cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/4071705

> Check it out. > > I like the influence of Daoism on Star Wars and the Jedi religion. Also, they could've brought up the "Don Juan" influence of Star Wars and the Force. Good that the video touched on the New Age crap that inspired Star Wars, of course. Ugh, I hate New Age crap. But hey, it inspired George Lucas and gave us the Jedi so whatever. > > Also, I like how they brought up the scene with Qui-Gon Jinn and Yoda in The Clone Wars series.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/4063090

> I thought they could've done more with this video and they missed a lot besides. > > In fact, you could make a whole documentary of this, but it seems that this is the opening to a whole series so I'll be patient. > > What influences do you think they could've emphasized here? > > What else could they have said? > > I feel like there are a lot of things that could've been said here, but it's definitely not a right-wing video and is even a bit... left-wing? Idk. I liked how it didn't try to pander to right-wing chuds. I like that aspect of it, at least. > > Actually, on second thought: > > Watch this video and keep up with the series sometime. > > Cheers! > > ---- > > P.S.: What are your thoughts on what this series may be missing and what should be emphasized? > > For me, they could easily bring up the corporatist politics of the Separatists and the nationalist politics of them and the fact there are stuff revealed about the politics of the Old Republic in The Clone Wars CGI series.

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1502000

> It's been making waves in the community. > > So... amazing. Never seen anything like it. > > This, and Hbomberguy's recent video have been great surprises.

It's been a few days, sorry about that!

I'm curious to hear what people thought of the finale (season finale?) of Ahsoka.

I could write a lot about it, but actually found that (for once) Polygon captured my thoughts much better than I would be able to write it myself... Ahsoka never bothered telling anyone it was just the middle of a story

The tag line for that season-review seals the deal for me: "What was Ahsoka, but eight hours long?"

As I mentioned before, as someone who's been a fan of the character for years and consumed every piece of media she's been in, this was simply such a letdown for me.

I was reading an article about Baylan's disappointment in Anakin. As if he wanted Anakin to be the chosen one until order 66. It just occurred to me... Could Baylan be Anakin's father? Or, at least be responsible for Anakin's existence? Maybe he used the force to impregnate Anakin's mom without her knowledge so he could bring forth the "chosen one." He'd have to hold onto that secret for the rest of his life, or Baylan could be held accountable for attempting to manipulate the prophecy, leading to the deaths of billions. Baylan might feel personally responsible for the fall of the Republic and the Jedi. Now, he's obsessed with fixing his mistake. This might be why Baylan knows that Anakin became Vader. Baylan is connected to him personally through the force and maybe also by blood. Baylan probably didn't even need to be near Anakin to know when he turned to the dark side. He could feel it from across the galaxy.

And we’re back, another week, another Revels reunion!

I didn’t check the time on this episode, but was it shorter than most? Does that mean we’re getting a feature length episode next week?

I do hope so, since I felt this episode didn’t really move the plot forward at all. Characters moved around, interacted, but nothing got pushed forward much or was resolved. Ahsoka made it to the planet though.

Hera’s side plot also… happened. Moving swiftly on from a very nice but pointless cameo. I think we get it, the New Republic can’t hunt for a massive hyperspace engine but can send three massive warships and organise a tribunal for one general. Because. Anyway.

Loved the camera work, the banter, the hugs, but… let’s hope next week makes things happen. Knowing Filoni, I’m expecting an exciting finale.

What a shame there are only 2 episodes left. Someone wrote earlier that this has been Filoni’s weakest outing so far. I tend to agree, but more because this episode, I finally, finally didn’t want it to end. The pacing felt good, some character motives came to light and yes, finally, the Chimaera, Thrawn and Ezra make their live action introduction.

For a show called Ahsoka, she was stuck in transit for the hour we had with her. So. Maybe a better title would’ve been “Ahsoka and friends”. Or “Sabine, with a side order of Ahsoka”

Can’t believe we now need to get a good feel for Thrawn in this new domain, have Ahsoka battle it out with the evil Sith, jump back (?) to the main universe and - God, the pacing for this season has been really, really poor. Ahsoka comes to grips with Anakin’s turn, finds her mojo and has a cameo sitting in a cockpit of her own show?

At least we had a cute animal and new alien race. And the Night Sisters are clearly still alive and kicking. Loved that part and the lore around it.

Sabine being coy with Ezra about the “how did you get here” felt quite poorly done. The only reason was plot, because that is clearly for next week so Ahsoka can actually do something.

Helmet-Sith was clearly not Ezra then. Don’t think we’ll ever figure that one out.

I do want all of them to get back to the SW universe though. It’ll be cool to see Thrawn work on establishing the foundation for the First Order. And Ezra to join up with the gang and kick some solid Rebel ass.

Just seems we may need to wait for 2027 to see the show we thought we would be watching now. Stop drawing things out!

Anyway. Can’t wait for next week. Which is a first this season.

Well, we finally got there. An episode where Ahsoka gained agency, made decisions and took hold of the story. For me, this was the first episode this season I thoroughly enjoyed.

Not going to lie, the first time Anakin called her Snips? Big moment!

And was that Rex commending her on a job well done? I do believe it was!

I really liked what Hayden Christensen did with Anakin here. I know he's a good actor (from roles besides Star Wars) but it's nice to see him given the freedom to bring some subtlety to Anakin here.

Seeing Clone Wars outfits & hairstyles? Now I need a remake of Clone Wars as live action.

Loved the classic Chopper responses, where it's not clear whether he's swearing all the time or just mumbling.

Jacen's force sensitivity played an important role, but was subtly done. But for Kanan & Hera's son to play a role in saving Ahsoka? Great.

It was an episode of Ahsoka fully focused on Ahsoka, which was great. As much as I like seeing Sabine in action, this focus on Ahsoka is why we're here—it's in the show's title and this week it was absolutely the focus of the show.

It seems like we're moving into tighter plotting, with Hera now back to the fleet, our focus will be solely on this strange new galaxy. And we know what that means.

Thrawn.

(And hopefully Ezra)

The pacing issues with this season meant I still would've liked for us to get to this point two episodes ago, but let's see what the final three episodes will bring. Where last week felt like a 6 / 10 for me, this one's felt more like an 8 / 10. Good character work, subtle integrated callbacks, and a clear path forward into next week. Bring it on.

Since there’s no official thread I’m going to write my thoughts in this post as I watch the episode.

The animated stuff has never really grabbed me. All this Ezra stuff is like, “oh ok yeah uh huh he’s super important I get it.”

“Can I count on you?” - foreshadowing?

I like this sith dude, but I feel like he’s going to turn to the light.

Rebellion insignia on Sabine’s mando armour 🤔

Jedi bot nooooo!

Oh good they saved him. I like this droid. What’s his name?

Oh, it’s the 25 year old general again. I don’t mind her character, but she doesn’t seem grizzled enough to be a general.

How come her kid doesn’t have head tendrils?

Oh it’s Mr. Kim! I always like seeing him show up.

Ooooo baddies being bad. Trippy map stuff is fun.

Uh oh showdown time.

Cool fight. She should have just stabbed spinny-lightsabre guy in the knuckles though. Guess we’ll never know who that guy was. Did we know Sabine had a light sabre or is this a new development?

Oh no they’re splitting up! Mr. Droid said not to do that!

Can’t they make a copy of this map? Why are they fighting over this one map? Any good data hoarder would have backed it up by now.

Oh shit they’re going to talk about Anakin now!

Yeah get bent pal, she doesn’t have to explain herself to you.

Yeah don’t start wars, bro. Or do, I guess that’s why I’m watching Star Wars

Oh lightsaber time again already??

Hey there! Just a few thoughts on Ahsoka. Curious to see how many share views similar to mine on this (This is for episodes 1,2 & 3).

Here's what I liked about the show:

• Ahsoka herself: At this point of time in the story, Ahsoka is a middle aged, powerful force user who has gone through a lot, and seen a lot. She is a war veteran who faced betrayal by people she considered her own. Hence, her portrayal in live action was very believable (at least for me). She is stoic, calm and appears to be wise. She gives of a lot of "Jedi Master" energy, which I was definitely expecting.

• Hera's portrayal: I was kinda worried as to how Hera would be portrayed in live action. Thankfully, she was portrayed very well in my opinion. She gives off a very "sweet, capable mum with huge responsibilities" energy. Which is again, what I would expect from the character. The chemistry between her and Ahsoka is definitely something that I loved quite a lot.

• The dark Jedi, Chopper and Jason: Yea, they're all quite cool too!

• The mystery of Ezra and the new galaxy: I can feel the suspense for the entire thing, which has definitely got me quite excited!

Here's what the show could've done better in my opinion:

• Sabine's acting: In the first two episodes, Sabine's acting was kinda flat. I dunno, she somehow didn't feel like the Sabine that I knew from Rebels. Her solo scenes felt a lot like they were shot in a studio somewhere, rather than her little home at Lothal. However, I have observed her acting get better when she is around other characters. Perhaps the short hair (like in Rebels) is helping in this aspect too. Also, I kinda felt some nice chemistry between her and Ahsoka too!

About the Sabine being a force user thing: Honestly, I buy the "anyone can technically be a force user argument". I kinda find it comparable to the "very good at math autistic kids" phenomenon that we see on earth. Technically, anyone can learn and practice math. However, these kids innately have an advantage in this regard. If I am an institution that wants to create the world's best mathematicians (while not caring about the ramifications of separating kids from their families), then I would prefer to "kidnap" such individuals rather than some random kid. While I hope the writers don't make Sabine capable of using the force effectively (cuz I don't want literally everyone being a Jedi), I like the new possibilities that this concept can open up. Maybe Thrawn (the most disciplined and focused dude out there) is working on an Ezra Bridger hosted, force sensitive clone army? Maybe this was what the experiments on Grogu were all about? Maybe he's trying to be force sensitive? Or maybe, we would be seeing an adversary (like the Nightsisters) who utilize the force in ways completely different than the Jedi or the Sith? I dunno.... All I'm saying is that this brings a lot of fresh stuff and mystery in the entire SW universe.

Anyways, m definitely quite excited for episode 4!

Well. That happened.

I'm really not sure what to say about this one. I loved Clone Wars and I loved Rebels. But they were zingy, tight shows with a lot of life to them.

This episode... was not that.

There was a space battle between a ship and a few smaller ships.

There was some clattering of wooden swords between a Jedi and a non-Force-Padawan-because-erm... didn't we do the "Let Sabine be Sabine" story already on Rebels?

Oh. And there was something about Hera and the New Republic being ineffective. But we got to see her lovechild from Kanan. So wink-wink he wants to be a Jedi.

I don't know. I feel very conflicted because I desperately want to love this show. But... this episode felt very empty. Boring.

And why do I feel like I'm going to be proven right and masked-evil-Jedi-person turns out to be fallen Ezra?

That would be disappointing.

If this show is trying to tell an exciting story travelling across galaxies, finding Thrawn, adding new layers of mysticism to the universe, then... give me that show. Not this plodding stilted whatever-this-is.

Well - it’s here! The first two episodes are on Disney+

Keen to hear what everyone’s thoughts are. Needless to say, there will be lots of spoilers in this discussion.

I really liked it. Felt like a solid continuation of Rebels, a bit slow at times, but overall a solid setup for what could be a very interesting and exciting series.

I feel like we should be able to guess the identity of the masked third Sith-esque villain. Don’t think it’s a fallen Ezra (too boring a plot line) but the stance and mannerisms seemed very familiar…

Also - great to see Kevin Kiner doing the music! Nice callback to some Rebels motifs here and there.

I would’ve liked to see Vanessa Marshall as Hera, I felt her voice was so uniquely matched. This Hera seems way too girly for a maternal older Hera. And where is her son?

Hoping for a Freddie Prinze Jr cameo.

Dave Filoni must be so happy to finally tell this story. Can’t wait to see what comes next!

A short fan film that adapts audio from the 1981 Empire Strikes Back radio drama. All animation done by one person over a span of six months. See comment on video for more details on the process.

I watched a Watchmojo video about this topic, and is trash, as usual. I'm curious to see what might be your top darkest moments in the franchise, including when Obi Wan was slaved, the Krell's friendly fire set up, Order 66 from Ahsoka's perspective, the many times torture was shown, the ending of The Empire Strikes Back, the fact that Revan was imprisoned for centuries leaving his wife and child behind, etc.

My kiddo is interested, but i'm not familiar with everything available.

Animated without a crazy amount of violence would best.

Any advice #threadiverse?

OTHER THAN THE HOLDO MANEUVER!

You can also mention anything from Legends.

I love The Professional and he gives some good takes on the game trailer.

Ahsoka has been dated. 8/23/23

(From two weeks ago)

I found these ones, does anybody know others?

Cavan Scott https://mastodon.social/@cavanscott

Chuck Wendig https://mastodon.social/@chuckwendig

Delilah Dawson https://wandering.shop/@delilahsdawson

Ethan Sacks https://mstdn.social/@EJS

George Mann https://zirk.us/@georgemann

Greg Pak https://mastodon.social/@gregpak

Jody Houser https://mastodon.social/@jodyhouser

Kelly Thompson https://mastodon.social/@KellyThompson

Kevin Hearne https://ohai.social/@kevinhearne

Kieron Gillen https://mastodon.social/@kierongillen

Kristin Baver https://mastodon.social/@KristinBaver

Mur Lafferty https://mastodon.social/@MurHerself

Pablo Hidalgo https://mastodon.social/@Pablohidalgo

Tom Taylor https://mastodon.social/@TomTaylorMade

Zoraida Cordova https://mastodon.social/@zoraidacordova

I would like to share a thought (based on canonical information as much as possible) about healing by the Force seen in Ep9 and which has caused so much discussion.

I have always thought of it as very simple: the ability to heal is achieved by mastering the Living Force (which is one of the two aspects of the Force, the other being the Cosmic Force) and learning to "channel" it. As I understand from the prequels, the study of the Cosmic Force was very prevalent, while the study of the Living Force was lapsed and followed by a minority current of Jedi (e.g., the very first dialogue between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan in Ep1). One aspect of mastering the Living force is maintaining one's self-awareness even after death (thus being able to manifest as a Force ghost), another may well be the ability to elicit healing from physical damage in living tissue. Anakin could not save his mother because, while potentially powerful, he knew nothing about it. Even Sidious did not know about it, which gives me pause as to how even the Sith as far as studying the Force were no better off than the Jedi, although then he must have learned something because in Ep9 he manages to absorb the Living Force from Ben and Rey to toughen his decaying body. While in the Ahch-To texts Rey found the ancient indications to that effect and learned it (and perhaps Plagueis similarly, or re-discovered it on his own). In Yoda's species this ability might be innate (Grogu heals Karga) but after a very long time spent considering almost only the Cosmic Force the master almost forgot it. Am I making it too simple? 🙃