, but the Force pushes back, gently.  No, it whispers.  You.  You decide.

Sighing, she searches the memories inside her, the ones that are hers, but not hers, and seeks the answer. Nothing comes forth, though; just pain, and suffering, and hope.  Faintly, she rememberseesknows the weight of destiny on the shoulders of a little boy, placed there by those who should have known better, driving him down a path he did not choose himself.

Rey takes the hint and releases the memoryvisions for a moment, taking a look around the chamber once more.  She recalls the feelings it evoked in her, that it still draws out of her.  A sense of purpose, of belonging.  

This place is ancient for a thousand generations.  So many had come here before her, leaving their own marks on the harmony within the temple, not unlike the harmony of emotions inside of her.  So many Jedi.

Does she want to be a Jedi? Rey tilts her head to the side, letting her eyes slide out of focus.  Maybe.  Purpose– to guard the galaxy, promote peace and harmony, even teach others like her when the time came.  Belonging– the memories in her head that weren’t things that she’d lived, but from all those who had come before her, who had lived and bled and learned and died. She could belong with them.

But then– Finn. Poe.  The General.  All those things could be found outside of the Jedi.  She could have purpose and belonging with her friends; her family, really.  The Force could be found outside the Jedi as well; Maz knew it, and Luke…and this woman before her.  Not a Jedi.  Fighting like one, meditating like one, but unbound by the shackles of millennia of tradition.

Rey–beyond all the other things–is curious.  She wants to know.  Kylo Ren shoved himself in her face, you need a teacher, and so she closed her eyes and opened herself up to the Force and called, teach me.   And it did. It taught her; she learned.

Could she– could that be her purpose? To learn the ways of the Force?

And do what with them, something whispers.  Learning is nothing without the will to use it; you will not be content to sit in this temple and learn forever, child.

The resistance base flashes through her mind: intent and will personified.  All of them, working together to defeat the First Order.  But that’s not…

She takes in another deep breath, closing her eyes as she does.  Purpose can’t simply be opposition.  A lifetime waiting amidst the burning hot sands of Jakku gave her experience with people who were defined by their hate of the planet, the people, themselves; those were the ones who didn’t last long.  You need more than hate if you want to survive.

Luke, broken; the galaxy, shattered without a government, without hope; the Force, so long asleep there was no one left to wield it.  the balance, her own voice tells her again, more intently. What balance, she thinks to herself, and it all shiftsand suddenly the universe is screaming; or, suddenly she can hear it.

LightLeia help me Obi-wan Kenobiand Poe and Finn, burning bright.

DarknessKylo Ren and his twisted seduced by the dark side of the Forceobsession with the past. With his master.

“The balance,” Rey says, out loud, and words come full circle. “I want to fix it.”

Ahsoka leans forward, montrals dangerously close to the flames between them.  “Are you certain?”

“Yes.” Rey can feel it, now: the galaxy, the Force, is out of balance, and screaming with the pain of it.  “I want to restore balance to the Force.”

Daughterteacherwolflight tilts her head back for a moment and laughs. “Well, then.”  The wheel turns, she doesn’t say, but Rey can hear it all the same.

other parts to follow!  questions, comments, compliments, concerns welcome. 

[kannuckthewolf]

I thought about doing a video on the teaser, but honestly, the best way to convey my feelings about this teaser is best this than me rambling almost incoherently in a video.

(WARNING: SPOILERS FROM THE TEASER)

(WARNING: A LONG POST)

So, Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker. That’s the title and it could mean multiply different things. It could mean the rise of Kylo Ren/Ben Solo into the Darkness or back into the Light. It could mean that we learn that Rey was indeed a Skywalker the whole time. It could refer to Luke possibly being still alive, which would make his death in The Last Jedi pointless. Perhaps, it’s referring to Leia since J.J. Abrams wanted the Sequel Trilogy to be more about her (R.I.P. Carrie Fisher). Maybe, we could be meeting a Skywalker we haven’t met yet. My friend theorised that it could mean that the Jedi are no longer going to be called and instead be called Skywalkers. 

Anyway, before this teaser came out, I made a post stating that this teaser’s one job to me was to give me hope. It didn’t. It intrigued me, but in neither a good way or a bad way. In a more of WTF?! way. Why? Because of a certain someone’s evil laughter, their cackling, caught me off guard. 

Emperor Sheev Palpatine, Darth Sidious, is back somehow. Maybe we’ll see him as a Dark Side Force Ghost. Maybe we’re getting a Dark Empire situation where he’s cloned himself. Matt Smith is stated to be in this movie, so maybe he’s Palpatine’s clone. I know in the Disney Star Wars books that Palpatine had put Gallius Rax in charge of protecting Jakku because there was a Sith Temple buried underneath the planet’s sandy dunes. My boss thinks that Rey’s a Sith plant due to this. 

Either way, I heard rumors that Palpatine might be back and now a part of me is worried is back for all the wrong reasons. 

The Force Awakens reminded us a lot of A New Hope in a “we’ll let it slide” way. 

The Last Jedi reminded us of The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi in a not-so-great way. 

The Rise Of Skywalker might remind us of Return Of The Jedi all over again. 

Back to the teaser, there were two moments in that teaser that made me have a bit of emotion. Seeing Lando piloting the Millennium Falcon alongside Chewbacca made me happy but also sad because Han should be there too. Seeing Leia reminded me that Carrie Fisher is no longer with us. 

Luke’s narration in the trailer about how a thousand generation of Jedi wisdom and training now live inside Rey annoyed me because we’ve never with the Force and be instilled with Jedi knowledge in The Last Jedi. Yes, I’m well aware there’s going to be a time skip between movies, but still, we can’t ignore Rey is powerful without any training necessary apparently. That flip she does over the TIE Silencer was impressive, but again, no training. Also, Anakin/Luke’s lightsaber was repaired. Maybe we’ll learn how it was in the movie. 

That TIE Silencer rushing at her appears to be Kylo Ren or could be a Knight of Ren. We’ll find out. Anyway, Kylo appears two more times in the teaser after the desert scene: one where he’s killing someone with the exhaust port, cross-guard part of his lightsaber; and we see him wielding his helmet back together. 

For all of those who think Kylo’s training Rey, I don’t know how you got that idea because we see this same desert (place your bets on either Jakku, Tatooine, or maybe even Jedha) again in other shots of the teaser with the First Order attacking Finn, Poe, and C-3PO. 

We see various shots in the teaser. We see Finn with Rey’s staff. A ship flying towards a water world that we’ve haven’t seen before. A medal that looks like the one that Luke and Han got at the end of A New Hope, so it’s one of theirs. A couple action set pieces. BB-8 with his new companion droid friend. 

Those final two shots where Rey, Finn, Poe, BB-8, BB-8′s companion, C-3PO, and Chewbacca all staring at wreckage in the water that looks like a piece of the Death Star. People say it’s Death Star II wreckage, and it could be. I don’t know. The planet there on is clearly not Yavin IV, but it doesn’t look like Endor. Then again, wreckage that big crashing down on a planet would screw up its ecosystem greatly. 

The teaser didn’t really give us any thing concrete on what the story will be that ends the Star Wars/Skywalker Saga. Oh boy, does J.J. love his mystery boxes! I guess we’ll find out in December. 

- Remember, the Force will be with you. Always. 

[nimata-beroya]

Thanks for your answer (it was well worth the wait)! First of all, yippie for continuing Rough Awakening - I've reread it a few times and still love your take. In regard to the SWR parallels: Though I like fics that reunite Cross with TBB, I think a long redemption arc is much more meaningful and - if well executed - would illuminate the struggles that weren't shown by Kallus' redemption arc. There's a lot of potential for powerful story-telling (1/2)

Aww! 😊🥰 I´m glad that I didn't lose you as a follower during my absence. And yes!! Long, well-crafted redemption arcs are the best! I also wish we had had that for Kallus but we might have it someday. There's a post in my queue for today or tomorrow that says that since Andor and Ahsoka are having their own shows, Kallus needs his. That way all known Fulcrum agents have a show. I wholeheartedly agree!!! Can you imagine? They could show everything we didn't get to see in Rebels. Anyway, sorry, I went off the topic.

You're right, my confidence in the TBB writers to pull that kind of storyline off is not the best. There are some issues that irk me with what they've done so far. It could improve in season 2 tho. I'm hoping for the better, but I'm preparing myself for being disappointed, just in case.

Crosshair is such a complex character that I could go on and on about each of his layers. Again, you're right. Part of his motivation is to prove to everyone that he's the best. Many can see it as arrogance, and certainly, there's some of that. But I think it goes much deeper than that. To me, that implies self-esteem issues as in If I'm not the best then I'm nothing. And he's not the only one with similar thoughts, I might add. Both Rex and Echo had said a similar thing ("We're soldiers, what else is there?"). Isn't it ironic that, out of everyone in the BB, Crosshair who despises the regs is the most similar to them?

Anyway, Echo and Rex don't take that sentiment as far as Cross does, but we can only imagine how his cadet days were like. Just as any clone, not meeting the Kaminoans' expectations meant death at best and reconditioning at worst, and even when the batch had "desirable" mutations, they were not exempt from that threat. The trauma of that has Crosshair in survival mode 24/7. Even now. It's that so, that he says it to Hunter in 1x15, that they'd be safe with the Empire. He wants them all safe.

As for which scene confirmed to me that Cross has still the chip in, nothing major. Just a voice-over of him saying YET AGAIN "Good soldiers follow orders". Granted, it could be a voice-over from season 1, but why use it on the trailer? Why do they insist on that, a phrase that means that the clones are controlled if Cross isn't being controlled anymore? It doesn't make sense! the only explanation I can find is that Cross in fact still has the chip. I will die on this hill until I get 100% confirmation, via scan done by Azi3 or Tech. And even then, I might ignore it 🤣. In the GFFA everything is possible, so if Palpatine somehow returned, Crosshair can still have the chip.

And just for you, a tiny teeny bitsy sneak peek from my fic below the cut. It's a bit angsty. Don't kill me! 😅

"What if something is wrong?" Omega asks no one in particular, stopping halfway through her path. "They should be done by now."

Hunter approaches her and goes on one knee to get to her eyes' level. "Nothing is going wrong, ‘Mega. Dr. Kinall and Azi are taking care of Crosshair. He'll be fine."

"But they're taking too long. It was faster when we were on Bracca."

"Probably because there's no surgical pod here like in the cruiser's medbay. The doctor and Azi have to go by hand and hence why it’s taking longer."

"Echo is right. They're going slow because they're being careful. We just have to be patient, okay?"

Omega looks at them in turn and huffs sadly. "Fine!" Then, she returns to her pacing. Hunter and Echo share a worried glance. Even when their arguments to pacify Omega are true, it's hard to ignore her concerns. Same concerns have crossed Echo's mind as well.

[alluratron]

How much of my s5 wishlist did i get?

This is just my wishlist as I posted it before with stuff I got bolded. sub points are current discussion

AKA a list of things I’d like to see and theories I want confirmed in the upcoming season(s).

more info on operation kuron. i’d like more hints at what kuron is or even full on confirmation that s3/s4 shiro is a clone.

i mean really we weren't not gonna get anything on this but i'm so fucking happy that we've been validated that kuron is different than shiro and even the characters notice it

a genuine moment between allura and lotor. they’ve both lost their home planets, after all. lotor twice over.

tbf we don't know how genuine lotor was being but even if his intentions are not, the dialogue seemed very much so at times, especially the stuff about honerva and that planet zarkon put him in charge of so i'll take it

lotor’s backstory. when tf was he born??? he knows honerva was his mother, but doesn’t seem to connect her with haggar. hell, haggar didn’t even know about honerva. so, was lotor born before the war? is he 10,000 years old? why does he look so young? was he frozen somehow? why are his eyes blue???? what is up with this guy????

ZOMBIE BABY HAHAHAHAHA. also he's centuries old and he's still alive bc the rift made him immortal(?) like haggar i guess. and he's like....an artificial sacred altean like haggar??

lotor double crosses team voltron. i don’t want him to be an anti-hero. i want him to be undeniably a villain, even if he does have genuine aspects to him. less zuko, more azula (in that we understand that azula is a product of her upbringing, but still evil nonetheless).

not yet but i still strongly believe this will come

allura’s magic. i always want more of allura’s magic. i want to learn more about sacred alteans and why allura is seemingly more powerful than what’s normal even for sacred alteans.

i mean, it was more acquired alchemy than inherent magic but there was still some inherent magic so im not complaining too much. shes still special so :')

the white lion theory. in s4 ep3, acxa says that the two sincline (i see what they did there) ships used 60% of the comet and there’s more than enough left to make the third ship. this extra comet material is definitely going to come into play somehow. it’s likely going to become the head of the sincline ships but i’d love if it became the white lion and allura piloted it. not that i think allura has to be a paladin to be valuable, but she seems to want to be one (and i just want my bb to be happy so yknow).

i mean we got a white lion, just not in the way i anticipated lol. i'm still holding out hope for a robot white lion from the extra comet material tho

keith’s heritage to be revealed. how galra is he? who is his mother?? can we meet her??? we know she was a blade but i want to know how she ended up on earth. it’d make sense if she was half galra half altean/polluxian.

ok so his heritage wasnt revealed per se but WE MET HIS MOM!!!! krolia literally looks like purple keith lmao. i expect that we'll hear the story of how she met his dad next season. also she looks mixed race. here's a post i made on why i believe she's half polluxian

yeah okay so i really think keith is part altean/polluxian. i need an explanation as to why he looks so damn human and that one fits for me.

i also really need to know why the hell keith could sense the blue lion. it’s been 39 episodes give me some answers @lauren @jds @entire vld crew.

the “for narti” squad to join team voltron. i know it’s unlikely because of lotor allying with the team, (and the trailer showing them with zarkon) but i really do think those girls deserve a chance at redemption. they’re such interesting characters and i’d love to see them interact with the team.

i also really need to know what the connection between keith and acxa is. we really haven’t seen any payoff for them meeting in the weblum or him recognising her in s3 ep6. she took a bag of scaultrite which could’ve been hinting that they have an altean (aka lotor) but they just as easily could’ve dropped that hint by how they tried to steal a piece of the teludav. acxa’s connection to keith seems to be something else at play. my hope is twins, or at least siblings.

more hints that there's something there but nothing confirmed yet. but (as explained in my polluxian krolia post linked above) acxa and krolia have the exact same eyes with the light-coloured pupils so i'm almost certain acxa and keith are siblings

narti comes back tbh. i don’t know how that would happen but i miss her and i want her back.

team voltron returns to the original lineup. i like matching colours, what can i say.

ok i massively downplayed that but seriously the bond between paladin and lion was so hyped up in s1 and s2 that the lion shuffle will never quite sit right with me. blue chose lance out of all available paladins. she didn’t go back to the castle on her own and take allura. she chose lance. that’s gotta mean something. and red has gone after keith too many times for their relationship to be over now. 4 times in one season. he loves his tiny fleshy son pls reunite them.

hunk’s family. i want to know about them. i want him to mention them at the very least. i know tyler said hunk’s mom taught him how to cook so please let him say this in canon. also acknowledge him being samoan in canon please and thanks.

he mentioned his mom at least. 

lance’s “i’m just a boy from cuba” line. i thought it’d be in s3 but nope. i don’t mind waiting for his arc because i appreciate that it’s a long one, but i’m really curious as to the context of that line. also i want to know all the people in the picture from s1 ep2.

we got some names! marco, luis and veronica aww. obvs thats not everyone but i've got my guesses as to who's who. marco and luis are green t-shirt and blue shirt, veronica is white dress, mom is orange dress, grandma is pink cardigan, and the rest are his dad, grandpa, aunt, green t-shirt's wife and their two kids (aka lance's niece and nephew)

allura and coran talking about what altea was like before the war. just some cultural background.

coran’s family, if he had one. i want to know more about this man and what he lost when altea was destroyed.

more alteans in THIS reality because there’s no way this race of diplomats were all on the planet when it was destroyed. i don’t buy that, soz.

polluxians! i really want the alteans with two sets of markings in s3 ep7 to be polluxians. mainly because i want romelle to be introduced. apparently she’s badass. more badass girls is always a yes from me.

zaggar dynamic. does zarkon know that haggar was honerva? seems so, considering how he indulges her far more than he does anyone else. does he know that she knows now?

friendship. i know that sounds really lame lmao but i really do want friendship. i want the team to hangout. i want to see pairs or trios hanging out. i want casual team banter. i want wacky shenanigans. blease.,,,,.,. @dreamworks,.,.,,. just let these dorks be friends.

garrison trio......coming through.,.,,.,in clutch. they really just saved my life like that huh.i can't believe im so blessed

lance not being possessive of allura….ever again. please stop it’s uncomf. if they’re going down the romance route for them, cool. but do it by showing allura somewhat reciprocating lance’s interest. please don’t encourage the “guy hounds the girl until she agrees” trope. it’s harassment. lance has backed off from flirting and that’s great but if there’s gonna be a romance there, maybe have allura flirt instead.

it's debatable but i'm gonna give the benefit of the doubt and say he wasn't possessive of her so much as he was worried for her safety with trick ass bitch lotor hanging around

if there isn’t a romance there, just give me them being good friends blease. their relationship has been so good and mutually supportive so please continue with that. facemask buddies would be a blessing. i’d actually cry.

that scene in the training room is actually so blessed. i love life. i love them. i love.

more of that good co-leadership shallura content. keep allura in charge 2kforever. also let them confide in each other. it’s tough being a leader. also also, let them be soft please i beg. throw it back to the softness in s2 ep5. that level of softness is what i crave.

it's not co-leadership shallura bc its not shiro but! they're definitely both in leadership positions so im loving it. allura was very much in charge and i'm so happy

the team convincing keith that they’ll always love him and he doesn’t have to push them away because they’ll never leave him. help this boy overcome his fear of rejection please.

keith comforting lance in a way that actually, uh, works. i appreciate his effort in s3 ep6 but he’s gotta do better than that for them to have a balanced friendship.

lotor’s plan. i really need to know exactly what this boy is up to?? he wants to reap an “untold amount more” quintessence to do what? it’s surely not for the empire’s benefit - he doesn’t care about them. so why? is it something to do with his mother? also, why couldn’t his ships cross into the other reality? they’re made of the same thing as voltron?

[britesparc]

My Unpopular Star Wars Opinion: Or, Why The Phantom Menace is Better Than The Force Awakens

Was it, though? 

Were the Star Wars prequels – The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, whose vary names have become entertainment-industry watchwords for disappointment – really, truly better than the current Disney-owned era of Star Wars, which so far has produced two widely-praised billion-dollar-grossing movies, and is about to unleash a third, about which expectation is as high as a city in the clouds? Can I really think that, for reals?

Well, yes and no.

Let’s get the obvious things out of the way: there were some very poor decisions made during the Prequel Era. Let’s not pick over the corpse of George Lucas’ story choices – the whys and wherefores of virgin births, whiny antagonists, and Jar Jar Binks – and focus instead on the filmmaking technique employed. The dialogue is wooden. The camerawork is rigid. The performances are flat. The pacing is all over the place: in Phantom, the much-vaunted podrace goes on for at least two laps too long; indeed, the whole Tatooine section of the film shoots the legs out from under the momentum. Prior to that it had been a breakneck chase from overwhelming odds, our heroes escaping Naboo by the skin of their teeth; as soon as they break down on Tatooine, they’re sheltering from sandstorms and going gambling. And, of course, there’s the whole “taxation of outlying star systems is in dispute” nonsense: doesn’t quite grab you as quickly as “it is a period of civil war”, does it?

But there’s still something about them that feels Star Wars-y. There’s still a sense, even though I know Lucas was making it all up as he went along, that this fits into the universe correctly (I mean, he was making everything up as he went along, which is why Leia kisses Luke in Empire). There’s a cyclical nature to how the prequels marry with the original trilogy that’s about more than a visit to Tatooine or the presence of a Mandalorian bounty hunter. The first films in both trilogies are, in essence, about innocence: a simple quest by simple people to prevent an immediate danger (removing the blockade of Naboo versus destroying the Death Star); the second films complicate things by splitting up our heroes on separate quests before uniting them for a finale that feels, at best, like a pyrrhic victory; before resolving their respective trilogies in an all-bets-are-off finale beset with divided loyalties and a dangerous Sith Lord. Revenge of the Sith and Return of the Jedi – even their titles are darkly mirrored – both deal explicitly with Vader and his relationship to the Force; he wrestles with his emotions and his commitment to his Order, the love of his wife compelling him to commit dark acts before finally the love of his son pulls him back into the light. The Force Awakens, whilst it does mirror aspects of Star Wars, feels more like a greatest hits package; we have another callow youth from a desert planet on a hero’s journey, another aged mentor, another cocky pilot, another tragic death, and another large object exploding in space, but it feels more consciously designed. A box-ticking exercise, rather than a thematic resonance. Or maybe it’s just because the iconography is so similar.

The First Order is basically the Empire, and the Resistance is basically the Rebellion. There are TIE Fighters and X-Wings. There are Stormtroopers and helmeted good-guy soldiers. There are English-accented characters walking around in SS outfits being glowery and evil. Whilst I’d never attempt to suggest that Amidala’s chrome-plated ship, or the wing-walking droid craft, were as iconic as what we got forty years ago, to go back to the same well is disappointing.

My wider issue, however, is how the new era seems to disregard somewhat the mythological aspects of Star Wars. I guess I’ve only seen one film in the trilogy, but despite the palette-swap nature of its craft and locations, it does feel markedly different to the Star Wars that came before.  There’s a sense of destiny in Star Wars, a “balance of the Force” that was hinted at in the original trilogy and made explicit in the prequels; the yoke of inevitability pulling characters in directions that they may not wish to go. The subtle, underplayed, and often-ignored theme in the prequels of once-noble institutions slowly crumbling into irrelevance and becoming the very thing they hated speaks to the wider issue of the “will of the Force”, of the Chosen One appearing to bring balance. That Chosen One is assumed to be Anakin, and we’re left to interpret for ourselves whether the balance was actually achieved; is it when he kills the Younglings? Or is it when he topples the Emperor? This thread ties the first six films together to produce something grander and more metaphorical, even if it is a case of Lucas essentially retconning to some degree his original intentions from the seventies and eighties. The Force Awakens feels a bit different, like the preoccupations of the previous films are gone; there’s a darkness to everything creeping in around the edges, complicating matters. Whether this makes for a better narrative is moot: what I’m saying is it makes it feel less of a whole with the rest of Star Wars.

This is exacerbated by the time-jump. Obviously we were always going to go 30-40 years ahead of Jedi. But so much has happened in that time. In the 20 years between Sith and Hope, the galaxy might be fundamentally different, but from a narrative view, nothing has changed: the Empire is still victorious and the Jedi still in exile, just like we left them. But in between Jedi and Force, we’ve seen Luke’s attempt at training new Jedi falter, Ben Solo fall to the Dark Side, the rise of the First Order, and the formation of the Resistance, to say nothing of the yet-unrevealed histories of Snoke and Rey. The film features flashbacks and a cliffhanger finale. It just feels odd, out of place, not at one with the cyclical nature of Star Wars. And, furthermore, it undoes so much of the happy ending of Jedi: despite the deaths of Vader and Palpatine, the Dark Side rises again, there's a new Empire, Luke goes into exile (apparently convinced that the Jedi as an institution is a bad thing) and Han and Leia split up. It's sad! It's tragic! And whilst I'm fine with all that happening in Star Wars, I think it should happen on-camera. Not in flashbacks or spin-offs, it should be part of the saga. To introduce it as backstory complicates the rhythm of the films. It feels less of a whole. It feels like a sequel, not the next episode. And from the trailers and pre-release hype of The Last Jedi, it seems like this is the new normal for Star Wars.

None of this makes the Disney films bad. In fact, going back to the popular iconography of the original trilogy makes perfect sense. Having the heroes still be a scrappy insurgency helps us root for them. Giving us a mysterious backstory to uncover is compelling. But my argument is, all these elements feel discordant with what's gone before. The prequels, for all their faults technically and narratively, helped weave a mythological tapestry for Star Wars that is being undone by the new films. I feel they're remaining too wedded to familiar imagery and story points, whilst simultaneously moving too far away from the more conceptual, mythological underpinnings of Star Wars as a fable. I kind of wish that Lucas had completed his mooted final trilogy – his own VII, VIII, and IX – before selling to Disney (especially if he took more of an executive role, as he did with Empire and Jedi, and left the writing and directing to others). Taken as individual films, maybe they wouldn't be as good as what we've got – because despite everything I've said here, I really do think Force Awakens and especially Rogue One are pretty tremendous – but at least we'd have Lucas' complex, contradictory, rhythmically compelling vision completed. Of course, then we wouldn't have Star Wars' new Holy Trinity of Rey, Finn, and Poe – perhaps the Disney era's most important additions to the overall mythos.

Look, Star Wars is complicated. George Lucas is complicated, and his legacy is complicated. I'm chuffed to bits he sold to Disney – not because DIsney is the be-all and end-all, but because they've proven their ability to marry corporate aims with creative excellence; look at Pixar and Marvel especially. The Force Awakens has issues but it's still a great, crowd-pleasing, immensely successful movie, and already we've got BB-8, porgs, and broadsword lightsabers sitting in the popular imagination in ways that, arguably, nothing in the prequels ever really managed (apart from Darth Maul and his double-ended saber, I guess). And again, the progressive casting of the new films is long overdue and utterly fantastic. I'm still really, really excited about The Last Jedi, and Abrams' Episode IX, and Johnson's new non-Skywalker trilogy. But I can't help feeling like something quintessentially Star Wars has been lost; perhaps it's an oddness, a willingness to duck when everyone is expecting a jump. Perhaps it was Lucas' own obsessions and interests that fuelled the franchise, that gave us everything from the sublime (Vader, the Death Star, lightsabers, Yoda) to the ridiculous (midichlorians, Gungans, Ewoks, Watto). Perhaps the new films are better films, but in my heart of hearts, I'm not sure I can love them quite as much. Maybe The Last Jedi will end up being the best Star Wars experience this side of Knights of the Old Republic, but it will still feel slightly separate. Further tales. An imaginary story. The expanded universe.

Maybe it's me. Maybe it's just knowing that Lucas had more stories he wanted to tell and never got the chance. Maybe it's because I've always been a lot warmer towards the prequels than most. Maybe things will shift with time – as more films come out in the new universe, with more characters, then this will start to feel like the status quo, the new normal. I hope so, because I love Star Wars – indeed, it's worth repeating, I think the new films are excellent, and are better films, better made films, than all three of the prequels. But although my head believes we're in a golden age of Star Wars not seen since the early 80s, my heart has yet to be convinced.

Anyway. I'll let you know if I still feel the same way after The Last Jedi...

[thedungeonra]

My thoughts on THE LAST JEDI

It’s Christmas Eve-eve and I’m working 2nd shift.   It’s finally calmed down a bit so this seems a good time to talk about my difficult relationship with STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI.

I overall dislike the film, both as the 8th episode of the Star Wars Saga/9th film overall in the entire franchise and as a film on its own merit. But there was a lot I liked about the film.  A lot I LOVED about the film.  Which perhaps makes it more frustrating.  Were TLJ as categorically bad as say, HIGHLANDER 2: The one where they’re from the Planet Zeist, I would actually have a much easier time disliking it.

But first, what exactly is my history with Star Wars?

EMPIRE STRIKES BACK was the first film I ever saw in a theater.   My older brother took me.  I was all of 4.   I saw STAR WARS on TV later on and it was not until RETURN OF THE JEDI that I connected the dots that it was the same film.  You gotta remember that for my generation, what you call, “Episode IV: A NEW HOPE,” was just STAR WARS to us.   I loved ESB.  And collected what little merchandise was available in early 80s rural Indiana.

I’ve seen EMPIRE STRIKES BACK more than any other film.   I have a son, college-age right now, who grew up with the prequels.    We had our various lightsaber battles, and played the video games together and bought the toys.  It was great!

I don’t hate the prequels in the en vogue way that GenXers seem to hate them.  Jar Jar doesn’t bother me all that much.  Nor does Jake Lloyd’s Anakin.  I still fire up the DVD from time to time for the Podrace and Darth Maul duels.  And Qui-Gon is one of my favorite SW characters.  

I really enjoyed ATTACK OF THE CLONES because it feels like Ewan really had fun playing Obi-Wan.  And SITH… well… it’s not great.    I think the last two minutes of ROGUE ONE makes up a lot for the last two minutes of SITH.  It’s the Darth Vader we’ve wanted to see for decades.

And I loved FORCE AWAKENS. I really dig all four new leads. I was bummed that Luke had nothing to do and I felt Han got a really bittersweet ending (as did Harrison Ford finally get the exit he wanted from the franchise).  I thought the structural similarities between IV and VII were a feature, not a bug.   And I’ve been all for VIII since.

 Until.  The trailers for VIII began.  Something felt… not quite right.  And yeah, feel free to insert your, “I feel a great disturbance in the Force) joke here.  I couldn’t get excited for anything I was seeing in the trailers.  

Even seeing Luke in the cockpit of the Falcon felt like the grapes of Han’s, “Chewie, we’re home” to prunes in my mouth.   I assumed Luke would die in this film.  And after we lost Carrie Fisher much too soon, it was hard accepting that IX would be without Luke, Han and Leia.  I waited for the crowds to thin a bit and saw TLJ on Tuesday after opening weekend. 70mm IMAX at the Indiana State Museum, if knowing that of trivia is fun for you.

Now, then.  I’m not a film critic and this is not a film review. I’m just a middle aged Star Wars lover and film nerd.  

 But before we get into what I disliked about it, let’s start off on a positive note!  Firstly, I do understand and respect that Rian Johnson had essentially 4 basic audiences for this film, none of whom view Star Wars the same way.  Baby Boomers what saw STAR WARS in college; we GenXers what grew up with the movies; Millennials who grew up with the Preqs; and kids today whose first Star Wars theater experience was THE FORCE AWAKENS.  That’s a heavy burden and if anything, I feel like they failed in trying to appease to these 4 quadrants of the fandom.

I loved the opening battle sequence.  It’s maybe the best star war in Star Wars.  It looks and sounds great.  There is great conflict and drama.  It has this amazing gut punch with the last bomber.  Just superb.

I still really just love the four new leads.  Those are all rich characters.

I’ve seen a lot of people grousing about Rose and specifically, the entire casino sub-plot.  Rose was great!  In a movie where people are all over the place on the emotional spectrum, Rose felt like really the only person whose emotional responses actually made sense in their given contexts.  And she delivers the theme of the film at the end, which I did enjoy.  

And the space casino heist? Are you kidding me?  James Bond in space.  Loved it.  I felt the animal cruelty and slavery beats a bit too on the nose, but that’s just a taste thing.  I think my very first reaction on the twitters was something to the effect of, “a great space casino heist film wrapped in a shitty Star Wars story.” Beneicio Del Toro was certainly memorable.  I thought they were teasing a new Han Solo-ish scoundrel but instead, he’s this great foil to Finn.  I DJ shows back up again either in IX or in Rian Johnson’s spinoff films.    

My only real quibble with the casino scene was that Justin Theroux’s high stakes gambler/slicers should have been Lando, right?  You can’t put Billy Dee Williams at a Sabacc table for 30 seconds?  Also seeing how the owner of the ship DJ stole sells to the Resistance and the 1st Order, having him still Lando’s ship would have been a nice touch.   In the absence of the Rebellion and Han, Lando is not the best version of his self. Anyway, I’m not here to write a different movie.

I also really liked Laura Dern’s Admiral Holdo and I enjoyed how she shut down Poe’s mansplaining.   I don’t understand some of the choices made with Holdo, but  more on that in a bit.   Holdo crashing the Mon Cal cruiser into the 1st Order fleet while at lightspeed was insanely cool.  That’s the stuff we only ever imagined in the old Star Wars RPG; never thought I’d see something like that on screen.

Didn’t mind the Yoda cameo. Don’t understand people who say, “bro, that should have been Obi-Wan, bro.”  I don’t agree, but whatever.  Yoda seemed perfect to me.  

I don’t think it’s the best lightsaber fight in Star Wars, but seeing Kylo Ren and Rey fight together was really cool.  Was great to see the combat training the actors have done get a few minutes to shine.

BB-8.  Big fan.  I don’t understand why BB-8 didn’t get a moment to take out BB-9e while in that 1st Order Chicken Walker.  Would have been a quick scene and very satisfying.  Oh well.

The big ground assault on the rebel base at the end was great. That’s the ground battle I expected from the trailer of ROGUE ONE that didn’t seem to be in the movie.  I wonder if there’s a connection?

All of the performances were superb.  Carrie Fisher especially.  

The film was a series of several, often disconnected moments, that I thought were really good.

Now the bad stuff.  I find it insanely annoying and not a little condescending to allege that people who do not like THE LAST JEDI are obsessive fanboys who cannot let go of the past.   Or that we don’t understand the goals and themes of the film.  I get it.  Conceptually, I’m on board.  I’m VERY ready for the formula of STAR WARS to be reinvented.   I don’t need to see rehashes of Sith vs Jedi, Empire vs Rebellion, Skywalker vs Skywalker.  It’s tired. I know.   Dudes wanna fly off half-cocked into conflict when they should listen to the counsel of wiser women.  I KNOW.

Just… be good at doing those things.

So here’s what I hated:

The film doesn’t actually move the story forward.  The movie ends with the same status quo as the beginning:  

the 1st Order has the New Republic Resistance on the ropes and is assaulting their base.

Rey doesn’t have a teacher.

The 1st Order is exactly as effective with Snoke cut into pieces as it was when he was alive.

The Resistance is exactly as effective when a demoted Commander leads a mutiny against a Vice Admiral as it was with General Leia in charge.  

This film sets on fires many dangling plot points set-up by JJ in VII only to return the story to the same position.

And so on.  You get it.  It’s the illusion of change.  

I hated every scene with Luke Skywalker.    Man, just one huge bummer after another.   And again, conceptually, I can by that he’s at least a Grey Jedi now and believes both the Sith and Jedi are wrong in the possessive perspectives on the Force.  I can buy that he went off to Ach-To to cut himself off from the Force and die.  I can buy that he, in a moment of weakness, could not figure out how to save Ben Solo from the Dark Side and was tempted himself to take the quick and easy path.  He did, after all, cut Darth Vader’s hand off in the Death Star II Throne room.

But all of those things were executed in a clumsy way that seemed to have little regard for the character. It was a gigantic bummer.  Would have also been nice if someone had bothered to tell Luke that his best friend died at the hands of his own son.  Maybe that’s what Chewie told him?  Or Artoo?  But I dunno.  It’s not clear and they gave Mark Hamill nothing to work with in those moments.  

I absolutely hated his hero moment at the end.  Why set up Old Logan Luke who doesn’t want to face down the entire 1st Order with a laser sword in the 1st Act if he does it but not really in the 3rd Act?  There’s a wishy-washy desire to have things both ways in this film that drives me nuts.

Also, Luke on Denouement Planet was the clunkiest “misdirect” of the entire film.  I’ve only seen the film once and at my first viewing, it was obvious to me that this was not actually Luke.  

A) We’ve just seen three different flashbacks of Jedi Master Luke from his New Jedi Academy days after RotJ. And Denouement Luke looks exactly like Jedi Master Luke and not the Wild Man of Borneo from the first two Acts.

B)  the movie makes a big deal of showing us that the slightest disturbance to the surface crust of that salt pan will reveal the red dust underneath (which was a rad visual element).   And when Kylo Ren sets his foot in Sith Action Pose, we see the red underneath.  Whereas Luke is clearly NOT disrupting anything.  

C) How dumb is Kylo Ren that even though he just destroyed Anakin Skywalker’s blue lightsaber 10 minutes before landing, Luke is somehow wielding it?  I think there’s an argument to be made that Luke intentionally chooses a younger visage of himself (of the last time Ben Solo saw him) and is also using his own legacy against him (Anakin’s lightsaber) to put him off balance. But the film does not convey this.

All combined, these three elements rob all the underlying drama tension from that conflict because it’s obvious he isn’t there.

The dialogue was troublesome for me.  I legit sat there, stunned, at the end looking for a Diablo Cody writing credit. Remember how I loved the opening battle? Everything but that bit with Poe and Hux.  It was funny the first time.  The, “Holding for Hux” part after Hux did his nefarious monologue.  But they kept hitting that same beat.  Over and over.  I would have not batted an eye had Poe called Hux, “homeslice” in that moment. Thus, Diablo Cody.  

Also, Snoke’s “spunk.” line. Lolwut?  Though I had a chuckle and thought to myself, “… and wriggling” after Andy Serkis said, “raw.”

Why do they keep wasting Gwendoline Christie as Phasma?  Have they not seen GAME OF THRONES?  Are they unaware of the jewel in their crown?

The editing.  This film needs a good once-over to trim about 20 minutes out.  Do we need to see Luke milking a Watto-Cow or spearfishing?  Did we need to see Luke’s X-Wing parked underwater when it’s just an unnecessary head-fake?  As much as I did enjoy the casino bit, it felt over-stuffed.  

The wishy-washiness. Oh man.  This is the ultimate dealbreaker for me.  Look, I don’t mind Rey is the daughter of a couple Trump voters from Jakku with no connection to the Skywalkers.  The scene where Kylo Ren tells her, “You don’t even belong here. No one cares about you but me.” is fantastic.  I loved it. I love their relationship and I hope to all the cinema gods they stick to their guns and don’t reveal that Ben and Rey are just Jacen and Jaina Solo lite.  

Don’t waste our precious film time in VII making a huge mystery deal out of who Rey is and who her parents are in VII just to reveal in VIII that she’s nobody from nowhere one-hundredth of her name.  And don’t especially get pissy at me because I’m frustrated that you wasted my time on a non-mysterious mystery.  That’s false drama, breh.  And a really hacky way to “deconstruct” a story.

If you’re going to really deconstruct what we know about this story and these characters, then do it.  “Flip you. Flip you, for real.”  Don’t try to have your space cake and eat it too.    

Luke is done with this mess and isn’t going to show up and play the hero.  Until he does.  But not really.  

Kylo Ren has good in him, but not really.

Rey has darkness in her, but not really.

Now, this is not the same thing as a character arc.  I don’t lump this in with Poe being a brash self-centered pilot at the beginning but a real leader by the end.  I’m for that.  

I’m talking about if LAST JEDI were broken into numerical values, for every 1 there is a -1 and the story of the movie feels like a sum of 0.

Now, there are a lot of nitpicky things I’ve shared with the people in my life (most of whom are glad I’ve turned my focus to the internet).  Like, “what’s the deal with Snoke?  Who is he and what does he want?”  That’s just subjective, “season-to-taste” stuff that grates on me but I don’t feel objectively bad.   “Who is Snoke and what does he want?” was not a focal point of the previous film.  

Samey-same with Holdo not sharing her plan.  Finn’s plan actually not accomplishing anything.  If they knew they were being tracked and had two jumps left and a 6 minute window, why not prepare the transports, jump the old rebel base, unload the transport and jump again in 5 minutes?  That kind of thing.  You know, things people call, “plot holes” on the internet that are not actually plot holes.

Leia Force Flying through space after the bridge exploded.  Just looked dumb.  If there was any excuse for Leia to bust out a lightsaber, this was the moment.  That would have been choice.    Tangential to this: the unceremonious death of Admiral Ackbar.

But those are digressions.

I would probably like this story much more if it were the last half of FORCE AWAKENS rather than a movie all unto itself.

That said, I think this petition to remove TLJ from the canon of SW films is idiotic.  This film is going to make a billion dollars by New Years and Disney appears to be giving Rian Johnson his own spinoff franchise. So yeah, this movie isn’t going anywhere.  

I also think its real low class to jump on twitter and be a raging dickmunch to Rian Johnson.  I’ll never understand why people punish creators for being easily accessible.   Or to people who loved the movie.  I’m not here to convince you that you shouldn’t love THE LAST JEDI or tell you you’re a dumb-dumb if you did.  I simply find it difficult to like for Star Wars movie reasons and movie-movie reasons.

I actually look forward to Johnson’s spinoff film because he seems much more comfortable with new characters.  I think he’s a person like Zahn who will add a lot of new hated and loved characters. But unlike Zahn, I don’t think he has a steady hand with legacy characters.

So that’s it.  6 pages on a Word document later (assuming you stuck around).  Feel free to hit me back on the twitterbox to tell me how both right and wrong I am!

May the Force be something or other.  But probably not.  

[darkelite020]

Bad bad episode 9 reactions & predictions

Continuing these written reactions/predictions cause it's fun I think to see what actually ends up happening and remembering what I thought at the time so I’m dumping it here. (Feel free to discuss if you want) if you want to keep up with it im gonna be tagging these as #jay rambles about bb

There was a trailer that came out halfway through the season so BONUS ROUND: - OOO The trailer is kind of badass already honestly like this music slaps and I’m with it - We haven’t seen that part with the AT TEs yet >> I’m not sure where it is but if you look carefully theres people moving out of their way but they actually seem concerned or afraid, which gives me the idea the empire is invading rather than “Securing the area” or something. We see some of bad batch kind of hiding from them so theyre probably gonna have to do a stealthy sort of mission that episode, or at least at first. - I still don’t see crosshair with them ;-; - Fennec what are you doing? Going off last episode I assumed omega gets turned in by cad so it doesn’t make sense why fennec would still be after her, so I think rather in this episode she is going to intercept him somehow and take her or she’s supposed to bring omega to someone who isn’t the empire but who? Fennec almost looks like shes maybe trying to care for/guide omega sort of in one part but thats probably just her trying to convince omega like last time or something cause omega then proceeds to try to drop that tank or whatever it is on her. -- Speaking of, wherever that place with those green tanks is significant, like some kind of laboratory or something that was abandoned maybe? I wonder what was in those tanks, but its kind of giving me the vibes of that one place we saw in the mandalorian. I doubt that this is the same kind of deal where they tried to make people force sensitive there and stuff, but what is it and why would fennec bring omega there?>> - Tech being a *king* proud of you bud for stunning the clones instead of shooting them - The music lining up with the trailer and shots is A++ 10/10 love it -------------------------------------- OK INTO THE ACTUAL EPISODE NOW: - Aw hunter being hurt and worried about omega makes me sad :c - OH MY GOD crosshair I know you got burned but HOLY SHIT like sir you are CRISPY gndfjkgbdfkjg -- It makes me sad now that he’s probably going after them because of revenge now aside from just the chip... like its possible that his ‘inner self’ sees them as someone who left him behind and is at fault for him getting hurt so if they ever do save him (which I definitely dont think is for *several* episodes or maybe not even in this season) he might be pretty bitter towards them :( - I miss Cads bigger hat tbh -- also the little western music and the ‘lil lady’ love the blue space cowboy vibes, I know thats always been his thing but I still appreciate it - So its the kaminoans after her as I expected. -- Im sure they wanted her alive but the fact that thats how bane answers kind of hints that if she was dead he’d still get paid so WHAT is going on with her seriously >> --- they say “make sure she stays that way” but still not sure really if its a preference or a need, it seems like a need kind of but I guess bane would have tricks up his sleeve otherwise...? - Prime minister is bad!~ -- I hope the kaminoan who has that bond helps her, also genetic material needed implies they want to make clones of omega (which I would be surprised if we saw that) but now her ability is really important whatever it is...  --- Ohhhhhhhhhhhh we’re getting some answers... I guess that makes more sense. I’m honestly surprised she doesn’t have some special ability along with that stuff just because all of bad batch has something, but she’s definitely important enough for the plot to focus on her as much as it does. - uh oh uh oh uh oh -- Omega hurry sis signal them even if you get caught cause youre gonna get caught anyway just hurry it up!!! --- run run run ----ok honestly omega just knowing how to do all this stuff coincidentally is a little... less enjoyable knowing it literally just is a coincidence now. ----- thank goodness though bad batch was at least able to hear her, I feel like that hint about what the doors looked like is going to help them at least a little in finding her 

- omega dont be quiet like honestly its not like he’s gonna shoot you --Oooo fennec is gonna intercept and take her and theyre gonna go to that place in the trailer --- DOUBT IT BUT WHAT IF THAT KAMINOAN SENT FENNEC --- oop or that place with the tubes is this place -yessssss good job omega! - oh this is the part in the trailer I just talked about I guess but fennec has a very strange... disposition about her. Its like she wants to help but she cares more about her job (which makes sense but idk its just like weird vibes idk how to feel about them). - thats nastyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy -- omega get up and run again sis --- honestly its not like banes droid could carry her back ---- yep exactly what I thought - honestly omega knows bad batch is coming for her because of the signal she sent, would it not be better to stay on the planet? Like yeah she has to get away from the bounty hunters but she also shouldnt make it harder for bb to get her back. - wow that was really lucky actually -- but yay the family is back together :’) I wasn’t really expecting that so soon honestly - yep good im glad it was that kaminoan hiring fennec, but fennec should’ve mentioned bane to them because bane is still going to hunt her so she really isnt safe. - oh no the music a cute bonding moment is gonna happen aghhhh - :( this is saddddddddddddddddd - “promise” “I promise” I feel like that promise is gonna get broken because *cough* AGAIN SAVE CROSSHAIR 2021 THANK you *cough* along with other reasons but also Gregor made a promise too dbwgjekjfb I couldn’t resist ok -rhewjtbrwkjeg the fucking sudden loud ending music lowkey a jump scare