Star Wars: The Disney+ Empire Strikes Again and Again and...

if you've got time to scowl at Sabine, you've got time enough to clean

Haha, yeah. One of the previous episodes had him standing looking at the star map for a few moments, which worked dramatically and also gave the audience something to pore over, but the scene you describe felt like a half-assed attempt at creating an ominous mood. Are they going to end every episode with him standing around brooding? Should clarify the latest episode wasn't directed by Filoni, but between the scripts and baggy editing there's a certain lack of energy.

It looks and sounds fine but a lot of it really *really* feels like cosplayers trying to bring the gravitas.

what beyond sight and sound provides this feel? Smell?

ACTING!! (in Jon Lovitz voice)

Love me a shiny Coruscant cityscape and a hearty droid “Blerrp” but these things alone do not a thrilling Star War make.

I, too, enjoyed a padawan's dogfight in whales

in Wales

Can someone explain why the third episode in these types of shows is so often the only one under 40 minutes? Maybe sometimes it's the second ep. And yet this still felt padded at times - e.g. that needlessly lingering shot of Skoll at the end seemed to offer nothing.

Cool to finally see a space walk of sorts in live action SW tho.

"Once an Inquisitor hunting Jedi for the Empire, the mysterious Marrok now works as a mercenary hired by Morgan Elsbeth to carry out dark deeds. Fully encased in battered battle armour, the warrior still carries a red double-bladed saber with a circular hilt."

they're going to keep being mysterious about who the masked guy is for most of the season, right?

their own Karl Ruprecht Kroenen

hah

we’re supposed to think it might be Ezra, right?

I have a long shot theory as to what his connection to an existing group would be but I’d rather just watch the show and find out

Haha it literally didn’t even occur to me to wonder who might be under the mask. I just figured it was yet another dark Jedi.

No way is it Ezra.

Ezra or Qi'ra but certainly a 'ra

The lightsaber is Maulish

the lightsaber is straight-up one that the inquisitors used in obi-wan, rebels, etc

it was very goofy when some of them used it like a little helicopter blade to fly off in rebels and i hope they do that in live action. mostly because i am a bad person and like when shows do goofy things for people to complain about

ok i’ll say it: it’s some rando who used to hang with the knights of ren motorcycle club

(it isn’t but the helmet reminded me of them)

he volunteered at the Knights of Ren fish fry

I was looking at their wookieepedia page (why do I do this to myself) and 99% of the knights of ren info is from comic books. each of them has a name and some sort of violent kink

the funniest part is that Ren is just the name of their leader. so if you kill the Ren you become the Ren

who is the Stimpy then?

lol I have also been on the wookiepedia, doing my own research

I think I have fallen behind, but at one point I had read every adult/young adult piece of media that belongs to the current Star Wars canon and watched all the shows as well

I have no rational explanation for why I would do such a thing

Took the kid to a 40th Anniversary screening of ROTJ (w/ live orchestra)… he asked, “Is that just a random guy in the Mandalorian suit, or Boba Fett?”

(Goes to show how Gen Alpha’s appreciation of the classics has been corrupted by all this new media!)

vader death choke oughta set him
straight

jk

The scene with Mon Mothma just made me wish I was watching Andor instead :/

re villains standing around looking serious: it doesn’t help that none of them are particularly menacing or compelling - they’re just saying lines and glowering. it’s all very Darth Maul in Episode 1… but at least that guy looked cool, blonde Sith girl just kind of looks like she’s fresh off a shift at some place that serves deconstructed coffee.

I know it’s probably because they’re all separated right now and it’s all building up to the moment where the gang is back together but show seems to be missing that Rebels energy, where they’re constantly squabbling and arguing but you know it’s all out of love and they’re about to kick some Empire ass. The tension between Ahsoka and Sabine isn’t quite the same…

their own Karl Ruprecht Kroenen

― cracked fixed view mire (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, August 31, 2023 2:56 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm

This from Wikipedia cracks me up:

Kroenen is a popular Hellboy villain, who appears on a variety of merchandise.

Was groaning a bit at A Star Wars Carol, but it was ultimately effective

It was, the episode didn't go the direction I expected and the slower pace landed well.

Enjoyed these last two. Even de-aged Hayden looked good.

On behalf of my son, who LOVES Thrawn and has read all the books about him and just thinks his whole backstory is fascinating and deep - I am annoyed at how long it’s taking to reveal him. There’s just not going to be enough time in the show for him to absolutely rule.

On behalf of myself, who has never seen a show with Thrawn and have nothing invested in him whatsoever - I’m annoyed at how it’s taking them to reveal him. There’s not enough time in the show to truly demonstrate how seriously I should be taking him as a threat.

Thrawn is a ball. If they get him into the goal, there will be war. The threat seems mostly political.

Yeah the predictable withholding of Thrawn makes it hard for him not to disappoint now.

Whereas the prospect of Anakin really being there in the world between worlds was exciting but they did stamp that out rather too quickly.

that was great, and the first time this show really did feel like live-action Rebels (also great seeing that small bit of live-action Clone Wars - young Ahsoka was terrific).

seems Hayden Christensen's reputation among SW fans has been thoroughly rehabilitated by these past few appearances. personally thought he still seemed a bit wooden, but it mostly worked this time around.

young Ahsoka was terrific

Turns out it's the daughter from Barbie! Good summer for her.

On behalf of my son, who LOVES Thrawn and has read all the books about him and just thinks his whole backstory is fascinating and deep - I am annoyed at how long it’s taking to reveal him. There’s just not going to be enough time in the show for him to absolutely rule.

On behalf of myself, who has never seen a show with Thrawn and have nothing invested in him whatsoever - I’m annoyed at how it’s taking them to reveal him. There’s not enough time in the show to truly demonstrate how seriously I should be taking him as a threat.

― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Wednesday, September 13, 2023 bookmarkflaglink

Update - I was into Thrawn, my son was not.

But we did come together in finding some creatures to hate more than Space Whales.

Son was Darth Vader for halloween last 2 years. Will be a stormtrooper this year. Not sure he is learning the right lessons from this franchise.

^believes everything the Rebels tell him

tbc I feel he should want to be a Jawa with a bandolier full of cbd gummies

you could probably make back as a security consultant, considering how Imperial security technology doesn't seem to ever include multi-factor authentication and seems to be as simple as "killing someone, wearing their clothes, and using their fingerprints"

*bank

might get cancelled though for doing work for bad people

as long as fingerprints and faces open phones, the same is true here and now.

Update - I was into Thrawn, my son was not.

But we did come together in finding some creatures to hate more than Space Whales.

Were they the horse rats or the Samurai Tusken Raiders?

And think I agree with your son. Mikkelsen's animated Thrawn >> Mikkelsen's live action Thrawn

Oh wait. The cravat wearing snail people just turned up

very dapper for a nomadic people

Thrawn looked better than I expected but lol at the scuffed up Stormtroopers and their Son of the Harpy General. Maybe they're all blue dudes also.

Oh wait. The cravat wearing snail people just turned up

― groovypanda, Wednesday, September 20, 2023 bookmarkflaglink

very dapper for a nomadic people

― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Wednesday, September 20, 2023 bookmarkflaglink

Haha I was calling them “Dandy Turtles”

So, I didn’t see the final season of Rebels so I don’t know the details of how Thrawn and Ezra got here in the first place. But… did Thrawn take that whole army with him too? And if so, then I guess they all modified their outfits because they were just bored and there is apparently nothing in this entire Galaxy worth conquering?

Stormtroopers have been doing Eyes Wide Shut style orgies