#yo even my favorite badass made a tiny appearance in this one

[ooops-i-arted]

I'm dead mando episode killed me (would love to hear your thoughts on it from my grave)

I am dead with you IT WAS SO GOOD AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT.  My sister and I were literally bouncing on the couch and screaming at the tv.

Okay this is what I have wanted THE ENTIRE TIME.  Din & Baby bonding time, plot stuff is centered around Din & the baby, cameos are super cool but don’t overwhelm Din being the main character, preestablished characters unique to the show being used.  This.  Not Filoni making Yet Another Version Of His TCW Stuff.

The opening scene of Din and Baby was PRECIOUS.  They’re both clearly so reluctant to do this but Din has Promised and more importantly, he wants to do what’s best for his kid even if it means separating from him.  Prioritizing someone else’s needs over your wants is true love HE’S SUCH A GOOD DAD

Din being such a fucking dumbass in this episode damn.  Din ilu but where is your jetpack???  Why did you try to get through the Force barrier the exact same way THREE TIMES when you knew it wouldn’t work and after it had knocked you unconscious???

Protective Din fuck yeah

I’m actually thrilled with the kidnapping because it’s RAMPAGE TIME YAY

WHEN SLAVE I APPEARED MY SISTER AND I WERE SCREAMING

Cuz you know who it is and there was The Suspense!!! over whether they were working for Gideon or would they truly ally with Din

HOLY SHIT BOBA FETT BOBA FETT BOBA FETTTTTTTTTT

Although I was also laughing bc I’m pretty sure this is the first time we’ve ever seen him actually be a badass onscreen instead of just standing around looking cool

Yes I know he did more in Legends/EU content and probably in the 3D TCW but I’d never been interested in either of those or him as a character before, but okay NOW I see why people are into him

("Boba Fett?  Boba Fett?  WHERE” is still my favorite Boba moment tho, and a top favorite Han moment)

“I’m just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe” AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

NO ONE EVER WANTS TO ACKNOWLEDGE AOTC EXCEPT TO MAKE SAND JOKES BUT FINALLY, FINALLY AOTC IS BACK AND AS A PERSON WHO UNAPOLOGETICALLY LOVES AOTC I AM SO HAPPY

Also Jango has always been my favorite Fett so I was LIVING for him being acknowledged and especially by Boba

Fucking howling at Din apparently feeling he is the only person in the entire galaxy who can decide Who Gets Beskar

Like the SHEER GALL from a meta perspective of looking at Boba Fett, the Orignial Mandalorian of all of Star Wars, and saying “Yeah I’m not sure if you should have that armor”

Like Din will happily be chill with anyone he meets who doesn’t immediately kill him but if you have Mandalorian armor you need to bring out your receipts immediately lmao

This is what I wanted with other Mandalorian characters coming in though.  Contrasting and comparing others’ Mandalorian cultures/sects/whatever with his and Din having to reexamine his own beliefs with it.  With Bo-Katan we got like two lines about it but here it’s A Thing that’s discussed, plus some Boba background, and Din comes to face his own biases and ultimately decide that yes, Boba should get the armor even if he doesn’t follow the Creed the same way Din does.  Plus the contrast between Din and Boba’s Mandalorian Experiences but also the uniting thread of Mandalorians Really Love Dads.

Anyway the Fetts are Real Mandalorians again as far as I’m concerned.  I have spoken.

Fennec Shand!!  I couldn’t believe they WASTED Mulan herself in The Gunslinger and this made me so happy!!  She’s such a badass and an excellent side character and I loved seeing her again, and it’s really cool that she and Boba teamed up?  That’s a backstory I wouldn’t mind seeing in a tie-in comic or novel or something.

As a SWTOR fan I loved seeing Tython brought to life.  Since SWTOR was 3000 years ago it makes sense there’s little left, but the stone thing was cool.  I wonder what the runes mean?  Although my sister and I were laughing over how much Tython apparently looks like California.

I know I already said it but Din getting yeeted and trying to get through the barrier three times was great

Also why tf aren’t you shouting “Grogu!” instead of just “kid” after we know Grogu likes hearing his name???

WHEN THE BABY WAS KIDNAPPED I TOTALLY DIED THE CONCEPT ART EVEN HAS HIM CRYING OH MY GOD

We all know Din was crying under his helmet for at least 50% of this episode

Gideon is SUCH a good slimy villain, so creepy and chilling (and he got STYLE), I absolutely loved his villain monologue even if it’s delivered to.....a baby.  Even if we’re getting some hints that Grogu is possibly more developed than previously indicated by his behavior, Gideon’s still delivering his Evil Speech to a toddler which is amazing

YO WOW WE NEED TO TONE DOWN THE DARK SIDE TENDENCIES THERE GROGU

Like usually he just has A Big Moment but this time he just goes buck wild with those poor troopers.  Plus we’re so used to seeing him little and innocent and cute so it was very jarring (in the best way)

Despite the seriousness of the situation I fucking lost it at the Baby Handcuffs.  Like who had to order those?  Which poor peon was ordered by Gideon CRAFT ME BABY HANDCUFFS?  Were they custom made?  They’re so tiny!!  Baby commits Baby Crimes and goes to Baby Jail

THEY SHOT THE BABY.  I DON’T CARE IF IT WAS A STUN BLAST THEY SHOT HIM

Mayfeld?????  Why?????  I really hope Din takes Cara along too.  I’m loving this Avengers Assemble thing again, although I definitely want Greef and Cara along as opposed to any of the other Guest Stars we met this season

(Frog Lady can come though, she’s cool)

Maybe Cara’s New Republic ties will help?  Not quite sure how but that’s a cool thread they could use.  Again since she’s a big secondary character on the show, and unique to the Mandalorian, she’s one I’d love to see more development with as well - what made her decide to rejoin the New Republic?  Will this cause conflict between her and Din in the future?  etc.

Like this is what I’ve been craving, it was so suspenseful and good, I cannot WAIT for what’s next!!!

[alexkablob]

Yang vs Raven: How The Turn Tables

OKAY HERE WE GO. Under a Read More because good lord this thing got long.

I just cannot stop laughing at the guys Yang beat up behind her while she walks into the camp. This whole sequence is staged like something out of a Spaghetti Western or a Sengoku Jidai movie, where Yang’s the guy who just showed up in town and Raven and her bandits are literally the villains from Seven Samurai. (At this point I remember that RWBY+the remains of JNPR makes seven people but then I remember that four of the samurai die and decide not to continue this comparison.) And of course, I’m remembering the other two times that Yang walked fearlessly into a den of thieves to demand something from their leader.

So Raven appears, being her default setting of Ridiculously Dramatic, and Yang is Instantly Done with this.

First time actually seeing her birth mother face to face and she’s just. “Mom.”

And then comes the part where I was instantly ready to jump through the screen and kill Raven my damn self.

“So! After all this time, you’ve finally decided to come visit me.“

Raven I just. Seriously. Why are you such a horrible person. The daughter you abandoned at birth in order to become a bandit queen shows up after nineteen years and this is the first thing you have to say to her. YANG LITERALLY GETS HER PTSD TREMOR SET OFF BY THIS BECAUSE SHE CAN’T BELIEVE RAVEN’S NERVE EITHER.

I just can’t get over how clearly Raven’s bit here is like. A Prepared Speech. It’s so theatrical. She’s staging this for the crowd’s benefit as much as for Yang’s. This bit about Yang’s determination like, yeah Raven you’ve got no fucking idea how determined your daughter is, but then OH HEY SUDDENLY SHE GOES EVEN FURTHER.

She tries to do the cute familiar banter thing with Yang. “But did you have to be so rough with my men?” She thinks it’s hilarious that Yang showed up in the area and immediately beat up some of her mooks.

And Yang is having none of it. “I didn’t want a fight. They started it.” She’s like, gee mom, one of them sexually harassed me and then after I literally punched him into the next room for it they tried to rob me, you tell me if i had to be so rough with them.

But also Yang is restraining herself from giving her mom the full bitching-out she deserves because she’s here on a mission, so Raven tries to continue the one-sided banter. “Well, you certainly finished it.”

And Yang is just.

Nope. Nope. I am not giving you the satisfaction of playing this game with you. You have not earned the right to playfully rib me. You know who can do that? Tai. Because he’s actually been her parent and they have a loving relationship where they engage in this sort of banter.

And then there’s just this deliciously awkward silence that Yang lets stretch out until Raven realizes the above and awkwardly switches tracks, continuing with the Theatrical Prepared Speech for when her daughter (inevitably, in Raven’s mind) shows up, assuming that of course Yang is here for her.

But SHE’S NOT HERE FOR YOU. And Raven is instantly pissed as hell. “What was that?!” Yang isn’t following the script that exists in Raven’s mind.

I feel just. SO incredibly vindicated that Yang only went to Raven in order to get help finding Ruby, because that’s exactly what me and @mylordshesacactus thought was going down with this plotline, and it’s perfect. Because yeah, Raven. When Yang was six years old and her actual mother had just died and she found out that she had another mother out there who had left her when she was born, she had fantasies that she’d find her and they’d be a happy family. But now she’s nineteen, she’s been through hell, and she knows that Raven Branwen is a horrible person who only ever gave her a cryptic save from Neo and genes for really great hair. She’s better off without Raven in her life, and she knows it. There’s only one reason she’s here: because Tai told her about Raven’s Family Fast Travel Portal semblance, and she wants to use that to get to Ruby.

I swear “And why would I do THAT” in response to people asking for help is like, Raven’s catchphrase. This asshole actually has the fucking gall to act offended that Yang sees through her bullshit. “Why not take that drive and use it to find your little sister if she really means that much to you.” Ohhh Raven, first of all, that was incredibly bitchy, that was somehow more bitchy than anything you said to Qrow in volume 4, which is saying something because you were a total dick to Qrow. And second of all, I am LIVING at how FUCKING MAD you’re getting here. I’ll be honest, the first time I heard Raven’s voice in v4 I wasn’t entirely sold on it? But her increasing inability to hide her agitation throughout this scene is glorious, they definitely cast her right. 

You know who else is living for Raven’s frustration here?

Honestly I keep cracking up at the way Raven mutters Tai’s name under her breath when Yang reveals he told her about Raven’s semblance, because it’s literally like

Yang: “But dad told me how your semblance works.“ Raven: “Fuck.”

Yeah, Raven, all Yang wants from you is to open one of your creepy portals so she can join up with her actual family, and you’ve got no right to be as pissed about it as you are. Raven almost literally says YOU’VE GOT SOME FUCKING NERVE GIRL, because she really is that much of a hypocrite.

(shoutout to Raven’s ridiculously giant hair)

I’m SUPER interested to find out just what Raven’s problem with Ozpin and Qrow and the whole “stop Salem from causing the literal apocalypse” thing is, but I have to say, in this show that constantly reinforces the theme of standing against the darkness even if your chances are hopeless (my actual favorite narrative theme ever but that’s another conversation), somehow I don’t think Raven’s intended to be right about this.

Which, again, Yang gets, because she’s wonderful. This is the part where Yang starts getting visibly pissed off too, because Raven’s spent this brief conversation making up for missing out on nineteen years of pissing off her daughter. “I don’t care what you think.” Literally just. Oh my god mother shut up already. Yang is 3000% done with Raven’s “come to the dark side” spiel before she even makes it.

(Side note: shout out to the reaction shot of Vernal being pissed at Yang telling Raven to shut up, because if my thoughts on her relationship with Raven are right she’s Raven’s actual adopted daughter and thus, what Yang would have been if Raven had been in her life. The best thing Raven ever did for Yang was leave her with people who weren’t terrible, which is faint praise indeed.)

“Save your breath. You can spout off whatever you want, but nothing is going to keep me from my sister.“

Yang’s relationship with Ruby is everything and I just. Love her so much. She’s just categorically shut the fuck up mom i don’t want to hear it you piece of shit.

Raven, having realized that Yang wants absolutely nothing to do with her, is immensely fucking pissed.

She even puts her hand on her sword hilt like dear god woman. But then in my actual favorite Raven line in this scene she (very unsuccessfully) tries to play it off like she’s amused.

“Well aren’t you stubborn.“

“I get it from my mom.”

Oh yeah Raven, THIS banter game she’s all too willing to play with you. Get fucking WRECKED.

Raven, being a total dick, tells her goons to get Yang out of her sight and starts walking off. Yang is of course not leaving until she gets what she came for (shoulda seen that coming Raven you just noted how stubborn she is).

(I don’t know why but I really love this shot of Raven looking back when Yang doesn’t let her get the last word)

And now Yang is IMMENSELY FUCKING PISSED at Raven’s gall to not do something as simple as send Yang to Ruby via Qrow because her feelings are hurt that Yang can see through her bullshit.

“Did you not hear me? I said send me to Qrow, damn it!“

#LetYangSayFuck

Yang’s so pissed she’s seriously ready to fight this entire goddamn camp which, girl, even you can’t do that.

...okay maybe she could actually do that if not for Actual Demigoddess Vernal Branwen standing just over there.

And then she punches Mook #2 through a tent and oh look. There’s Weiss. (the staging of this legit made me laugh out loud I love it) Oh yeah. Raven was doing her whole Welcome Home Long Lost Daughter speech while she knowingly had Yang’s teammate in a literal cage not fifty yards away. Which is just, what the fuck, Raven. What the fuck. With as much as you stalk Yang there’s no way you didn’t know that Weiss was one of her closest friends. And you literally pulled all this while you had Weiss imprisoned and awaiting ransom. What the fuck is wrong with you.

legit this moment is everything we’ve been joking about for the last two weeks just

Yang: “Hey mom fuck yo--WEISS?!?!”

Weiss: “Alright time to make my esca--YANG?!?!”

I am Living seriously I was so scared this was going to be a near-miss because this show is cruel enough to do that to us

Meanwhile, Weiss. “Okay. Okay. I’m gonna just accept this for the moment. New plan. Tiny Knight Friend, become Big Knight Friend and break us the fuck out of here.”

BACK TO BACK BADASSES oh my god how I have missed any of Team RWBY being together. And then this entire exchange is just, hilarious.

Yang: “What is THAT.”

Oh right, Yang’s never seen Weiss summon anything before, much less Giant Knight Friend.

Weiss: “Don’t worry about it what are you doing here?!”

Yang: “Well, that’s my mom and she can take us to Ruby.”

(Raven’s little exasperated “ugh” here on realizing that oh great she’s losing the Weiss ransom too now is everything)

And then we get ONE OF THE FUNNIEST EXCHANGES IN THE WHOLE DAMN SHOW

“YOUR MOM KIDNAPPED ME?!“

“YOU KIDNAPPED HER?!“

Seriously this scene had ramped up to the point where I had legit forgot that Actual Elemental Demigoddess Vernal Branwen was like, right over there.

(speaking of which, Raven’s quick “thank you” after Vernal stops everyone’s Drama is also everything)

(also everything is that Vernal’s reaction to Raven telling her to give Weiss her weapon back is literally “but mooooooooooooom”)

And look I’m super worried about the fact that Yang and Weiss are about to get the What’s Your Favorite Fairy Tale talk from Raven Branwen but instead of worrying about that for now I’m just going to revel in THE FIRST RWBYUNION

oh my god the last time Weiss saw Yang is when Yang was unconscious and still bleeding from her arm getting cut off oh my god Yang’s so much taller than her she’s not even touching the ground here oh my god i need a minute

this concludes my rambling about my new favorite episode of RWBY