#this reminded me I should get and play the original trilogy and prequels

[sirfrogsworth]

I am only 3 minutes and 8 seconds into Rebel Moon and it is already gorgeous to look at and it already has some annoying Zach Snyder shit going on.

The man cannot get out of his own way.

He actually reminds me a bit of George Lucas. In the original trilogy he had his wife (at the time) save Star Wars in the edit, then he hired writers and directors for Empire and RoTJ to manifest his story and vision. There was always someone to pull him back and keep him from going FULL LUCAS.

I mean, whoever convinced him to truncate "Adventures of Luke Starkiller, as taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars" deserves half of his net worth.

But in the prequel trilogy, George was the boss. He wrote everything. He directed everything. And there are bits that are just wonderful spectacle and genius world building. But there was no one preventing him from going FULL LUCAS and suddenly we have Jar Jar and Hayden Christensen trying to make the hatred of sand seem interesting.

With 300, Zach was unproven and had to be careful. He couldn't unleash and go FULL SNYDER. He made something unique that no one had ever seen and even though in hindsight the color grading looks a bit crunchy and we realized there wasn't much of a story, the sheer novelty impressed a lot of people—me included. It was a super enjoyable popcorn movie experience at the time and showed great potential. The man knew how to make shit look cool, no doubt about it.

But then his ego got pumped to massive proportions and studios gave him a blank check and full creative control. He still made some really cool looking shit, but that novelty wore off and the lacking storytelling skills started rearing their ugly head.

I wonder if Sucker Punch would be tolerable if you put it on mute, enjoyed the pretty pictures, and maybe played Pink Floyd's "The Wall" along with it.

I don't know if a movie ever went as FULL SNYDER as that one and it revealed he could really use someone to pull him back.

If Zach Snyder were to ever find a lamp with a genie inside, his first wish should just be self awareness.

[characters-as-plushies]

Welcome aboard!

The way this blog works is pretty simple- you suggest a favorite character of yours in the ask box, and I'll assign them a stuffed animal that reminds me of them.

A few things you should know before I get into the list of sources I will or will not do!

-Plushies of licensed characters won't be used here, though fictional species are okay. So I could say "X character would be this Pikachu plushie," but I could not say "X character would be this plushie of Mushu."

-I'll do my best to make sure that characters who are animals or have an animal motif will be a plushie of the same species!

-This is a SAFE-FOR-WORK blog. You can still interact if you have NSFW content on your blog, but I ask that you do not use NSFW tags when reblogging my posts.

-If a source isn't in my list of "Sources I will do", you can still ask about it and I'll do my best!

-Please state what your character is from, no matter how well-known you think they are.

SOURCES I WILL DO/WHITELIST:

Musicals in general (Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Six, Chicago, Sweeney Todd, etc.)

Star Wars (only really familiar with the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy)

Lord of the Rings (not too familiar with Rings of Power or the Silmarillion)

DC Comics in general

Warrior Cats

Disney movies in general

Pokémon (but stick to the human characters for this one)

Gilmore Girls

Fruits Basket

Studio Ghibli films in general

Avatar: The Last Airbender

SOURCES I WILL NOT DO:

Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss

Dream SMP

Youtubers (I may be flexible about this if they're playing a character, so The Nostalgia Critic would be okay, but Doug Walker would not.)

My Lady Jane (I just really, really dislike this series)

Real people in general.

A small caveat to the above, however: fictionalized historical figures will be allowed on a case-by-case basis. I've already mentioned Six, for example. Other good examples of what I mean would be the characters in Our Flag Means Death; the Blackadder version of Queen Elizabeth I; or something obviously fictional like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

I reserve the right to turn down any source I may feel uncomfortable with.

[otnesse]

No kidding about that. The very least they could have done was make sure Belle had female foils like Belle's sisters in the original tale who were ugly on the inside. Those triplets were WAY too nice as it is (probably one of the few definite improvements to the 2017 version was their making DARN sure to have the triplets be genuinely nasty ladies as well). And quite frankly, despite the narrative's attempts at implying otherwise, I fail to see how an Enchantress who most likely deliberately cursed innocents just because ONE guy spurned her is at all a good guy. She if anything should have been the ACTUAL main antagonist, and have both Belle AND Beast/Adam fight her off in the ending (oh, and also have her manipulate Gaston as well). Oh, and that reminds me, Belle never even bothered to try and GET his name either, while prior films at least attempted to have them learn each others names.

What's ironic in all of this is that it was a GUY who was basically the reason why Linda Woolverton, the lady directly responsible for this garbage writing for the original movie (in fact, she explicitly drew a line between BATB and that Maleficent movie she made later on regarding overall themes), was even part of the film development. Specifically, Jeffrey Katzenberg, he insisted on completely rewriting the film to be a musical bonanza with a feminist twist, allegedly because of poor critic reviews of Ariel somehow being a shallow tart who left her family for a guy she just met (which, quite frankly, even reading the summary for the film, never mind actually watching it, would have them realize that she already WANTED to live among humans to begin with, Eric at most just nudged her in the right direction [not to say she didn't fall for him, she clearly did, but it wasn't like she only developed an interest in humanity because of him as they seemed to imply], and a major factor in WHY she left her family was because her father blew up her stuff after learning she not only played good samaritan to a human [he had misanthropy at the time], but FELL for said human as well.), though even there, his distasteful rejection of Jim Cox's treatment (despite his boss Michael Eisner specifically CALLING in Jim Cox to do a full-fledged screenplay while the latter was vacationing with his family in Mexico after reading his idea for it) would suggest he was already planning on doing that anyways and just used the critics' response as an excuse.

And personally, there was also another damaging theme to that movie besides the radical feminist messaging, one that Shrek would expand upon to some degree: Specifically, ugliness is the ideal, physical ugliness at least. Considering the crap Jean-Paul Sartre pulled off and how his victims fell for him while ignoring his deformities, that is definitely very damaging to teach to kids. Oh, and also the pushing of what I call "pseudo-selflessness" in this (basically, where the narration pushes selflessness in a manner that's actually closer to outright selfishness, and likewise deems "selfish" what is classically considered selfless). Though to be fair, this isn't necessarily the result of feminism, as George Lucas pushed similar toxic messages in his Star Wars Prequel Trilogy and even threw unnecessary shade at Anakin Skywalker (aka, the guy who becomes Darth Vader in the Original Trilogy) during development of Attack of the Clones by claiming he was greedy due to actually giving a darn about the well-being of his loved ones, his mom and then-girlfriend, all while implying that a true Jedi being completely selfless would throw said girlfriend and/or mother under the bus (oh, and such remarks show he forgot the reason why Anakin/Vader even ended up redeemed in the first place).

[cipher-fresh]

i was just reminded of the Star Wars play I did that was written by one of my classmates and I had a TIME with this so here’s what I remember because man, I loved it.

it was originally covering the entire saga, but it got cut down to just the original trilogy and the prequels for timing, and even just those 6 movies in an extremely cut down high school play fashion took 40 minutes to perform

The script was hysterical, the guy who wrote it clearly loved the franchise but wasn’t afraid to make fun of it. We had a well, limited budget, and the group of us all played multiple characters. A lot of us got to play Jedi who got taken out easily, and during a scene where Palpatine used Force lightning, someone behind the curtain threw blue streamers, and all the Senators he murdered would try very hard not to laugh from their positions dead on the floor. The kid writing it brought in the majority of the lightsaber props used by the whole cast, and they ranged from how accurate they looked to the movies.

I had one scene where I had to chuck off my coat and then run backstage to put on a black cloak and enter from the opposite side of the stage, and then I got to just twirl around with a lightsaber and slaughter the Jedi in my way. R2-D2 kept trying to tell Luke that thinking Leia was hot maybe wasn’t the best thing, Anakin and Luke had a lightsaber fight set to Darude Sandstorm, George Lucas was there and tried to update the movies as we were acting them. It was great, and the cast I did it with was amazing. The only video I’m aware exists is one of me as Boba Fett getting pushed into the Sarlacc Pit (offstage, toward the house), and I’d have to scamper to get back onstage as soon as I could.

I've got the whole script saved because I'd hate to have lost it. snippets from the script + image IDs under the cut

[Image ID: The Star Wars in 40 Minutes or Less script reading

Anakin: Who are you!? Who do you work for?

Obi: This seems like a really interesting character, I’m sure that she’s going to be developed a lot more in the future-

(Zam is shot by a poison dart.)

Obi: Oh, well. There goes that.

(Obi-Wan picks up the poison dart.)

Obi: A poison dart. I’m going to find out where this came from.

Anakin: What should I do?

Obi: Stay with Padme (Pad-may). Don’t do anything romantic with her! Ok?

Anakin: Ok! I swear. I won’t do anything romantic with Padme.

(The narrator enters.)

Narrator: Anakin and Padme were married on Naboo. Obi-Wan goes to Kamino to investigate the origin of the poison dart.

///

Narrator: Obi-Wan tells Luke about the force, and gives him his father’s lightsaber. Luke goes back home to find his Aunt and Uncle have been literally burned alive and are now just skeletons.

(Luke enters)

Luke: Uncle Owen?! Aunt Beru- oh my God! Was shooting them not enough?! Did they really have to burn their bodies too?! That feels really extreme!

Narrator: Obi-Wan takes Luke to Mos Eisley to look for a way off of tatooine.

///

Windu: The oppression of the sith will never return. You, have lost.

Palpatine: No, no, no! You have lost!!!

(Palpatine uses force lightning against Windu. Anakin just stands there. After a second, he gets out popcorn or some food and starts eating it while he’s watching this unfold.)

Palpatine: Anakin!

Anakin: Oh! Right, sorry.

(Anakin takes out his lightsaber, and attacks Windu’s hand. He is thrown back and killed. Someone comes out from offstage and drags Windu back offstage with them.)

Palpatine: Good, Anakin. You shall now be my apprentice. Take the clones and eliminate the rest of the jedi. We will save Padme, Anakin. I promise.

(Palpatine winks at the audience.)

Palpatine: Bring me my cloak!

(Someone runs from offstage with a cloak and gives it to Palpatine.)

Palpatine: Sick, I’ve been waiting to wear this for a while.

End ID]

[gwiazdowe]

is there any other muse in this fandom you’d like to RP?

what’s the best way to approach you to start playing together?

if you aren’t a native english speaker, do you play in your first language too?

what’s the best inspiration for your muse?

what’s a song that reminds you of your muse?

|| Is there any other muse in this fandom you’d like to RP?

None I can think of from the prequels/original trilogy (i'm leaving this job to more smarter writers and by that I mean all y’all !). I’ve considered Tsubaki from Star Wars Visions, but at the same time his story is set in a different time period than the main star wars plotline and centers on a different cast of characters, so I don’t want to get all worked up over a niche muse that might receive no interaction for their own canon.

|| What’s the best way to approach you to start playing together?

Send me a starter meme, or tag me in some silly dash commentary, or exchange muse trivia with me in dms until it turns into some sort of brainstorming for plot, all of that works!! Even describing what plot/dynamic you want straight away works very well, just open those dms and yell at me ‘hey i think our muses should do X!!’, chances are high that we will end up bouncing ideas around. 

|| If you aren’t a native english speaker, do you play in your first language too?

I’m not a native english speaker, but I do not even remember the last time I wrote roleplay in my first language, at this point I am not even sure if I would enjoy it!!

|| What’s the best inspiration for your muse?

Haa <3; Other muns listening to my rambles and enabling them and plotting with me is actually the biggest reason I keep going and coming up with more stuff (for any muse but especially if that’s an original character!) I end up making a lot of lore this way that would not happen otherwise, it’s so so fun!!

|| What’s a song that reminds you of your muse?

Oh honestly I already showed you all the songs that make me think of Cirz and I have not searched for new ones so there is that pff

[frodo-baggins]

I feel like they changed Thorin's character a lot in the movies, I don't remember him being so grim, or dismissive of Bilbo, or suspicious of Elrond when they're in Rivendell. in the book. And a bit unrelated, but Rivendell reminded me of it, there should have been much more singing! Just, the overall tone of the films isn't nearly as lighthearted as the book often feels, you know?

i havent read the hobbit in a long time but from what i remember i totally agree with you anon. this is probably going to be a rambling mess cos its late and im tired but i think the problem is that peter jackson was trying too hard to imitate the original trilogy. but the thing is that lotr and the hobbit are such different texts. like one is literally intended as children’s lit and the other is forging its own genre, that of the adult fantasy novel. and as a result of their different demographics and scopes and lengths they also have huge tonal differences. yet peter jackson and co marketed the the hobbit as a prequel to lotr. they played up the ~return home to middle earth~ thing for marketing as well as reusing imagery and fonts related to the original trilogy. and sure i get this from a business perspective but narratively these arent the same story!!! theyre such different beasts you cant deal with them in the same way. but i think jackson and co pretty much tried to anyway?? so i think that characterisation was one of the casualties of this?? like they were too focussed on trying to recall the nostalgia, tone, feel, (and commercial success), of lotr to give the hobbit its own individual treatment on screen. so yeah what im tryna say is that i think thorin was one of many elements that were altered in some way to fit into the lotr mould? does that make sense?? anyways anon what im tryna say is that i agree with you!!

[yessoupy]

the @imetyouonljpodcast episode this week gave me lots of thoughts and feelings about star wars. more like, reminded me of all my thoughts and feelings around my first fandom. thus, I decided to write my own journey into and throughout star wars fandom, and what it means to me. buckle up, this story spans decades.

my very first memory of anything star wars-related is a yoda puppet that my grandmother had. it had to be from the original run of the movies, because I was maybe 4 in my first memory of it, and i was born in '86. my sisters and I loved it, and one of our cousins was deathly scared of it so we'd chase him around the house with it.

my second memory of star wars was going to the movie store with my dad and sisters and seeing our favorite yoda on the cover of a VHS. "yoda yoda yoda! daddy, it's yoda!!! can we get it?" we were holding up the display cover for return of the jedi. dad said no, we couldn't get that one yet because we had to watch them in order. so we rented a new hope and all I remember was falling asleep while artoo and threepio were trundling across the tatooine desert sands. at five I guess I was too young.

in early 1997 the special editions of the original trilogy were aired in theaters and I was in 4th grade. dad took us to see one of them (I think empire, at some point we'd finally finished a new hope). at school that grading period I sat next to a boy named mark and he noticed I was drawing little x-wing silhouettes on my paper. "you like star wars too?" he asked. when I said yes, he declared that because of my name, he was going to call me skywalker. that's the name on the back of my high school letter jacket.

in fall of 1998 I started the 6th grade and I came home from school one day to a hardbound book my mom had checked out for me from the library. heir to the empire by timothy zahn. mom pointed out where it said on the cover it was a trilogy, and I could get the other books when I finished this one. she hadn't found the young jedi knights series for me. she'd checked out a GROWN-UP star wars book.

in spring of 1999 the phantom menace came out and my parents' friend took me to see it on opening day because neither of them were free and I HAD to go that day. later on that year she took me to a star wars exhibit at the museum of fine arts. that was also the first time I saw a monet and a renoir. the exhibit had costumes (real costumes!!!) from the original trilogy and the newest prequel. I bought a book about the myth of star wars in the museum gift shop.

I read every expanded universe book our local library had, which was a lot. I had a lot to catch up on, too, since heir to the empire had been published in 1992. you never saw me at school without a star wars book. I read while walking in the hallways, even. in 6th grade I read during lunch, since I was in varsity orchestra with 7th and 8th graders and was terribly shy. they'd tell me I should socialize at lunch, not read my books, but... I wanted to read. I had a lot to learn. I have a lot to know.

I was in 7th grade when I read vector prime, the first in the new series. my first class of the day was science, and the boy I had a crush on was in that class. we had DEAR time at the beginning of that class - drop everything and read. not a hardship for me. that day, I read the part of the book where chewbacca was killed. I looked up, astonished. heartbroken. I locked eyes with the boy I liked. he nodded at the book and I showed him the cover. he nodded sympathetically. "they killed chewie," I whispered. he said "I know."

I wrote original characters in star wars fan fiction when I was about 13. I had an internet friend named rachel who lived in brisbane. then there was dave and 'roswell' who gave me ideas for my story. I loved being able to talk about the wide world of star wars with other people. we used aol instant messenger and email. my username in those days had 'skywalker' in it. I am pretty sure we met in an aol chatroom. I didn't find much of use on the official star wars site and I have probably visited it fewer than 10 times since 1999.

I read those books all through middle and high school. they were my christmas presents and my birthday presents. I moved into our family beach house after college. it sounds really nice but I didn't have running water because it was the summer after Ike hit. I would go to the used book store on 23rd street and buy a stack of star wars books and read them while I waiting for calls to interview for a teaching position. weekends I'd go into town to stay at a friend's house and help her with wedding stuff. I'd shower there, too. that's where my new stash of star wars books started, with me catching up on the legacy of the force series I hadn't read in college and then finishing up through the fate of the jedi as those came out. I felt that I had grown up with these characters. I remembered when kyp was just an orphan han rescued, when jacen and jaina were five years old, when corran horn had no wife, no kids, and was just finding out who his family was. I had capital o opinions about what color lightsaber i would have and why (silver; bc corran), I knew the geography of the galaxy and where everyone was from and my favorite planet was dathomir because women ruled it. I knew all of these characters' histories and motivations and the difficult decisions they'd made and had to live with. I loved them.

i never ventured into the online fandom space for star wars, even after I'd found other online fandom spaces, because I didn't feel like there was anything anyone could add to it for me. I was satisfied with all I'd gotten. sure, favorite characters had been killed (after chewie, the one who stung most was Mara, luke's wife), but people die. and in such a long-running series spanning so many years and trillions of miles of space... you come to expect it.

people would ask me ALL THE TIME when the sequels were coming out and I said never. then, disney bought star wars. initially I was excited (tears of joy happy) to have sequels confirmed. my mind raced, imagining a trilogy centered on the events surrounding jacen's descent to the dark side. the original actors would be the right age for that. who could play jacen?

then, the announcement came that the canon was now 'legends' and they wouldn't be taking any of it into account when writing the sequels BUT that didn't mean we wouldn't see old canon favorites. they announced adam driver as the villain and I thought "jacen." I held onto the idea that this knowledge I had, these years of knowing these stories, would still be worth something. that I'd be able to add new information to my mental bookshelves and maps. that my universe would expand further.

the force awakens was a bitter disappointment. I was upset from the crawl, leia's title making it clear to me that she wasn't chief of state, she wasn't the mother to three children, han wasn't her husband, and all of her history I'd grown to love really was gone. what I saw was the older version of a woman I'd met when she was 18 and hadn't seen her since her early twenties. I didn't know her.

I didn't know the galaxy, either. starting with the new jedi order series, a map of the galaxy was included in the front of each book with the planets named so you knew where everything was happening. the new galaxy was bare. it was small and knowable. while the hosnian prime system was destroyed in the movie, I'd never known it, and all the planets I DID know were similarly blasted out of memory. where was dathomir and its fierce warrior witches? if their planets were gone so were their people.

as the movie trudged on, a retelling of a new hope, I kept thinking, "at least let his name be jacen." I hung my hopes on this sith character being han and leia's son and sharing that name of the boy I'd known and the man who'd grown up to turn to the dark side. at that first shout of 'BEN!' I was angry. Ben?? that was the name of LUKE'S son! that was MARA'S child! Ben??? with three letters jacen solo and ben skywalker were also dead to the galaxy.

I know, I know. I should get over it. I AM thankful for poe dameron. the x-wing books were always my favorite. poe was familiar to me the way other new characters weren't. he was part of the new republic navy. I knew what that was. he flew an x-wing. I knew what that was.l and what company manufactured them. he was from yavin IV, I knew where that was and what it looked like. finn was a stormtrooper, yes, but the empire had not stolen children to be raised as stormtroopers. they were recruited like any other position. his story wasn't real to me, it wasn't something I could easily accept. and the idea that the new republic just LET the first order rise? leia's new republic would NEVER. but leia wasn't chief of state in this universe. leia hadn't had that power.

I read a lot of articles about the force awakens and the reactions to it, and never saw myself in any of them. the star wars fanboys whom I'd never known were painted as being angry because their fan knowledge was useless and "boo-hoo poor widdle fanboys" they would be mocked, rightfully. but that's why I was angry, ultimately. everyone I knew and loved was dead. worse, they'd never existed. "what do you think will happen?" some unsuspecting coworker would ask. I'd shrug, but inside I was yelling "who the fuck knows! my favorite characters don't exist anymore. nothing I know as this person you know as SKYWALKER means anything anymore."

it only got worse from there. One day I spent four hours figuring out how far the casino planet was from the drifting ships in the last jedi and doing math to figure out how long it would REALLY take to get there, using old canon star wars physics. I couldn't suspend my disbelief during that movie. everything was wrong. (the other space physics quibble I had was from TFA when poe is using comms while in hyperspace, and dropping out on a command and not... when nav told him to?? you'd fly right through a star!! were they HOVERING in hyperspace? none of it made sense.) I knew too much and too little to enjoy it.

TROS was a narrative mess already retconning new canon and I decided that I would only keep what I liked about the new canon (poe and his family) and pretend the old canon is all there is. one day I'll write the story of poe being part of the storied rogue squadron being sent by leia's new republic to put down the fascist upstarts at the edge of the unknown regions. one day.

one more quick story -- i met my college friend’s three kids for the first time when the oldest was 6. i’d sent a toy lightsaber as a gift when he was born, because i believe every child should get their first lightsaber from a skywalker, and his father had shown him the movies when he turned 4. when i walked into the house i said hello and he said, “i have some questions about star wars.”

we sat on the couch with the tfa visual dictionary, a book he’d gotten out of the library. every question he had was an excellent question, and i couldn’t answer any of them. “why does his lightsaber look like that? and why does he have the extra blades?” 

“well, kiddo, let’s see what it says here about how lightsabers are made. i used to know all about it, but they changed everything on me.”

---

what i love about star wars since disney bought it:

poe dameron, cassian andor (and all of rogue one, i got over the fact that the movie wouldn’t be about rogue squadron it was PERFECT), solo (a fucking DELIGHT), the mandalorian, and i’m sure the cassian andor live action will be amazing and i’ll love it. 

[majorshiraharu]

Discussion of Limitations in Live Action & Style Choices

This will be all spoilers for the new episode of the Mandalorian.  I’m putting it under a cut so no one accidentally gets spoiled. Fair warning it is long af, I tried doing a mix of my opinions and information from the show, films, etc. I tried putting the more opinion parts in italic, might have forgotten some parts tho. I spent way too long on this lmao

--------------SPOILERS BELOW------------------

I'm putting my thoughts for each time I watched it. That way, you can see how rewatching changed my mind some. I also had almost a whole day to process the episode before I watched it again, then I had a few hours to think about it and add to this, and then now I've watched it for the third time. This will be a mix of my reactions and opinions and then some information about The Mandalorian and things I think many people are overlooking. Especially in a time when we have major blockbuster films with pretty amazing CGI and people have come to expect that level of detail in everything. If you don’t want to read my reaction/opinion parts, skip down past “3rd Viewing” (the sectioned area)

1st Viewing When It Dropped; Right After Watching: — Okay honestly not the biggest fan of this Ahsoka, I feel like they could have done a bit better with her lekku, montrals, and the contacts because they kinda took me out of it a few times. She didn't move a lot like Ahsoka, but then again she does move and act more like the Rebels version, so if you haven't seen that I can see how this would be more off-putting. She's much older at this point and probably can't move as well as she used to. Also, I know we've come to expect the effects of high-budget films and their fancy CGI, but this show is not that and I think they truly did the best they could with what they had. I'm too tired now, but will write about that stuff in my second viewing section. Overall, I think in the scenes where she interacted with Mando and the child were very well done and felt like how I thought Ahsoka would be after the journey she had over the past years. Those moments felt like Ahsoka to me, and I really enjoyed. 2nd Viewing; About 16 Hours After First Viewing: — So I took some time today to think about last night's episode, I also decided to hop on social media and see what people's reactions were. I was surprised how on Twitter and Reddit I hardly found anyone who disliked this version, longtime fans, new fans, people who didn't know Ahsoka. It seemed like most people really loved it and were extremely happy to see her in live-action. Some people didn't like the way her lekku & montral looked but otherwise enjoyed it, and then there were a few people who said it didn't feel like Ahsoka to them. Now here's my opinion on the second viewing, I liked her more after watching it again. As mentioned above she's definitely more like her Rebels version, and we have a few years when she and Sabine were out searching for Ezra and Thrawn. We don't know what she's been through but clearly, she's much calmer and wiser, which I think fits, it's not like how she was in Clone Wars but it's been like 25+ ish years, so she's had a lot of time to grow and shouldn’t be the same. The actress who played her was pretty stiff and monotone during more scenes than I would have liked, but all her scenes with Din and the Child were excellent, and felt pretty close to Ahsoka, really liked her in those. The action scenes were very cool at the start. Her fighting style was more like her fighting in Rebels. I would have liked a few more shots of her with her signature lightsaber hold, but they included them during the right moments, so that doesn't really bother me that much. Now for the mostly on Tumblr infamous lekku & montral, on second viewing I didn't mind them as much because it wasn't as shocking. The length should have been longer imho, and they definitely needed to change the montral, that's what I have the only real problem with. The montral just looked too short, was angled back quite far, and yeah, just didn't look like any animated version, concepts, or even any cosplays I've seen. This was the only thing about her that I really just didn't like and bothered me some. 3rd Viewing; Most of my opinions stayed the same, I watched it this time with some of my friends who love Star Wars and one who loves Ahsoka as much as me, so I wanted to see their reaction. They all loved her, tho they agreed the length should have been longer and the top should have been different. But they all really loved the episode and her.

--------------------- Now all that said, here are some counterpoints and information because I thought it was important to look into why it might be that way, and I will also include ways that I think it could have been done better. Besides having some cosplay experience of my own, I have no idea what they went through to pick or make this look, and it could have been always ended up a lot worse. First off they need to consider the actress, the material, how it moves, how heavy it is, how it looks in movement, fight scenes, etc. - There is concept art that shows many types of looks for her, and while I think they picked my least favorite of them, people need to understand that there was a reason. We don't know and may never know, but it was a choice made. Concept art from the end of the episode:

It could have also been that it looked better in person, or that they wanted a distinct look for it in live-action to make it feel more realistic or unique. Here is other concept art of Ahsoka from Rebels and The Clone Wars, Link Here

----------------- Also, many people aren't aware of this, but the Mandalorian is made to look a lot like the OG movies. They specifically try to only use camera angles/ movements from that time. They try to do action that fits the original films style and also is similar to old westerns. They have a very specific look they're going for, and a lot of people don't know this. This also includes the use of miniatures, puppets, and as many realistic things as they can for costumes and the interactive parts of the set. They use CGI and new tech too, but aside from the large screen they use for scenery they seem to only use CGI when it's really needed and not for everything like blockbuster movies or even some shows do, aka they don’t overuse it.

Here are two links for more info on this. They are long but have a lot of cool insight into the show: link for filming style here — link for the tech they use for filming here They have the tech and probably money to have made Ahsoka's lekku & montral CGI, but it was a deliberate choice in style not to do this. Was it a good idea, maybe yes, maybe no, maybe a mix? In Season 1 Chapter 6 of The Mandalorian when they had the Twi’lek Xi’an and I saw how her lekku moved I was concerned for if they ever included lekku in a more prominent role.

As you can kind of see in the above gif, they didn't have enough weight to them and were too foamy/rubbery in their movement. It seems like the same stuff was used for Ahsoka's, which resulted in the same problem. Since we've only known her in animation where they can change things to a much more finite degree, it's off-putting in live-action, and it kinda falls into the uncanny valley which I think is why it's slightly weird to see. If we had seen her in live-action first this probably wouldn't have bothered people as much.

Video Link to show it better

I included the older Clone Wars version of Ahsoka in here because I believe they mixed her looks together to come up with the live-action design. - We saw Shaak Ti in live-action years ago and many people are pointing to that as what they should have gone with for Ahsoka. A reminder that was done for a film, not a TV show, so there will be differences in quality and style. I do think they could have used that as a model to base Ahsoka on, they should have access to old headpiece unless it just deteriorated with time. Here’s a video that includes behind the scenes looks of Shaak Ti, Youtube Link Here  

Also here’s a look of Ayla from the Prequels and from the original trilogy of the Jaba palace Twi’lek to compare how they look with the Twi’lek in the Mandalorian.

I think the original trilogy looked better than the lekku in The Mandalorian so if they’re using similar material to keep it more fitting to that time, maybe they need to make them longer to hold more weight and look like actual flesh and not foamy rubber.

They could have also gone the route of making different headpieces with other material depending on what they were being used for. Again it's a TV show, not sure if they have the time or money to do this or think it's worth it for just one episode. But they could have had one made of that foamy material for action scenes, and then one that looked more like Shaak Ti's for scenes where she just talked or moved some. Honestly, this would have been their best option, and as far as I can tell, that wasn't done. I see people mention they could have done no action or less action and made better lekku, but there are already people complaining that there wasn't enough action or movement in her action scenes. You can't please everyone, and I think they struck a good balance.

----------------

Other opinions of mine on her live-action version. I think Ashley Eckstein should have been the one to play Ahsoka in live-action, or I think they should have dubbed the voice. The actress playing her in this wasn't bad, but honestly, she brought nothing new to the role and didn't do enough to capture the smaller nuances of Ahsoka's character. Some of these problems could have been fixed by dubbing her voice, even if she didn't move or look like how people wanted Ahsoka to in live-action, having her voice would have made a big difference. I don't know if Ashley was brought in on this; she hasn't mentioned anything as far as I have seen. I would find it strange if she wasn't involved since Dave and her are friends. Both really love the character, but he doesn't have full control over the show and maybe she wasn't made a part of it for one reason or another. But if she wasn’t, I think that was a bad choice, she’s the one who brought her to life in the Clone Wars.  -  I also think that we don't always need a big name or famous person playing a character, we could have a dubbed voice and had someone performing it who was a stunt woman or an actor who isn't as well known, this has been done in Star Wars before. 

Also look at this cute cosplay of Ashley as Ahsoka:

--------------------- TLDR: Lekku and Montral are not easy to make or look real, I think the creators did the best they could with the style they try to achieve (again we don’t know behind the scenes stuff or their choices), there is stuff that could have maybe improved the look. Many people don’t understand the amount of work that goes into something like this and that sometimes choices are made for a design that you may not like, but that doesn’t make it wrong. Art is a creative thing which includes taking risks, putting a unique spin on something that exists, and sometimes making choices that not everyone will like.

--------------------

But still I’m happy we got to see live action Ahsoka and I’m glad she was able to bring joy to so many people. I’ve watched the Clone Wars since I was a kid and have always loved Ahsoka and while I have my nitpicks about her live action version, overall, I think they did a good job. I was disappointed at first, but now not so much, and instead I just view her as a different version and that she’s unique in her own ways. I remember when Rebels Ahsoka came out a lot of people hated that version, personally I loved it, there are aspects of her design I didn’t like as much tho.

I also feel this was her only appearance in The Mandalorian, I don’t think she will return again, as far as the story goes, I don’t think there is a need for her to return either. I personally would prefer to have Ahsoka stay as an animated character if she got her own show, animation suits her better and has fewer limitations for the creators.

[thephantomssiren]

Ye of little faith. Why do you doubt?

There seems to be a lot of doubt in the Reylo fandom about whether we’ll get our happy ending in The Rise of Skywalker. From what I’ve gathered, people seem to doubt that Disney would let Kylo live after all the bad things he’s done, or doubt that Kylo/Ben will be redeemed (because that is too predictable) and are almost certain that he will not survive this trilogy if he is redeemed. If you are a Reylo that is doubting whether Rey and Kylo will get their happy ending I have a few things to tell you, that will hopefully ease your fears about their fate in The Rise of Skywalker. 

Since the beginning of the Star Wars trilogy, the main story has always revolved around two things: love and hope. Allow me to repeat myself, love and hope have been a running theme in the story since the beginning! It was Anakin’s love for his mother and the hope that he’d one day see her again that gave him the strength to leave her to become a Jedi, and it was Shmi’s hope in his future and her love for her son that gave her the strength to let him go. It was his love for Padme, and the hope that he could find a way to save her from death that made Anakin fall to the Dark Side. It was Luke’s hope that Anakin was still a part of Vader that allowed him to see that he could be turned, and Vader’s love for his son that gave him the strength to defeat the Emperor and return to the Light Side. It was the hope that Leia had in Ben Kenobi that began the original story, and I believe it will be her hope that her son Ben Solo isn’t gone, and the love she has for him that will end it (or at least play a pivotal role in the story). A story that has centered around the ideas of hope and love cannot and will not end in tragedy. 

Remember too that Star Wars is now in the hands of Disney. What is it that Disney is known for? That’s right... bringing fairy tale stories about hope and love that end in happily-ever-after to life for all ages to enjoy. Disney has invested too much time and money in the development of the new characters’ stories to kill them off in the end...or to have the story end on a miserable and tragic note. Where’s the hope found in that? Star Wars was always written for children. George has often referred to star wars as a fairy tale for children. What message would it send to children who love the character of Kylo Ren, if he should die at the end of The Rise of Skywalker unloved and unredeemed because of the bad things he has done (in a time of war I remind you)? I don’t think Disney would veer away from their winning formula of hope, love, and happily ever after for the sake of pleasing a few loud voices in the Star Wars community.

Something else I think Reylos should keep in mind is that we’ve been told that JJ and KK consulted with George about the story for The Rise of Skywalker. George has always said that “Star Wars is like poetry, it rhymes.” Already we’ve seen various nods to the originals and prequels within TFA and TLJ, but there’s one thing that was in the prequels and the originals that hasn’t been eluded to yet and that’s the big celebration sequence. In the prequels we see a big celebration at the end of The Phantom Menace when the Naboo and Gungans celebrate the peace they’ve achieved between their two “worlds”. At the end of Return of the Jedi, we see a huge celebration with the Rebels and Ewoks (and the rest of the galaxy) celebrating the end of the Empire and the freedom they now have. So far, we haven’t seen a celebration scene of the same magnitude in this new trilogy, which means we’re due for one in The Rise of Skywalker. And I’m pretty sure this isn’t it:

No, we are going to see the most epic galaxy-wide celebration sequence in Star Wars history in The Rise of Skywalker...and who knows perhaps that celebration will revolve around a wedding (to echo Anakin and Padme’s at the end of Attack of the Clones). Remember, it’s like poetry...it rhymes!

Lastly, let’s not forget that there have been too many hints about a relationship developing between Kylo and Rey for them not to explicitly address it in the final film. I do not think that they would expose us (and the general audience) to so much Reylo-centric content leading up to the release of the movie for no apparent reason. In other words, I don’t think Reylo will be left ambiguous in The Rise of Skywalker...it’s going to be obvious. Reylo is the plot! Remember Rey and Kylo are two halves of our protagonist, and the prince and princess of this story according to JJ, and “the story we really care about”.

So no more doubting, Reylos! We are getting fed next month, and Rey and Kylo/Ben are getting that happily ever after that they both deserve, because Disney would do that!

[sw-daydreamer]

More fan reactions!

SOURCE: tvsourcemagazine.com/2019/12/the-rise-of-skywalker-roundtable/

First Impressions of the movie?

Cam: Honestly, the first thought that kept repeating in my head as I continued watching the movie was “Who greenlight this?”. Too many hours spent on pointless plot points, bad dialogue, character regression and a clear intent to take digs at the previous movie.

April: The first time I saw the film I found it largely enjoyable. It reminded me of “old school” Star Wars films, which fits with J.J.’s nerdy love for the original films. However, there were glaring issues, largely that, in an effort to make every fan group happy, J.J. created a film where every fan group instead found something to nitpick. He bent to the will of the racist fans from “The Last Jedi” and shrunk Kelly Marie Tran’s role to nothing, he created women out of thin air (Jannah and Zorrie) to stand as helpmates to the men around them, just to name a few things. But as an end to Luke Skywalker’s story, it’s acceptable.

Anika: Thanks to spoilers, which I actively sought, I already knew what to expect. While I didn’t hate the movie in it’s entirety, my dissatisfaction with it made it the only Star Wars movie that I am quite happy seeing just once. So much of it just felt cobbled together and didn’t make any sense. It felt like the writers were trying to please every Star Wars fan base with this film, but never quite managed that feat.

Logan: As the credits rolled I thought, “Well, I enjoyed a majority of that movie until the end.” Originally, I said I enjoyed about 80% of the movie but the 20% I didn’t like were huge plot points. After thinking about the movie for a week, I’d say my percentage of enjoyment has majorly decreased.

Maggie: Unfortunately, I was entirely spoiled by Reddit and Burger King by the time I sat down to watch The Rise of Skywalker opening night. I mostly felt dread throughout the entire film and struggled to even enjoy the enjoyable moments. I think “fever dream” is the best way to summarize my first impressions.

Jenna: Like most people, I was spoiled by Reddit leaks that none of us could have ever anticipated being true. Sadly, they were. Although I knew what was going to happen, I still tried to go in with an open mind. While I did enjoy some of the movie, those feelings were unfortunately overshadowed by my intense dislike of the major plot holes and the poor messages this movie conveyed.  

Heather: My first impressions were from Reddit Spoilers months ago because I am a known Spoiler Whore (I don’t like surprises) so if we’re going from the leaks my first impression was, “There’s no way this is true. It’s so stupid. Most of this doesn’t even make sense. Nah. I’ll wait for the LA premiere and the real leaks.” Little did I know.

When did you become a fan of Star Wars?

Cam: I have first watched Star Wars when in 1999 (Phantom Menace), then I watched the rest of them in 2015. But I only became a fan on 2017 when I watched The Last Jedi.

April: I was introduced to Star Wars when I was 7 years old. My cousin, 10 years my senior, had been tasked with babysitting me for the night and, in her desire to keep me quiet and happy she did what most teens would and plopped me in front of a VHS tape playing ‘A New Hope’. Within moments of R2-D2 and C3PO showing up on the screen I was enthralled.

Anika: I was 11 years old when I first saw Star Wars. The story of Luke, Princess Leia, Han Solo and a galaxy far, far away was an immediate obsession for science-fiction/fantasy nerd girl me. A New Hope is my favorite childhood movie and the saga, along with Rogue One and Solo, continues to be my obsession. I cried when I saw the first trailer for TROS because the movies were a big part of my childhood and teen years and knowing this would be the last story ever told about the Skywalkers was an extremely emotional moment for me.

Logan: The better question is when wasn’t I a fan of Star Wars. I grew up with a brother who is 10 years older than me and he was small during the theatrical release of Empire and Return of the Jedi. I grew up watching them because he watched them and I immediately wanted to be a part of that world.

Maggie: My father took me to see The Phantom Menace opening weekend when I was six years old. Despite the devastation of losing Qui-Gon Jinn, Star Wars basically overtook my life from that moment forward. For twenty years I’ve collected Star Wars ephemera and read through nearly the entire library of the Extended Universe.

Jenna: When I was around 10 or 11, the first six episodes were playing on TV for about a week. I saw my step dad watching one of them and I was captivated by it as soon as I walked by. I asked him what order I should watch them in, and then I could be found that whole week in front of the TV watching them every time they came on. After that, I didn’t watch them for a long time, but my love for the franchise returned when The Last Jedi was in theaters.

Heather: Star Wars has been a part of my life in a mostly passing way since I was nine years old when I was brought to see one of the prequels in theaters. My aunt and uncle and I also watched the originals and prequels at various points when I was a teenager though admittedly my interest was fleeting at best. In January of 2016 that very same aunt and uncle were back in our hometown visiting from England and they wanted to go see The Force Awakens for their third time. I had absolutely no interest in going to go see it but I wanted the family time so I did and I’m glad I did because I walked out a huge fan. For all of the grief I now give JJ Abrams I will say that he set out to make TFA both for old fans and to create new fans and he succeeded in that.

What did you think of Rey’s journey in this movie?

Cam: A complete regression of whatever it was supposed to be. I can’t explain it in a different way. From the beginning Rey was alone, in a desert planet, begging to find her parents and a belonging. As the movies progressed she finally learned she had to continue her life, she couldn’t be stuck in that place forever, and that she could find other people who would love her, “the belonging you seek is ahead” and all. She realized she could be powerful and important just for being who she is on the Last Jedi. She didn’t need famous parents to matter.

On Rise of Skywalker they reverted all that, she did need famous parents indeed and she never should have had to learn how to move on from her pain and self doubt regarding them since they were always good people that had loved her. Despite her entire journey, the movie frames her ending as someone who was again alone and again on a desert planet (despite arguments that it didn’t mean she would be alone, when a movie ends in a certain note that’s what you want your audience to take from it). It’s just a terrible regression that didn’t care for all the things this character needed but that instead cared about online complaints regarding her surname.

April: Rey’s journey in this film felt, in many ways, unfinished. We’ve always known that the Star Wars Saga was ultimately Luke’s story, even as we had other protagonists in the prequel trilogy it was clear that we were watching the beginnings of Luke (Padme and Anakin wind up being his parents and we watch the birth of his ultimate foe, Darth Vader). Unfortunately, “The Rise of Skywalker” (and indeed the entire sequel trilogy) struggle with the idea of Rey being anything more than just the final piece of Luke Skywalker’s story. Perhaps this would have read better had Rey been a Skywalker (as was clearly J.J. Abram’s (director of “The Force Awakens” and “ The Rise of Skywalker) initial plan, but instead Rey doesn’t actually begin her journey until the moment she stares off into the sun on Tatooine as the music swells dramatically. While it’s not unusual for a story to end with the hero heading into a new adventure, for this to be the “end” of Rey’s story feels almost empty, because we never truly saw her beginning.

Anika: Where do I start with Rey’s journey in TROS? Quite honestly, except for Rey becoming the powerful Jedi we all knew she would be, I don’t think she had much of a journey. She wanted to know her place in all of this and she does learn it along with a few other truths, but her reaction to every thing she learns was virtually non-existent. Rey’s journey is the saddest part of this movie. She finds the belonging that she wanted, but she has lost a maternal and paternal figure, a mentor and her other half in the Force. Rey is at the end of it alone again. How is that a happy ending for her?

Logan: Trying to think through my opinion is making me realize she didn’t really have much of one in this film. She started a strong Jedi and ended a strong Jedi. She started out as part of The Resistance and ended as part of The Resistance. The only changes to her journey revolve around finding out her lineage, which didn’t change any part of who she is, and also loss. Loss of Leia. Loss of Ben. Isolating Rey’s journey leaves me sort of depressed. So, my thoughts are that I don’t like it.

Maggie: At the end of The Last Jedi Rey was posed to have an incredible final act, unfortunately The Rise of Skywalker ended up being a regressive ending to her story. Her journey is rushed, disjointed, and nonsensical in this film. We never get her reacting to the revelation that she’s Darth Sidious’ granddaughter, which is perhaps one of the worst mistakes this film commits. The main protagonist is presented with a life changing detail about her past and is denied the chance to react verbally to the revelation. Not only was the implementation lacking, but the reasoning behind her having to be related to someone felt unnecessary. If Palpatine had always been the endgame for the trilogy, he should’ve been alluded to in the previous two films.

Jenna: Not only did I think that Rey had no growth in this movie, but I would even go as far as to say she regressed. In The Force Awakens, Rey’s story began with her living in the desert alone and waiting for parents that would never come back to her. In The Rise of Skywalker, Rey’s story ended with her living in the desert alone and isolating herself from the friends and family she has come to know. At least, that’s how I interpreted it. The Last Jedi set this movie up to have Rey realize how special and loved she is regardless of who her parents were, but this idea was thrown aside in favor of making her special only because of her family name.

Heather: Hated. It. I loved the message of TLJ that you don’t have to come from a powerful bloodline to be special or important and it was completely re-written. You’re only special if you come from one of these two families. Sucks to suck for the rest of you.

What was your favorite part of the sequel trilogy?

Cam: Ben and Rey’s ever growing understanding and love for each other. And Kylo Ren/Ben Solo’s entire arc that showed his pull to the light and his pain regarding the darkness.

April: The chemistry between the new trio (Rey, Finn and Poe) is hands down my favorite aspect of the new trilogy. Oscar Issac, John Boyega and Daisy Ridley play excellently off of each other and their interactions are a joy to watch. One thing The Rise of Skywalker did tremendously well was highlight their relationship and it is my opinion that Rey is now happily touring the sky with her boyfriend (Finn) and his boyfriend (Poe).

Anika: It’s a tie between the Throne Room scene and the hand touch scene in the hut. In the scene where she touches Kylo’s hand, we get to see both their vulnerabilities. He’s admitting that what she is going through, her loneliness is how he feels, too, and she’s reassuring him that it’s never too late to change that. The Throne Room scene is the best one in the trilogy. It was perfection in it’s execution. They way moved in sync with each other, watched each other’s back and that heartbreaking end when he offers her his hand and she knows she cannot take it was beyond anything else I had seen.

Logan: Admiral Holdo lightspeeding through a Star Destroyer. Hands Down. For me, Holdo was one of the most memorable characters of the sequel trilogy and that moment was followed by an eerie silence in the theater that I will never forget. Aside from that is all the confirmation of Jedi Leia, the return of Han, Poe’s introduction in The Force Awakens, the glory of Rose Tico. There are many moments that I will remember for many Star Wars films to come.

Maggie: The Throne Room scene in The Last Jedi will remain my favorite part of this entire trilogy. The fight choreography is incredible and I felt like it was really a defining moment for both Rey and Ben. Watching them fight back-to-back was pretty amazing to see. Not to mention it’s some of Adam and Daisy’s best acting in the trilogy. So many emotions play out from the start to end of that scene. It’s flawless.

Jenna: The Throne Room scene in The Last Jedi, by far. Adam so clearly showcased the emotions passing through Ben’s mind when he decided to take down the man who had been abusing him his whole life. When Ben and Rey stood back-to-back to fight together after Ben ripped Anakin’s lightsaber through Snoke I could feel every cell in my body start to scream in excitement. It felt like such a pivotal moment in not only the movie, but the entire trilogy. Seeing a clip of Ben leaning forward so Rey could grab onto his thigh and balance herself on his back to kick one of the Praetorian Guard is actually what convinced me to watch the sequel trilogy.

Heather: Reylo. Kidding…mostly. I can’t deny that their chemistry and the thrill of a possible enemies to lovers/good girl & bad boy story was what made me originally interested in the first place but I think my favorite part was all of the fandom anticipation. Who would Rey be? Would Kylo turn back to the light? Would the Resistance survive? Would Leia keep her role as General? In between each movie fandom was always alive with theories and speculation and there’s a sort of magic and unity in that that I’ve always enjoyed.

What was your favorite part of TRoS?

Cam: Ben Solo being redeemed, as he should have. And all of the amazing scenes between him and Rey.

April: My favorite part of The Rise of Skywalker would have to be the reinforcement of the idea of “togetherness”. You see it, perhaps most clearly, in the moment when, wrapped up in his devastation about leading his forces once more into a hopeless battle, Poe hears Lando’s voice over the radio. When he pulls up and sees the crowd of ships full of “just people” to quote one First Order combatant, it’s such a powerful feeling. That same theme makes itself present again in Rey’s battle against Palpatines, when she is at her most defeated and we hear the voices of Obi-Wan, Anakin, Yoda, Luke, Ashoka and more, reminding her that she is not alone, because she is “all the Jedi”, it’s also repeated throughout the trio’s interactions, they even go so far as to use the word “together”. It’s a constant message in this film and it’s so necessary in our current time. It’s a reminder to each one and all of us that there are always “more of us” then those who would seek to keep us downtrodden and together, we can spark a true revolution.

Anika: Without a doubt, Han and Ben’s scene on the Death Star. Leia reached Ben, but it was his father’s love and forgiveness which truly made the difference. Ben was never the same after killing Han and he needed to make peace with what he did and to accept that forgiveness is possible. Change is possible, even if we veer so off course that we can’t possibly see the way back. My two favorite characters in Star Wars sharing a much needed cathartic moment literally made me tear up.

Logan: If I’m picking just one thing then I’m choosing General Leia Organa. My gasp at the flashback of her and Luke was loud and probably annoying to everyone around me. She has a lightsaber. She’s a Jedi Master. She’s fearless and selfless and as bad ass as she ever was. I got to say a beautiful goodbye to Carrie Fisher and that meant more than anything else. Honorable mentions, though, to Harrison Ford returning as Han for one brief shining moment and to Kylo/Ben’s redemption arc that I never for one second thought I would ever buy into and yet somehow did. (Also, D-O and Babu Frik because how can you not love them?)

Maggie: I wish I could say the Reylo kiss was my favorite part of the film, however the moment was so rushed and poorly orchestrated that I struggle with enjoying it. I can’t even think of dialogue in this film that I enjoyed. With The Last Jedi so many lines stood out — lines with substance. I suppose I enjoyed seeing the porgs one last time.

Jenna: My favorite part was when Ben showed up on Exegol to help Rey. The second you saw him running, you knew you were no longer looking at Kylo Ren. This was now Ben Solo. From his hair to his loose sweater to his quiet “Ow”, there was no question about who was on the screen. When Rey and Ben finally used their forcebond to help each other and she gave him Anakin’s lightsaber, I could physically feel my heart squeeze in joy. Oh yeah, the Reylo kiss was pretty amazing, too. Too bad he had to die right after.

Heather: The final force bond between Rey and Ben when she gives him the light saber and he pulls it out from behind his back. That was a moment. I also really liked when after the trio fell through the quicksand stuff Rey lit her saber to light the way and Poe turned on his little flashlight. It was a cheap way to make the audience laugh but it worked and I did.

What was your least favorite part of TRoS?

Cam: I could say literally anything else but i’m gonna go with Ben Solo’s death.

April: The sidelining of Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose along with the insertion of Jannah and Zorrie feels purposeful and wrong. It was recently announced that Rose had only about one and a half minutes of screen time in the entirety of “The Rise of Skywalker” which seems particularly egregious when one considers how prominently she was featured in “The Last Jedi”. Even worse, she is almost “replaced” by the insertion of Zorrie and Jannah, both of whom serve no true purpose to the overall plot of the film.

Zorrie is there to forcefully remind us that Oscar Issac’s Poe is straight and that’s it! You could argue that she put them in contact with the tiny alien (Babu Frik) who wound up highjacking C3PO’s memory drives, but, Poe was a spice runner in this same crew and thus already knew him. We never even see her entire face, but we do get to see her modeling a skin tight pink catsuit-to emphasis her femininity.

The same thing happens with Jannah, an ex-Stormtrooper who exists only to provide a point of similarity with Finn and also to be Lando’s daughter (something that’s not even clearly told in the film. She’s tough and strong and has grit and determination in spades. She doesn’t hesitate to run into battle and in fact supports Finn as he makes what could be a suicide play to take out the lead ship. Both Jannah and Zorrie serve almost as opposites of Rose, in Zorrie: the ultrafeminine and in Jannah, the toughness that Rose wasn’t allowed to have. They even manage to strip Rose of her leadership, refusing to allow her to wear the badge of her station (commander). It’s a disgrace and it should be discussed far and wide.

Anika: I have two that really ticked me off. I absolutely hated Rose Tico’s arc in TROS. New character Beaumont had more lines than she did. After playing a big part in The Last Jedi, I expected more interactions between her, Finn, Poe and Rey, but instead she played the part of an extra, more or less. TROS made it seem as if she was an afterthought for Finn. I never got a chance to see a Rey and Rose friendship or even Rose on a mission with the others. She lost her voice because whiny, entitled fans were upset for no other reason than she was a woman and a person of color. It is even more upsetting that their vitriol was rewarded. The second thing that really bugged me was the predictability and, therefore, unoriginal end of Ben’s death. For once, it would have been nice to see the redeemed hero live.

Logan: There are two least favorite things that are tied for how enraged they make me. One, the obvious sidelining and invalidation of Rose Tico. Which is thanks to Abrams and Company caving to racist and misogynistic nerd boys. Two, the death of Ben Solo. I am by no means a fan of Kylo Ren. Prior to this movie I did not believe for one second that he could be redeemed. (Check my tweets, seriously). But his death does not enrage me for Ben’s sake but for Han and Leia’s. They sacrificed their lives to reach Ben and hopefully save his life. Ben’s death makes their sacrifices pointless. My two favorite Star Wars characters of all time were killed for nothing. Great. Perfect. Thanks, JJ Abrams. That feels fan-freaking-tastic.

Maggie: Where do I even begin? There was about 131 minutes of content I didn’t care for. I will die bitter about how they reduced Rose Tico’s role in response to racist men from the worst parts of the internet. The lines that were given to J.J.’s buddy Dominic Mongaghan could’ve been given to Rose. The fact that the only real lines that Rose had in the film were lines were she rejected joining the main plot seemed far too intentional. Outside of the #WheresRose issue, what they did with Poe Dameron’s character was perhaps my number one complaint coming out of the film. The entire subplot with Zorri Bliss was unnecessary and only served to remind FinnPoe shippers that Poe had a girlfriend and change his backstory to incorporate an unfortunate Latinx stereotype that he was a drug smuggler. Outside of yelling Rey’s name, what was Finn’s role in this film? Coming out of The Last Jedi he had matured as a character, but throughout The Rise of Skywalker it seemed like J.J. had no plan for what to do with him. Wouldn’t it have been awesome if he’d actually been able to say he was Force Sensitive and we didn’t have to get that information from subsequent interviews and an Instagram post? 

Jenna: I could probably write a whole book about what I didn’t like about this movie. Plot holes (how Palpatine is alive, Palpatine wanting Rey dead then all of a sudden wanting her alive, how a spaceship that’s been underwater for years and has been torn for scraps actually works), character stories (Rose being sidelined, Poe being a drug dealer, Ben’s redemption arc fading away with his body), and many many more aspects of this movie keep me up at night.

Heather: The sloppy editing, the incoherent storyline beats, how much this movie wanted to be an action movie with all of the “pew pew!” instead of focusing on character and emotional beats and attempting to distract the audience with bright flashing lights and loud sounds so that they wouldn’t notice how nothing was actually making sense with the plot.

If you could change one thing about this movie, what would it be and why?

Cam: I’d definitely make Ben Solo live. Perhaps this sounds simple for some but the fact is, for one if that happened I would have hope for the Skywalkers. All of their suffering, from Anakin Skywalker to Ben Solo wouldn’t have ended in such a bitter note. The Star Wars Saga have always been about the Skywalkers and while a lot is wrong in the last movie, you would think they at least would have respected the legacy and the theme of a 40 year old saga. But the way Rise ended the story Palpatine was able to manipulate and ultimately end their bloodline. It wasn’t a victory, it was a tragedy.

(I won’t even get into how watching the death of a character that felt lost and needed redemption is just a terrible message as well. The number of people that felt utterly defeated and left the movie crying speaks on its own)

April: The kiss between Kylo and Rey. I’ve seen the movie three times now, once alone, and two other times with people who are aware of the films but are not superfans. In every instance the kiss feels out of place, abrupt and unearned, not just to me but to those I attended with. I believe there were other ways to show the connection between Kylo and Rey (and in fact we’ve seen it highlighted in both “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker” via their force connection) without having them kiss. It is perhaps even more jarring to see them share a kiss in the moments before Ren’s death because we’ve never seen Rey or Ren acknowledge the injuries he’s dealt her, both physically and emotionally. It’s impossible to form an emotional investment in a relationship that is built on dishonesty, lack of trust and no genuine affection between either party. Perhaps if Kylo had actually been redeemed it’s a conversation worth having, but he wasn’t and thus, it isn’t.

Anika: Ben Solo’s death and, therefore, the end of the Skywalkers. When I say Ben deserved more, I am saying it from a place that wanted, needed and expected better for the last Skywalker and the child of Leia Organa and Han Solo. Ben Solo has never really known a moment’s peace. I wanted him to live so he could discover who he was without a Sith Lord in his head, to atone for the things he did and to finish the work his mother started. It was lazy and easy writing to kill Ben.

Logan: I’m gonna change two, because if you’re giving me this chance I’m pushing my limits. One: Ben lives. Two: Rose goes with our Main Trio. Ben lives so that Han and Leia’s deaths have meaning. Rose goes with the trio because the amount of times they needed a mechanic were numerous and Rose was wasted staying behind with Leia. (Obviously considering Merry from Lord of the Rings had all the dialogue Rose should have had.)

Maggie: That’s a loaded question. If I had to choose one singular change, I would’ve started the film with Leia having died in the time between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. In that situation, J.J. wouldn’t have been limited to playing around unused The Force Awakens scenes. Poe would’ve been General Poe outright, rather than handing him the role in Act 3 without any follow through. The pacing of the film would’ve likely been better and the stakes would’ve shifted.

Jenna: There are many things I would change in this movie, but if I had to pick one, it would be that Ben would get to live in the end. I’ve heard arguments that he deserved to die because of everything that he’s done, but I would argue back that he deserves to live for those same reasons. Dying is easy, but living is hard. If he had lived, he wouldn’t have just been able to jump into the Resistance with open arms. He would’ve had to work for forgiveness. He deserved to live so that he could eventually earn that forgiveness. Not to mention that his dying also ripped away not only the first love that Rey ever had, but also her Force equivalent of a soulmate.

Heather: I’ll give you three because I do what I want:

Ben Solo should have lived and earned the right to his redemption. Being redeemed through death is cheap and manipulative and had already been done in the original trilogy. Tell a new story. Let the villain earn his redemption by actively righting their wrongs instead of just killing them off.

Rose going on the adventure with the trio. Her underutilization is disgustingly criminal.

Not making Poe a drug runner just for a laugh and a plot point. There wasn’t even a hint of shady behavior in the other two movies so pulling it out of left field was not only jarring but for fans who actually read the supplemental material, noticeably false.

What unanswered questions would you like to have been addressed?

Cam: How is Palpatine back? Why didn’t Rey’s dad show up to her all these years if he was Force Sensitive? If Palpatine created Snoke why didn’t he know about the Force Dyad until the end of the movie? Why didn’t Ben Solo’s force ghost show up? Why didn’t we see Rey mourn her canonical soulmate? What is happening between Finn and Rose?  Why was Kelly Marie Tran so terribly sidelined?

April: What is the confession Finn is trying to make? Yes, it has been purported that it’s pertaining to his force sensitivity. But this is a fact already known since The Force Awakens and one that he would not seek to hide from Poe, especially not in his potential dying moments. In fact, he mentions to Jannah that what led him away from the First Order was the force. We have no reason to believe force sensitivity is truly the secret.

Why didn’t Lando search for his missing daughter? The Visual Dictionary advises us that Jannah is Lando’s daughter and yet we are to believe that Lando has not spent the past 20 years searching for his daughter but stuck on another desert planet doing exactly nothing. Even the ending scene is ambiguous about who Jannah really is.

How did Palpatine survive being thrown down a shaft by Darth Vader and blown up in the second Death Star? We’re given no hints about that, although we are shown Palpatine hooked up to a crane like device receiving constant transfusions to a zombified corpse.

When did Palpatine even have time to have a child? Given the time frame, the only possible time for Rey’s father to have been, well…fathered is between “Revenge of the Sith” and “A New Hope” and I don’t know a lot of people who would have slept with Palpatine the way he looked back then.

How did Luke and Leia discover Rey was a Palpatine? Did Luke discover it in the Force? Was it just a feeling he had? Why did neither of them think to mention it to to Rey? Why did they continue to train her after discovering it?

Anika: How is Palpatine still alive and, if he created Snoke, why didn’t he know Ben and Rey were bonded? If Palpatine could find Ben in Leia’s womb, why couldn’t he find his granddaughter who shared his blood? Why didn’t Leia become a Force Ghost until Ben’s death and why didn’t Ben become one at all? Most importantly, I need to know where the Sith death eaters came from?

Logan: Does Rey ever find out that Finn has been pining for her for three films? That seemed like something important they introduced in The Force Awakens that got dropped for no reason. (Bonus: How was Palpatine behind Snoke this whole time? That made no sense whatsoever.)

Maggie: Why wasn’t Ben a Force Ghost at the end? Why did Rey decided to bury the lightsabers on Tatooine — a planet Luke despised, Anakin hated, and Leia never visited. How is the galaxy going to react to the granddaughter of Darth Sidious? How does Rey feel about the revelation? Why didn’t Rey mourn the loss of Ben? Why was Maz smiling when Leia vanished, given that Ben had died? Why was there so much focus on Rey staring at children? What was the point of the Force Dyad? What was the point of the visions in The Force Awakens? Why did the Knights of Ren exist? Why didn’t they just say Jannah is Lando’s daughter?

Jenna: How did Palpatine survive? What happened to Finn and Rose’s relationship? What was the point of Rey’s vision in The Last Jedi signifying that she was a nobody if she was a Palpatine? How did Ben not die after being thrown off the cliff? Why did the Jedi not help Ben? Why did the Jedi not do something to help heal Rey when she died after killing Palpatine? Why was Ben not a Force Ghost in the end? Why did we see such little reaction from Rey when Ben died? Why did Rey bury the lightsabers on Tatooine? Why did Leia wait to become one with the Force until Ben died, as if that’s something she wanted? Why did Rey take the Skywalker name instead of embracing that she didn’t need a name to make her special?

Heather: So many questions. How is Palpatine back? How did Ben get to Exegol if Rey stole his Tie Fighter on the Death Star? Why did Palps not know Ben and Rey had a force bond if Snoke claimed to create it and he created Snoke? Why did both Snoke and Palpatine want Kylo to kill Rey if in the end he wanted Rey to kill him instead? How was Poe ever a drug runner when in his comic he was born and raised on the Rebel base? If killing Palpatine would bring all of the Sith in to Rey’s body and she did in fact kill him, do all of the Sith and all of the Jedi live in her now? Why did Anakin say, “Rise and bring balance to the force like I did.” when Palpatine wasn’t dead meaning he didn’t bring balance to the force (and really his whole arc is now obsolete since he was in fact, not the chosen one after all)? There are more but if I kept going I would have an entire essay. 

Were you satisfied by the ending of the trilogy? Why or why not?

Cam: Not at all. This trilogy ended making an even bigger tragedy out of the Skywalkers, I can barely watch the other movies without thinking “this was all for nothing.” The one character that knew enough about the Skywalkers and survived the ordeal (Rey) is alone. What is there to be satisfied about?

April: As an ending to Luke’s story I am absolutely satisfied with the ending of the trilogy and as a fan of his, I’m happy with what we received for him, Leia and even Anakin. As a fan of the new trio, I find myself wanting more of their stories. Who are they besides a former scavenger, spice runner and stormtrooper? Yes, Rey is “all the Jedi” and the granddaughter of Palpatine but who is Rey? We’ve spent three films with her and her primary focus has always been saving a male of the Skywalker line, in “The Force Awakens” that’s Luke and in “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker” that’s Kylo.

Who is she when that’s not her primary focus? Now we’ll never know. Yes, Poe is a child of the resistance, a spice runner and, now, a general, but who is Poe? In both “The Force Awakens” and  “The Rise of Skywalker we see the beginnings of his story, a child of the resistance who, perhaps due to his parent’s deaths winds up a spice runner (something I don’t find as objectionable as many do-historically People of Color often do things deemed objectionable  to support themselves or their families in troubled times) before coming back into the resistance fold with the return of information about Luke Skywalker’s return. We are given hints of his time as a spice runner, a possible past romance with Zorrie and then nothing else.

Finn is perhaps the biggest mystery. Even his name is not his own, given to him by Poe upon their first meeting. We will never know who he came from, what specifically about “the force” drove him to leave the First Order and trust the Resistance. We’ll never learn more about his force sensitivity and what that means for his potential future as a Jedi, we’ll never learn about the other stormtroopers who are also potentially force sensitive. So much is left up to guesswork and it is the worst part of the ending to me.

Anika: I was not satisfied at all. As I said before, the redeemed hero dying is so predictable. The story of the Skywalkers ends as one of tragedy and not hope(I’m sorry saying you are a Skywalker does not make you one). Rey is back in the desert again. I really don’t see how some found this satisfying.

Logan: No, because now Han and Leia died for nothing. That is the worst ending I could have imagined for two heroes of their caliber.

Maggie: No. I genuinely do not know how anyone can be satisfied with that ending. Han, Leia, and Luke died for nothing. The Skywalker line is dead. A Palpatine is using their name. Rey is back on a desert planet, right where she began.

Jenna: No. I felt like I left the theater with more questions than when I walked in, and that’s never something you want from the conclusion of a trilogy. I walked out literally feeling used and abused.

Heather: No. I am not satisfied at all. As a whole this movie was a mess. I know that JJ Abrams and Chris Terrio want to place the blame of that on to literally everyone but themselves but the fact of the matter is Rian Johnson dismantled everything in The Last Jedi which gave them a fresh start to tell a different story. Instead, they pretended that TLJ didn’t happen at all, retconned everything that happened in it, and once again fell on to using what worked in the original trilogy, instead of doing what their paid to do and giving us a cohesive, good, imaginative story. Putting all of your faith in to a trilogy and thinking it’s going to lead somewhere that they assured you was hopeful and good and having the rug pulled from under you is not what I would call a good time.

Kylo Ren; Redeemed or not? Do actions speak louder than words?

Cam: Definitely yes. Adam Driver was given nearly 0 lines after the redemption, so it’s hard to speak about words here, but ultimately his character did everything in his power to fight Palpatine and save Rey, so, yes.

April: I do not believe that Kylo Ren was redeemed, nor do I believe it was ever in the cards for him to be redeemed. There is a common belief that Kylo turned due to abuse, but we are not canonically shown any evidence of this. Yes, a voice whispering in your head can be stressful, but Kylo was born to two of the biggest heroes in the resistance and nephew to another, even if he didn’t feel comfortable turning to Luke (and who can blame him) in the aftermath of Luke contemplating killing him, his parents were still there. In choosing to run to Snoke, Kylo made a choice that would forever taint his life. In each movie of the franchise, we continue to see Kylo choose darkness and power.

In “The Force Awakens” he slaughters a village to obtain information about his uncle. He kills Snoke to become the Supreme Leader, in “The Last Jedi”,  and when Rey offers him her hand, the final opportunity to truly do good, he refuses because his desire for power is stronger. Even as “The Rise of Skywalker” begins he is once again slaughtering people (who, to be fair, were a cult loyal to both Vader and Lady Corvax-but again, this information is not shown it is told in the Visual Dictionary). When he is searching out Palpatine it is, once again, to kill the person standing between him and the potential for true power. Kylo is, for all intents and purposes his grandfather all over again and neither of them deserved redemption in the true sense of the word.

Kylo’s last few acts, to run to Exegol, to fight against Palpatine and to give his life force to Rey are-ultimately much the same as his grandfather’s. He realizes that he’ll never truly have the ability to atone for his actions and so he gives his life to Rey, allowing her to be the balance his grandfather was always meant to be. This sacrifice is the most noble thing Kylo is ever shown to have done and because it comes so late in the trilogy, literally the final act of the final act, it is largely worthless. It is possible to give characters like Kylo real redemption (see Zuko of “The Last Airbender” fame) and it would perhaps have been possible even for Kylo, if only they’d begin his journey to that redemption in the end of “The Force Awakens” or the beginning of “The Last Jedi.”.

Anika: Redeemed. It’s been something I have wanted for him since The Force Awakens. I expected more with his redemption, however. He never got to express himself through words and I hate that he was sidelined for the fight with Palpatine. I’m glad we got a redemption, but it felt a little anti-climatic.

Logan: Not a fan of Kylo Ren, but I would say yes. I think as Han said, Kylo Ren is dead. We were seeing Ben Solo by the end of that movie and I wish we hadn’t had to say goodbye so soon. Adam Driver made him the perfect combination of Han and Leia and that could have been a joy to watch for more than just a few minutes.

Maggie: I have been rooting for Bendemption since The Force Awakens. The execution of redemption was awful. I would love to know what J.J. has against Adam Driver, because from the moment Kylo Ren is “redeemed” he speaks a single line of dialogue — “ow”. While I love the moment where Ben fights the Knights of Ren, I would’ve preferred some sort of dialogue as a trade. Not to mention the film starts with Kylo Ren reduced to his The Force Awakens persona and seems to forget The Last Jedi even happened. I got redemption, but at what cost?

Jenna: Kylo Ren being redeemed was one of the things I was looking forward to most this movie, but I was severely let down with how I got it. The scene with Kylo and Han was cheaply ripped straight from The Force Awakens. I believe they could have done this in a good way, but sadly, the way they chose to do it wasn’t the best. However, I did enjoy his scene on Exegol when he fought against the Knights of Ren. Unfortunately, this was also downplayed by Ben’s lack of dialogue in the whole end of the movie. After his redemption, we never get to hear him talk again, and then he dies.

Heather: Absolutely redeemed. Not only did Han explicitly say (and it doesn’t matter that it was in Kylo’s head because it’s what the writing wanted the audience to take away from the conversation by explicitly stating it) that “Kylo Ren is dead, my son is alive.” But Kylo threw his saber in to the ocean, picked up a blaster, and became Ben Solo. His mannerisms, his wardrobe, everything screamed, “I’m a different person now!” So, yes. It’s funny that you ask if actions speak louder than words though since the only word he said after his redemption was “Ow.” Don’t get me started.

Would you like to see more of the Skywalker saga? Is it put to rest?

Cam: Before watching Rise of Skywalker I would say no, but right now I kinda need one last movie to actually give justice to the Skywallkers. Just saying.

April: As I stated earlier, I believe that “The Rise of Skywalker” puts paid to the Skywalker Saga. I believe that their story has reached it’s natural, hard fought conclusion. I am satisfied with where our original characters have been left, with perhaps the exception of General Leia Organa but we all know why her story ended the way it did. With that being said, I would be interested in following the story of our sequel trio for one more film, watching them truly discover themselves and their reason independent of the influence of the Skywalker family. I’d also love a story about Rose Tico and Paige Tico, if Kelly Marie Tran would be interested.

Anika: In the current state of affairs, no. If they explain that Ben isn’t really dead, but exists in the World between worlds and there is a quest to bring him back, I’m all for it. I don’t see how you continue the saga without a Skywalker. Again, I don’t count Rey as one because she says so.

Logan: Unless they can give me a do over of this entire movie then no. Leave it lying in it’s own mediocrity. It’s what Abrams, Kennedy, and crew deserve for allowing fear of a fandom to dictate their every decision. They were afraid of giving any one group something so, as a result, no one got anything. Let’s just put the Skywalkers out of their misery and move on to new characters and new sagas. (Once again, unless I can get a do over of the final film in the saga which will never happen.)

Maggie: Look, if it’s the actual Skywalkers and not Rey Palpatine using their name, then sure. I keep saying I would love to see them create something like The Clone Wars to improve upon this terribly rushed film.

Jenna: I would only like to see more of the Skywalker saga if they would bring back Ben. Put an actual Skywalker on my screen, or I don’t want it.

Heather: I’m not particularly thrilled that at the end of the “Skywalker Saga”  all of the Skywalker’s are actually dead. In fact, I’m downright bitter about it and don’t find that satisfying in any way whatsoever. So, I think after a rest (perhaps 5-10 years) I would like to see more of the Skywalker Story. Maybe Ben is in the World Between Worlds paying penance, maybe Force Ghost Luke is getting up to some after life shenanigans. I don’t know but I do know that I’d love to see it.

Who is your favorite character of the sequel trilogy?

Cam: Ben Solo.

April: My favorite character in this last installment of the Skywalker Saga is Finn. Former stormtrooper turned resistance hero his story is what a lot of people wanted Kylo Ren’s to be. He’s bold and protective of his found family. He’s kind and generous and, even as he makes mistakes, he works consistently to correct them. He has never left a friend behind. He is loyal and fair. His choice to consistently do “the right thing” when every piece of his upbringing tells him otherwise is hero-worthy. I’m so grateful that he was created and so grateful that John Boyega was chosen to breathe life into him.

Anika: Kylo Ren, hands down. He was more of an emotional, adult child still seeking love and approval than a real villain to me. His struggle with the Light that’s still a part of him, his connection to Rey which is his first real connection to anyone in years, his vulnerability and his redemption made him more than a one dimensional villain. No one could have done this character any more justice than Adam Driver did.

Logan: If I discount one off characters then Poe Dameron. He’s a lot like Han Solo, who has been the love of my life for as far back as I can remember. Also, his introduction in The Force Awakens is one of my all time favorite sequel trilogy moments and I loved him butting heads with Holdo all through The Last Jedi. He was also was the sole character in our main trio to truly keep me invested in this last film.

Maggie: I’m torn between Kylo Ren and Poe Dameron. I think they’re both phenomenal characters and I only wish that the final film had done better with their storylines.

Jenna: Kylo Ren is my absolute favorite. Watching his internal conflict turn to redemption, hate for Rey turn to love, and everything in between was what captivated me to this trilogy. It also helps that Adam Driver is such an amazing actor. He could make watching a cactus interesting.

Heather: Despite being Reylo Trash (which I am and have the necklace that says so to prove it), after much thought I think I’m going to give my favorite character award to Rose. While she was disgustingly underutilized and truly only got one movie to show her stuff I find myself often thinking about “We win not by fighting what we hate but saving what we love.” I find Rose to be an inspirational character. She’s tough but loving. She seems less like a character and more like someone I would know in reality. I don’t know if my love for Rose is for the character herself or because of Kelly Marie Tran’s performance of her but that’s my final answer.

Do you agree? Disagree? Love it, hate it? Either way sound off below in the comments or find us on twitter @TVSource. Thank you to all of our wonderful participants for giving us your wonderful, well thought out answers!

[thegirlwholied]

SW anon - So I have tried to watch the whole thing before but I could never really get past the start. I watched ep IV a few years back (and in 2018 I watched it while it playing with a live orchestra which really enhanced the experience) and ofc I’ve known most of what happens bc my mom and brother have been fans of it (and ofc all the references to it in shows and it being everywhere) but the thing about the original trilogy that I found difficult to watch was very much the acting being off

Gov SW anon continued - but I think I’m gonna watch the clone wars show next as I feel like the general universe and people speak to me more than the skywalker and co. story speaks to me. But I’ll probably try and get back to the prequels afterwards (at least just to have seen them) but also bc I’ve been on tumblr for so long and I’ve encountered so much about the new movies with Finn, Poe and rey (I already know I don’t like kylo) that I’m interested to see what comes before that

Seeing Ep IV with a live orchestra sounds fantastic as the music is incredible. <3

I must admit I haven’t gotten properly into the Clone Wars show! I’ve tried, & did jump in to (and enjoy) the finale ~ and certain Mandalorian episodes strongly remind me of the show’s tone ~ but it has yet to hit me right in the place where I care. What I appreciate about it & what it’s brought into the Star Wars universe is still on a more distant level, not visceral. 

I most love that The Mandalorian is truly exploring & taking advantage of the wider Star Wars universe beyond Skywalker & co. (but boy do I also love Skywalker & co.) There is an exciting amount of potential in the newly-announced projects too I love characters outside of a universe’s main chosen-one story. In 6th grade, I was obsessed with the X-Wing book series, which were definitely really marketed toward adult guys but whoops, I had found the deep Star Wars section of the library! And the first line of that series, introducing the main character, is “You’re good, but you’re no Luke Skywalker.” And in a way, that’s the Mandalorian too, to the audience if not himself ~ good, but no Luke Skywalker. Not a Jedi, not meant to bring balance to the Force, a sidestory in the main universe’s struggle.  I (from what I’ve seen/know of) get the impression that’s how Ahsoka sees herself ~ ‘you’re good, but you’re no Anakin Skywalker’. 

Of course, for that contrast to work, first you need a Luke Skywalker.

it’s interesting you mention OT acting feeling off as I would use that exact word to describe how I feel about the acting in some episodes of The Mandalorian. In some I love it! Other times... I hesitate to say ‘like a video game’ as I mean no insult to the well-developed video game characters out there but yeah, it hits me like the actor’s aware they’re essentially in a live-action video game cut scene.

But. I truly love the acting in the original trilogy! ...but also as I type this I’m watching a movie from 1944 and acting style certainly varies by decade, & mileage varies as to personal taste... but also I will never be objective about Star Wars which I have loved since I was six... but also I studied film history in college and firmly believe Star Wars, the original trilogy is just objectively good if not quite everybody’s cup of tea (...okay maybe Return of the Jedi is not quite as objectively good, but I still love it so much and given the work it had to do wrapping up the original trilogy, hey, it did its job successfully and with Ewoks). 

I love the twinkling, wry humor & also gravitas of Alec Guinness. There’s that sense of amusement as he talks to Han, as he waves off the storm troopers, and even in the “let go, Luke”... but always the right weight in the right moments imho

Luke & Han particularly can both be petulant in different ways, & they’re all quippy & brash & even cavalier at times in what in context ~ especially when you rewatch A New Hope right after Rogue One ~ in Very Serious Situations! and I love them for it. 

Carrie Fisher’s accent does shift in the one scene (which I have never minded and definitely went around as a kid trying to say ‘Governor Tarkin’ exactly the way she does), and young Mark Hamill’s Luke can be Dramatic & the Most Petulant but understandably (& prettily) so, and... yeah I probably could muster a criticism for Harrison Ford but also I *can’t*! There are some ridiculous Han Solo moments in Return of the Jedi especially, but also I love him/them/just about every choice these movies made. They just hit on magic.

The magic’s there for me from the music swelling as Luke looks yearningly into the twin suns (the cinematography!), but where it really hits is the up-and-running chemistry between all three of the main actors starting the “Luke, we’re gonna have company” scene, and then, boom, it’s the garbage chute, it’s the you’re-braver-than-I-thought/he-certainly-has-courage, for-luck, here-they-come of it all and the movie is flying. 

...and I will never forgive the sequels for, avoiding spoilers as it sounds like you’re familiar but haven’t seen them, not giving us any true interaction scenes between Rey & Finn & Poe all together until the 3rd movie. While I still so appreciated finally getting that & what we got, for me it was just not just too little but too late. I love the casting & acting for all 3 of those characters, but while fandom’s taken and run with the combination, and they had plenty of chemistry... it should have been up-and-running so much sooner. 

And the prequels just... well, even seeing them in theaters at a susceptible age, the Lord of the Rings movies were coming out at the same time and that did them no favors in comparison. As someone who judges movies above all on dialogue, that... also did them no favors. (Beyond the OT I may have a Nontraditional ranking of Star Wars movies). 

The short version of my prequels & sequels take is that both missed that cinematic magic for me, outside of certain scenes, though I still enjoy them as part of The Whole Thing That Is Star Wars Which I Love. Rogue One had that magic; I know and see the criticism of the early editing & introduction-of-Jyn’s-background-and-Krennic-and-Galen scene, but, to me, that movie is perfect. Solo was solid - maybe not magic, but reliably enjoyable, and I’ve been meaning to rewatch. The prequels & sequels... the lows are very low and the highs are very high, in terms of how they hit me. 

I feel like I’d probably sum them up as Prequels: Good Star Wars, Bad Movies, and Sequels: Good Movies, Bad Star Wars, which may seem a little harsh or too kind on one side or another but gets at my take at the worldbuilding vs. just the cinema of it all. The bread scene in Force Awakens, the salt planet in Last Jedi, the dyad-duel-in-dual-locations in Rise of Skywalker? Gorgeous. Individual scenes’ acting & dialogue is sound for me. And yet. All three sequels’ choices in respect to the entire Star Wars universe and existing characters AND its new characters? ...Tonally inconsistent with each other *and* ultimately with the themes of the OT. Whereas the prequels did so much worldbuilding, and its politics, and I’ll see gifs and think ‘yes actually, is it better than I remember?’... and then I’ll catch one on TV & it’s the Padme & Anakin romance or even Anakin & Obi-Wan’s buddy scene dialogue at the beginning of Rise of Skywalker and the answer will come, clearly: “noooooooooooooooo.”

(...this got long. Which I tend to do when I care, about fiction in any form, and with the prequels/sequels: the ingredients were there to be magic. And just-misses are more frustrating than swing-and-misses. A la, you won’t find me complaining about the Star Wars Holiday Special!) 

(...OK so I haven’t seen all of the Star Wars Holiday Special, and I’m sort of aiming to watch it through this holiday season, since what other year than 2020 seems more appropriate? So I won’t promise not to complain about the Holiday Special but I mostly expect to laugh at it.)

(That said I found the Lego Star Wars Holiday Special an absolute, surprising, laugh-out-loud delight; 9/10 would recommend & yes, 1 point deduction as I will nitpick character consistency even when they are Legos.)

[gffa]

Sometimes I think about yelling at STAR WARS fandom to slow the hell down because I have so many things to read and so many books and comics on top of all the fic, but then I remember, THIS IS THE BEST PROBLEM TO HAVE, oh no I have so many fun things to read! How awful! I can’t keep up with everything that I know I’m going to enjoy, so I have to post a list before I’m finished catching up, because otherwise it’d take me another month! Terrible! The fandom really has put out some absolutely wonderful things lately and I’ve just felt really happy and fizzy about them, I’ve been excited to yell about them and now I want to yell at other people about all the stuff I loved. STAR WARS FIC RECS: TIME TRAVEL RECS: ✦ Hearts Entwined by KeeperofSeeds, obi-wan & shmi & qui-gon, time travel, 6.5k wip   stolen moments between Padawan Kenobi and Shmi Skywalker, glimpsed by Qui Gon Jinn, and his continued attempts to understand both this strange new addition to the Temple and the unexplained relationship between the pair PREQUELS RECS: ✦ And the Void Answered Back by Ghost_Owl, obi-wan & anakin & rey & finn & poe & ben & yoda & maz & cast, force ghosts, 37.5k wip   (Follows the Force ghosts of Anakin, Obi Wan, and friends getting dragged kicking and screaming through the events of The Force Awakens) ✦ Youngling by LostintheTARDIS, obi-wan & anakin & cast, de-aged!anakin, 65.5k wip   Obi-Wan is sent on a rescue mission to find his missing padawan, shot down after completing a mission of his own, but what he finds is not what he expects. “No, it… It’s not possible, Obi-Wan. How can Anakin Skywalker be this little boy?” ✦ Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi by stonefreeak, obi-wan & anakin & padme & cody & bail & palpatine & cast, 16.5k wip   By an old Republic law, all members of the Jedi High Council are senators in the Galactic Senate, and can thus be voted in as chancellor. ✦ The Orchards by Raven_Knight, obi-wan & qui-gon & cast, 3.6k   When young Obi-Wan Kenobi is injured on a previous mission, Qui-Gon Jinn refuses to accept further off-planet missions until his Padawan’s recovery. Yoda assigns the pair an in-Temple mission of utmost importance while Obi-Wan heals. Master and Padawan welcome the change of pace. ✦ Staggering Is For Those With Nothing To Live Up To by shiningjedi, mace & ponds & depa & yoda & obi-wan & cast, 4.9k   Ponds has fought side-by-side with his general for over two years, so if Windu thinks that he can’t tell when something’s off, then, with all due respect, he’s made a serious error of judgement. ✦ Blow me away, Master Kenobi by stonefreeak, obi-wan, 1.9k   An explosion at a spaceport caused by anti-war extremists leaves Obi-Wan to navigate his way up through the surface through the debris. And then he finds the children… ✦ Found Clan by silvergryphon, boba & ocs & obi-wan & anakin & cast, 18.4k wip   After the Battle of Geonosis, a Jedi Healer discovers young Boba Fett mourning the loss of his father. Not about to leave a ten-year-old boy on his own, she promptly adopts him with the full collusion of her Padawan. ✦ The Art of Dual Wielding (Specifically, How to Not) by F-117 Nighthawk (F117_Nighthawk), obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, ~1k   “Hey, Master, can you teach me Jar’Kai?” ✦ On the political ramifications of a marriage between a Jedi and a Senator by Deviant_Accumulation, obi-wan & anakin/padme & cast, 9.4k wip   In a shocking revelation, Nabooian priest Father Herriem has come forward stating that one year ago, he has officiated a marriage between Senator Padmé Amidala, former Queen of Naboo, known for playing a major part in the Liberation of Naboo, current Galactic Senate representative of Naboo and leader of the liberal south-up faction, and Knight Anakin Skywalker, Jedi General of the Republic Army. ✦ The House of My Father by ReneeoftheStars, dooku & cast, 2.4k   Dooku has left the Jedi Order and returned to his homeworld of Serenno, where he claims his rightful place as the Count of House Dooku. His sister-in-law is less than thrilled with his arrival. ✦ untitled by stonefreeak, dooku, 2.6k   Yan Dooku looks out over the holotable, filled with recent battles against the Republic. Battles that has started to go increasingly well for the Republic, with the heightened morale from their new chancellor. ✦ Full of Charts and Facts and Figures by ambiguously, mace/depa, 4.3k   Mace and Depa get kidnapped by pirates. ✦ Shed by SingManyFaces, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, ~1k   Not long after being assigned to Anakin, Ahsoka becomes worried he’s hiding something serious and goes to Obi-Wan for advice. ✦ Tipping Point by Ria Talla (ronia), adi gallia & finis valorum & eeth koth, 3.3k   “I believe that if what’s happening on Naboo is allowed to continue, the other member systems will wonder what they owe to a Republic that can no longer protect them.” ✦ The Path of Totality by Raven_Knight, obi-wan & yoda & qui-gon & cast, 1.8k   Before going their separate ways into exile, Obi-Wan Kenobi shares with Yoda a lesson of wisdom he’d learned from his late Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. A lesson of darkness, light, and hope. OBI-WAN/ANAKIN RECS: ✦ Homecoming + Ben + To Love What Death Can Touch by Ripki, obi-wan/anakin & luke & leia & cast, western au, 3.7k   After a long absence, Anakin finally returns to the Lars farm. (Western AU.) ✦ The Missing Part by Nightstar269, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka, modern au, 57.4k wip   Anakin Skywalker, a student of mechanical engineering, has always felt that his life was lacking something, a feeling that was made much worse with the deaths of his mother first, and of the woman he loved some time later. Still haunted by the pain and heartbreak, he tries to go on with his life as well as he can. When an initiative of the director of the university has the students attending the classes of another degree so as to enrich their knowledge, he will meet someone that will turn his world upside down. ✦ Across the Darkness by xpityx, obi-wan/anakin & anakin/padme, 19.3k wip   Obi-Wan knew they had hit the temple’s inner security measures when Anakin went from calm to clutching both Obi-Wan and his lightsaber between one step and the next. ✦ Desire by Ralph_E_Silvering, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, mild d/s, 10.8k   Anakin Skywalker decides to take his investigation of an illegal smuggling ring in entirely the wrong direction when he finds a substance called “Desire"…and Obi-Wan cleans up his mess, as usual. ✦ What An Expensive Fate by FromDreamstoEmpires, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, sith!obi-wan, sith!anakin, 1.3k   Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at him, “But you like it when I tell you what to do.” He said softly, hand pulling on his curls until Anakin was forced to look at him, “Don’t you, sweetheart?” ✦ In the Details by SingManyFaces, obi-wan/anakin & anakin/ahsoka & obi-wan/anakin/ahsoka, NSFW, 2.3k   Anakin spends time learning the bodies of those he loves, and enjoys the same treatment. ✦ Collar by bell (belldreams), obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, d/s, 4.1k wip   “You have to be sure, Anakin. Once we’re in, we’re in.” “I think I can handle being your sub, Obi-Wan.” ✦ Pursuit by Icse, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, modern au, 18.5k wip   Aka ‘Obikin Equestrian AU’ on Tumblr. ✦ Thank You, Dear Heart by supercalifragilistichespiralidoso, obi-wan/anakin, ~1k   Obi-Wan calls Anakin by a pet name when they’re not alone ✦ came last in the technical by destiny919, anakin & ahsoka + background obi-wan/anakin, 1.5k   “Okay, Snips,” Anakin said confidently. “We’re doing this. We’re making this happen.” ✦ my heart is an echo chamber by Burning_Nightingale, obi-wan/anakin, 3.4k   Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader don’t meet again until their final confrontation on the Death Star. Not in person, at least. ✦ Rebel with a Cause by planetary_retrograde, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & cast, 12.6k wip   A year after the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Galactic Empire, former Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi has formally joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic. His new mission: training Rebellion pilot and resident loose canon Anakin Skywalker. ✦ untitled by subskywalker, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, d/s, cock warming, 1k   “Remember dear one,” Obi-Wan reminded him as he pet his curls with one hand while the other stroked his cheek gently. “If it gets to be too much or if your need a break just tap our signal, okay?” ✦ Out Of Control by Gildedmuse, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 4.2k   “All right. But you owe me, and not for saving your skin for the tenth time . .” “Ninth time. That business on Cato Nemoidia doesn’t count.” ✦ last one on the list by destiny919, obi-wan/anakin & cast, ~1k   TIL the Han Dynasty was founded by a sheriff who was transporting convicts when several escaped. Knowing the punishment for this was death, he freed the rest and organized many into a rebel band, eventually going on to help overthrow the ruling Qin Dynasty and install himself as Emperor. ✦ darling can’t you hear me (s.o.s.) by nessa_j, obi-wan/anakin & cast, 3.5k   Stranded alone on a planet, Obi-Wan thinks his transmissions aren’t being received, and starts sending private messages to Anakin, not knowing that Anakin can hear everything. ✦ a night full of stars by Ralph_E_Silvering, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka, 2k   Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka are sent to Batuu on a mission by the Jedi Council. While there, Anakin and Obi-Wan finally act on the unspoken feelings between them. ✦ untitled by spell-cleaver, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka, ~1k   So for the prompt mashup, Magical Accident, Accidentally Married, Obikin Thanks! ORIGINAL TRILOGY RECS: ✦ The Family Tree by frodogenic, vader & luke, 12k   In which Luke Skywalker is stranded in a tree waiting for a flash flood to recede. Too bad he’s got company… Post-ESB oneshot, can be read as canon-compliant. ✦ They rhyme by liv_k, obi-wan & anakin, 5.2k   Past and future, darkness and light, despair and hope meet one last time. ✦ Stitched With Its Color by lammermoorian, luke & hera & cast, 4.4k  Luke’s been all over the galaxy searching for clues about the Jedi - he should have started a little closer to home. REBELS RECS: ✦ in this world by xpityx, zeb/kallus, NSFW, 2.1k   It had been eight months. Eight months since he’d last seen Alex in person. He’d still been Kallus then, had still been convinced that the Ghost crew were taking him to his executioners. FULL DETAILS + RECS HERE!

[jeneelestrange]

So it just occurred to me exactly HOW badly Disney has screwed up

I got an ad for The Rise of Skywalker on Spotify a few minutes ago that very pointedly said, “Not suitable for children under thirteen.” And I thought, “Hmm. That’s strange. I’ve NEVER heard a PG-13 movie with an ad that said that so clearly. And they didn’t in any of the trailers or ads leading up to it....until now that it’s been released....definitely didn’t hear it for the ads for the other movies....” And then I remembered the MANY, MANY stories I’ve heard of kids having to be taken out of the movie because they’re just crying inconsolably. Or parents deciding to break the news beforehand to avoid this, and their kids not only still being upset, but not wanting to see the movie anymore. Or kids putting up Christmas decorations, seeing the ornaments of Rey or Kylo and their faces just....falling.

And then I remembered something I had learned from my marketing classes: “Happy Violence.” Lots of films have violence, but not all violence in the same. You can’t make merchandise for say, “Schindler’s List,” as an example. But a bunch of faceless mooks with no known families, no humanity, might as well be robots for all you know? Yeah, you can market the utter hell out of murdering them. Literally everyone knew going into the prequels that Anakin was going to turn evil and it was going to end tragically. With Darth Vader, we literally had no reason to empathize with him or see him as anything but this pure evil cyborg until he was literally already at death’s door. There was MONTHS of marketing for Rogue One telling people it was going to be BLEAK and tghey should NOT expect to take their kids to see it. But in this trilogy, Disney marketed Kylo Ren to an absolute unholy degree--to the point where, in the beginning, you literally couldn’t find merch of anyone ELSE. And gave every possible indication possible that a heelface turn was coming, that it was going to be akin to the original trilogy--a message of hope.

So a bunch of children just entered theaters, watched this person specifically shown being tortured his whole life, do said heel face relatively early on aaaaaand die. And then the titular hero of the film gets to go back to ANOTHER desert planet and wander around completely alone, when you’ve spent the last two movies knowing that literally the only things she wants is family and being someplace green.

You’re a child. There are very few things you understand in life, but you do know that if you do bad things but stop, learn, and do better, you won’t be punished. Kids don’t understand politics or any of the other justifications adults can give to this. So all they’re seeing is someone who did indeed do bad things stop doing those bad things, learning to be better, aaaaaaand dying. And the hero seems to have personally gained nothing. She’s basically returned to where she started, just with more PTSD.

So after you leave the theater bawling your eyes out, are YOU going to want a Star Wars playset? What, for you to enact the fights in the first half and then REMEMBER HOW IT ENDS? I’ve heard of kids who have ceased playing with toys they already own.

Disney was literally SO WORRIED about the opinions of entitled manchildren that they COMPLETELY FORGOT that their primary audience is CHILDREN. So I can only assume this pointed reminder during ads is from a roundtable of Disney marketing executives screaming at each other in terror BECAUSE THEY JUST REALIZED *DISNEY* MARKETED A TRAUMATIZING AF MOVIE TO *CHILDREN*, AND FURTHERMORE, THEY’RE NOT LIKELY GOING TO WANT TO BUY TOYS TO RE-ENACT THAT

So wow. Just....wow. Ya’ll did that.

[thehazefilmreview-blog]

Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker, Or; The Illusion of higher threats

The Earth turns, the sun rises, cancerous cells spread through the body slowly destroying the immune system eventually leading to terminal organ failure; and Disney releases a new Star Wars film. Yes, The Rise of Skywalker is here and while watching it, I echoed the remarks that director and writer J.J. Abrams (Star trek (2009), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)), expressed in an interview with Vanity Fair prior to releasing the film: “Fuck it”.

Now, with that sentiment I in no way mean to say that The Rise of Skywalker is a terrible film. The cast and crew are extremely competent and lots of talented individuals worked on the movie. Abrams and co had quite the ordeal when The Last Jedi (Rian Johnson, 2017) divided most fans on the subject of which direction should this newest Star Wars trilogy should go. And I'm Happy to report that Abrams did the safest thing that anyone could have done under these circumstances, and produced a film that shouldn’t leave a bad taste in most people's mouths, yet also fails to leave any long lasting or unique impression at all.

Now, if you’re reading this and you think The Last Jedi can do no wrong, (in which case; Hello Rian Johnson, what are you doing here? I quite liked Knives Out), then The Rise of Skywalker will certainly feel  like a film that counters everything its predecessor set out to accomplish in favor of a far more straight forward Good vs Evil, Final battle (safe) ending to a franchise, and with all jokes aside, I do consider a film such as The Last Jedi to be a superior film in the way of themes and story ideas. Rian Johnson had a vision for a Star Wars Film that would shake the foundation of an old familiar universe, and J.J. Abrams said “Fuck it. I’m going to do the thing that feels right because it does, not because it adheres to something” and then Disney gave him a very large amount of money then asked him to write in different coloured storm troopers with cool axes for a new toy range they’re going to release.

The film’s plot centers around our characters trying to locate our saga fan favorite villain, The Emperor (played loving hammy by Ian McDiarmid), who has supposedly still alive and has been pulling the strings in the background over the last two films. straight off the bat this point screams Abram’s “Fuck it” approach to The Rise of Skywalker, instead of developing its new villain further (Snoke from the previous film, or Kylo Ren portrayed by Adam Driver), it decides to bring back an old villain to try to fill the “generic Evil person” shaped hole in the middle of the script. Also returning is the theme from The Force Awakens (J.J. Abrams, 2015) of Rey’s identity and what her real lineage is; again, a plot idea that seems as if Abrams is trying to connect this new saga with the safe original trilogy without the risk of bringing too many new ideas.

The story jumps forward at a break-neck speed from beat to beat and doesn't really want you to think too much about what you've just seen, which leads me to what I really want The Rise of Skywalker to remembered as; a tool to show people how not to write threats in your stories (or as an example on why you should probably plan a trilogy from the very start and not have someone come in the middle meaning you has to retcon that shit). The Rise Of Skywalker, in script and story terms, is trying to trick the audience into believing this is the threat of all threats for the final film in this trilogy series, but the film fails to truly raise the stakes that we set out in the original Star Wars IV A New Hope (George Lucas, 1977) by making the solution to this final problem so much easier in comparison. I call this theory The Illusion of Higher Threats (registered trademark, do not steal).

The illusion of higher threats is the idea that, in story and screenwriting terms, an event is held up as being of higher importance and a harder mission for our character then previously encountered (I.e. in previous films or stories), but the threats solution is much more simplified that the “larger threat” title is null and void as the solution is easier than what are protagonists had to endure the first time around, thus not increasing the stakes from the previous adventure/story line. In the context of The Rise Of Skywalker (without giving too much away of the ending), the films script seems woefully devoid of increasing threat since A New Hopes’ Death Star back in 1977, with Abrams and Co attempting to trick the audience into believing the this encounter with the Emperor is somehow far more dangerous and grandiose without really earning it or allowing the audience adequate time to actually think about what is going on in the script. Abrams needs to be sat down and reminded that sometimes: less is more.

Overall, the film looks brilliant (but with $275 Million pumped into it, that’s no surprise), and has some nice performances from our main characters. But the film feels so distracting with how it tries so desperately to get away and retcon elements introduced by Johnson and George Lucas with his prequel Star Wars trilogy, that the film comes off as disingenuous and pulled out of nowhere rather than someone's passion project or carefully planned, interesting addition to a franchise; feeling satisfying to some, but soulless in design.  

Grossman, Lev . (2019). Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, The Ultimate Preview. Available: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/star-wars-cover-story. Last accessed 04th Jan 2020.

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

I hope your kiddo starts feeling better. I'm always amused when youngsters talk about being "old." I saw the original Star Wars in the theater! And I was old enough (in 1977) that I took my sister and we would sit through it twice on a weekend afternoon (hiding under the seats between shows.) All this reminds me that I want to comment on the early 2000's tech from OE, because I was a full-fledged adult (married, house, dog, about to have kids) and we definitely used the internet. A lot. -- ccb

In fact, I’m pretty sure I sent an email when we decided to get married (in the last century!) And I definitely had a laptop in the mid/late 90’s. Of course, Sav & Graham’s analog romance may have something to do with youth and financial circumstance (I was already a grownup with a professional degree and job, because I really am ancient.) So, dear KDNFB, you should not feel old, because most of the time, I don’t. Get off my lawn! – ccb

Oi incorporating the internet and technology from the early 2000′s has been such a nightmare for this story because a lot of it was so affected by both age and financial situation. Not to mention it all came out and changed so fast that I have had at least twenty moments of “When the hell was that?!?!” while writing this story. Like…we’re not even to the advent of YouTube or MySpace at this point in the timeline.

For Graham and Savannah, he’s much more well off than she is because of his parents and Eirik, so he’s conscious of that and is trying not to make her feel bad about what he’s got access to and she doesn’t, but even his access would have been slightly limited given the more rural location of his home. She’s got a cell phone but that was still the era of having to be careful about when and where you used the damn thing. I distinctly recall that all through college, I had to keep track of how many texts I had sent and received. Didn’t even have a cell phone until 2003 and that wasn’t unheard of. I did have a massively expensive desktop because I majored in engineering but laptops weren’t worth the money at the time because they couldn’t yet handle what I was doing with them  – at least the laptops I could afford on my budget didn’t have that kind of computing power yet. Also I remember that in late 2005 when I graduated college, I had to pick my carrier based on their coverage. As in, the AF base I was assigned to, I could use a Verizon phone but if I’d gone with AT&T I wouldn’t have had coverage at all. Remember those coverage maps they all used to have hanging in their store windows, fine print *May not accurately depict coverage. Hahaha!

Side note to remind me to look up when Vonage was A Thing, lol!

They could definitely e-mail while Graham is overseas and they’re about to start doing that more often, but Sav’s only got internet access through her school right now because finances, which also rules out AIM as a communication means until she gets some kind of at home access.

Little one is still feeling crummy, but he’ll no longer be contagious this evening. Thankfully we caught it early enough. Doc said he can Trick-or-Treat if he’s feeling up to it, so we’re resting up today.

Ooh! Star Wars in theaters! I’m the generation that saw the prequels in theaters, and remember being so excited when they re-released the original trilogy into theaters right before that. I mean it was the “Updated” version 2.0 of the films, but it was still cool! ;)

I only really feel old when the spouse reminds me that some of the bands we listened to in high school are now playing the casino circuit and his favorite stand-up comedian is doing Medicare commercials. Or that time when my oldest was six and they gave him a vision test using picture cards and he had no idea what the telephone one was because it was an actual rotary phone…I told the nurse maybe they should consider getting new cards when she looked at me in horror, because mine couldn’t be the only one who called it “A squished fire hydrant???” haha! Or when that same now nine year old child points out that he’s up to my shoulder already. Like child….