Star Wars: Ahsoka

[ajp4mgs]

Weak writing is the issue as usual for Disney shows. Lots of contrivances and Thrawn didn't seem to actually outwit anyone. He actually helped his enemies by bringing them together, failed to find Ezra for a whole decade despite the witches being able to pinpoint Ahsokas location in seconds in a debris field begging the question why he never did that for Ezra, he kept sending too few forces to intercept his enemies so they would inevitably fail etc etc etc. Not the genius tactician he is supposed to be from the books, more the pseudo intellectual from Rebels. Given that his whole unique selling point is that he is supposed to be a genius tactician and intellectual his writing in the show is a complete fail. Now, if Gilroy had written Thrawn it might have been far far better but whatever. Live action thrawn is an average imperial officer who talks like everything is going to plan, much like when I go to cross the road and trip over, land in some dog poop, lose control of my bowels before standing up to see the bus I was trying to catch leaving and say to everyone around me confidently "everything is going according to plan" before sitting at the bus stop to wait for the next one.

The visual effects for the show were mostly good and Ezra brought some much needed life to the last couple eps. Sabine was less annoying this final episode too thankfully. Hopefully her writing in the next show/ movie continues that improvement.

My favorite bit from the finale was when Thrawn took the time to pointedly give Morgan a speech about (paraphrasing here) how Jedi should never be underestimated and that he himself will never again discount Jedi resourcefulness or allow one the chance to thwart his efforts. Aaaaaand... he goes on to end the episode by telling Ahsoka that their paths will not cross again and by not even bothering to account for Ezra's whereabouts. I'm sure none of this will contribute to his ultimate defeat.

Yes, the same Ahsoka who had already made an intergalactic trip without needing his "Ring of Sion." And the same Ezra who was now onboard Thrawn's star destroyer and escaping to safety by somehow taking a shuttle from the hangar without any alerts for Thrawn to notice.

Thrawn's little speech sets up his own self contradiction in the very same script. I continue to think this is intentional parody by subtext.

 

[McHaleyArt]

I really enjoyed the show and I’m looking forward to what comes next.

 

[The Buffinator]

My favorite bit from the finale was when Thrawn took the time to pointedly give Morgan a speech about (paraphrasing here) how Jedi should never be underestimated and that he himself will never again discount Jedi resourcefulness or allow one the chance to thwart his efforts. Aaaaaand... he goes on to end the episode by telling Ahsoka that their paths will not cross again and by not even bothering to account for Ezra's whereabouts. I'm sure none of this will contribute to his ultimate defeat.

Yes, the same Ahsoka who had already made an intergalactic trip without needing his "Ring of Sion." And the same Ezra who was now onboard Thrawn's star destroyer and escaping to safety by somehow taking a shuttle from the hangar without any alerts for Thrawn to notice.

Thrawn's little speech sets up his own self contradiction in the very same script. I continue to think this is intentional parody by subtext.

There were two things Nightsister related that have been bugging me about the finale. The first is why didn’t they sense that Ezra was aboard the Chimaera? I guess their Jedi radar has its limits in terms of range, or maybe they were too busy ordering stuff from IKEA to redecorate their cave on Dathomir lol. The bigger question I have is how were they unaware of the giant statues of the Mortis gods that were practically in their temple's backyard on Peridea? Or, if they were aware of them, why didn’t they tell Thrawn about them (especially after Baylan went AWOL and was headed in that direction)? If that area had strong Force ties (and a possible WBW entrance) surely they could sense that, right? RIGHT??

As for Ezra escaping once they reached Dathomir, I can buy his biding his time and waiting for an opportunity to slip out once a few other shuttles started transporting cargo from the ship, then speeding away before anyone realizes things are amiss. We'll have to wait and see, but assuming the story continues I suspect that once Thrawn is made aware of a rogue shuttle he'll deduce that Ezra was on it (because it fits his M.O.) and is still a problem.

 

[jye4ever]

There were two things Nightsister related that have been bugging me about the finale. The first is why didn’t they sense that Ezra was aboard the Chimaera? I guess their Jedi radar has its limits in terms of range, or maybe they were too busy ordering stuff from IKEA to redecorate their cave on Dathomir lol. The bigger question I have is how were they unaware of the giant statues of the Mortis gods that were practically in their temple's backyard on Peridea? Or, if they were aware of them, why didn’t they tell Thrawn about them (especially after Baylan went AWOL and was headed in that direction)? If that area had strong Force ties (and a possible WBW entrance) surely they could sense that, right? RIGHT??

As for Ezra escaping once they reached Dathomir, I can buy his biding his time and waiting for an opportunity to slip out once a few other shuttles started transporting cargo from the ship, then speeding away before anyone realizes things are amiss. We'll have to wait and see, but assuming the story continues I suspect that once Thrawn is made aware of a rogue shuttle he'll deduce that Ezra was on it (because it fits his M.O.) and is still a problem.

And Ezra wearing full trooper armor with helmet on a republic cruiser is he retarded lol

 

[e30ernest]

My takeaway from that Huyang/Ezra scene was that when the Jedi temple fell Huyang determined it was more important to save his lightsaber parts inventory than it was to save any younglings lol...

This T6 Jedi Shuttle is apparently the same shuttle Huyang was in when he was teaching younglings how to build their sabers in the Clone Wars series. So he already had a stock of lightsaber parts in this ship.

There were two things Nightsister related that have been bugging me about the finale. The first is why didn’t they sense that Ezra was aboard the Chimaera? I guess their Jedi radar has its limits in terms of range, or maybe they were too busy ordering stuff from IKEA to redecorate their cave on Dathomir lol. The bigger question I have is how were they unaware of the giant statues of the Mortis gods that were practically in their temple's backyard on Peridea? Or, if they were aware of them, why didn’t they tell Thrawn about them (especially after Baylan went AWOL and was headed in that direction)? If that area had strong Force ties (and a possible WBW entrance) surely they could sense that, right? RIGHT??

As for Ezra escaping once they reached Dathomir, I can buy his biding his time and waiting for an opportunity to slip out once a few other shuttles started transporting cargo from the ship, then speeding away before anyone realizes things are amiss. We'll have to wait and see, but assuming the story continues I suspect that once Thrawn is made aware of a rogue shuttle he'll deduce that Ezra was on it (because it fits his M.O.) and is still a problem.

I wonder if the Nightsisters let Ezra by. They didn't seem all too pleased when Thrawn ordered the destruction of their fortress. I also think they knew of the statues of the Mortis gods. Shin mentioned to Baylan that the Nightsisters appeared to be running away from something. My guess is they were running away from whatever that glowing thing in the distance was.

And Ezra wearing full trooper armor with helmet on a republic cruiser is he retarded lol

Agreed.

 

[ZE_501]

I really enjoyed the show and I’m looking forward to what comes next.

What did you like about it overall?

 

[The Buffinator]

And Ezra wearing full trooper armor with helmet on a republic cruiser is he retarded lol

Yeah, I‘ve got nothing for that lol. Technically they’re not at war yet so I suppose they wouldn’t shoot at his shuttle without provocation and maybe his radio was out but leaving the helmet on?

 

[ajp4mgs]

There were two things Nightsister related that have been bugging me about the finale.

Only two!? Wow!

The first is why didn’t they sense that Ezra was aboard the Chimaera?

When they boarded the Chimaera they set their Force-sensing to airplane mode hyperspace mode and just forgot to set it back upon re-entry.

In all seriousness, if I actually tried to formulate a real answer to your question, I'd speculate that they can only track Ahsoka in particular because of her experiences with "The Daughter" on Mortis. Maybe Ahsoka has a resulting "energy vibe" from that which the Nightsisters are especially attuned to.

It's a flimsy explanation, but you would need one that isn't tied to "limits in terms of range" because they were able to sense Ahsoka coming all the way from another galaxy. Unless by range limitations you mean needing to be on specific soil tied to their clan (both Peridea and Dathomir fitting the bill) in order to perform their witchcraft. If that's the case, their appearances in the animated shows would need to corroborate that, and I just don't remember those episodes well enough (I'm not a fan of TCW, in case you couldn't tell ).

The bigger question I have is how were they unaware of the giant statues of the Mortis gods that were practically in their temple's backyard on Peridea? Or, if they were aware of them, why didn’t they tell Thrawn about them (especially after Baylan went AWOL and was headed in that direction)?

This one is trickier, so I'll just tie it to the same logic I proposed above: Perhaps there's a great degree of fear when it comes to the Mortis gods, and being able to get a beat on Ahsoka's Force energy is somehow tied to that. So that might make them want to avoid any mention to Thrawn about the potential power therein, keeping him from ultimately considering them disposable. Or maybe it's a dormant power that they are convinced no one can revive or call upon ever again.

One of the reasons I don't care for excessive mysticism in these stories is that it tends to result in arbitrary rules and convenient inconsistencies. Why can witches re-animate dead soldiers and make them more powerful but can't use their magic to simply put three Jedi into stasis? Because the plot says so. How can they communicate across galaxies to make their way to Dathomir with Thrawn but had never done this a long time ago? Because the plot says so. Why not kill Sabine upon "smelling the Jedi" on her and just re-animate her to serve their purposes? Because the plot says so. I find this stuff lame and lazy.

 

[ajp4mgs]

And Ezra wearing full trooper armor with helmet on a republic cruiser is he retarded lol

It was either that or take the gear off and have to come out in his Underoos.

Even though there were obvious logical reasons for him not to come out wearing stormtrooper gear (including helmet - as if anyone in the audience didn't already know who it was), this was just another one of the billion winks Filoni was giving his animated fans because they know Ezra was seen in Imperial/trooper uniforms a bunch of times throughout that show.

Any chance he gets to make people go, "Ooh, they're doing that thing that we remember from the cartoon!" he won't pass up.

Is Andor 2 here yet?

 

[Sithblade]

So Anakin shows up as a Force ghost to watch over Ahsoka, but not for his own son in the ST when Luke's suffering from a lack of faith in the Jedi?
I'm sure they'll be a Disney+ show to explain why he couldn't.

 

[Cagoda]

So Anakin shows up as a Force ghost to watch over Ahsoka, but not for his own son in the ST when Luke's suffering from a lack of faith in the Jedi?
I'm sure they'll be a Disney+ show to explain why he couldn't.

Honestly a convo with Anakin about the negativity of the Jedi could turn south real quick lmao

 

[xipotec]

DAMN.

(spoilery review beware)

I wanted to write this review before reading any other comments that might take me off this wonderful high this show has been. Reading all the BS naysayers can really be a bummer, since what we have here is some of the best SW stories since the OT.

We have such amazing detailed character arcs paying out, in a way that keeps the adventure and wonder alive without much room for anyone to complain. Between the great acting, effects and score , I think this show was a tour de force (pun intended) of the SW Disney has been struggling to find. This series has been the almost pedect blend of adventure/fantasy/lore and yes, nostalgia.

The ending tied in so many much loved arcs from the SW universive in an almost perfect way.

The saber fights are what should have been in the PT, gritty, samurai like close combat duels that would give Errol Flynn a run for his money. I watched the finale twice already and with the exception of a few cuts, they seem natural and flawless. Organic is the word that comes to mind.

Our main character Ashoka had grown through the story back to the Jedi she was headed toward back in TCW. And most importantly, we see her master has been there behind the scenes , trying to make up for his mistake, and finish what he began. There is some trouble with this idea of course, but I am sure it will be worked out. Perhaps as a force ghost, you can only help in the student/master role. It does fit if you take that as cannon.

Sabine is finally moving away from the pretentious character we have always known i to a deeper more interesting hybrid of Jedi and Mandalorian.

Thrawn, while showing he is the master tactical leader he always was , has also shown he has changed into a more flawed and even angry despot. Who clearly is afraid of the Jedi.

We see Ezra as something more than the warrior Jedi, yet he maintains the mischief of his youth. IF I had a complaint, it would be to see more of Ezra and how he has changed.

That leaves us with the characters with the LEAST interesting end. Baylan ans Shin. The tragedy of Rays passing is made even more depressing seeing how such and interesting character may end up scrapped and reduced due to his demise. One cannot help but feel a bit cheated on this front, by dragging out that arc, we may never see what was really intended.

Shin, also a great character, was also sort of wasted, as we seem to have only gotten 1/4 at most of her tale.

However, it gives us something to look forward to. Ezra and Shin have alot of story yet to tell.

And DAMN, that score ......music can make or break film, and they have NAILED the score and cinematography....its just a beauty to watch and hear. (sound effects as well)

Its been a wonderful few weeks to be a 51 year old SW fan......so grateful to the folks at Disney for plugging away to finally get a show that hits ALL the marks so well.

Ok now to read all the trolls bashing this for internet points.....you cannot take away what was made here.

 

[xipotec]

Again, I think his primary focus was returning to his own galaxy so he was always prioritizing the use of resources (troops, equipment. etc.) toward achieving that goal. In the finale Ezra himself stated he never went anywhere near the Nightsister temple & Thrawn after arriving so he was no threat before now (but Thrawn kept tabs on him nonetheless). And yes, his sending only two TIE fighters to attack Ahsoka's ship WAS similar to his sending only two squadrons to support Baylan & Shin in the previous episode. You've interpreted that as not sending a sufficient quantity, whereas I think he didn't have that many remaining & was trying to leave that galaxy with as many of his loyal "real" troops as possible. If he had a vastly superior force (in terms of sheer numbers) he wouldn't have needed the witches to reanimate that last squadron of night troopers or send Morgan to her likely demise.

You are trying to communicate with people who seem to not actually be paying attention to the show.....its like banging your head against concrete my friend......
Thrawn literally says he does not care about Ezra or the Jedi so long as they can be made to stay out of this way long enough for him to leave....yet he also says do not underestimate their ability to screw with his plans

As a matter of fact , if they bothered to watch the recap before the last episode , they literally out that scene in it....to remind said dopes he does not care about Ezra so long as it does not get in his way...... which it didnt in the end.

This is totally on point for Thrawns character in Rebels.

 

[xipotec]

So Anakin shows up as a Force ghost to watch over Ahsoka, but not for his own son in the ST when Luke's suffering from a lack of faith in the Jedi?
I'm sure they'll be a Disney+ show to explain why he couldn't.

I think its been established in the films that only apprentices can see their masters......

If you look at every force ghost we see, its always master and apprentices.....

Correct me if this is wrong?

 

[ironwez20]

I honestly look at it as those events aren’t canon so that crap doesn’t matter. A man can dream.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

Aside from what we thought of the writing, the acting, the plots, etc. I think we can all agree on one thing...the real winner here is Hot Toys, they're going to fire up those old Stormtroopers molds and make 62 different figures.

Fans, who also hobbyists, of the current slate of Star Wars win out, if they can manage the price points within their hobby framework.

However, IMHO, Hot Toys signed a deal with the devil with The Big Mouse. If they could do it all over again, my take is anyone in a real leverage position wouldn't go on this ride. But that's just my assessment after crunching some of the numbers I've seen.

I'm happy for folks who are happy. Also it would be nice to have a last shot at a Ray Stevenson tribute on the shelf.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

So Anakin shows up as a Force ghost to watch over Ahsoka, but not for his own son in the ST when Luke's suffering from a lack of faith in the Jedi?
I'm sure they'll be a Disney+ show to explain why he couldn't.

Might end up, long term, being more than just a ghost. I don't agree with it, but then again, it's not my IP.

To The Big Mouse, Star Wars is a cow to be milked. The goal is to keep filling the bucket. The childhood wonder and nostalgia of the people here, and out there, is just acceptable collateral damage to them in the vain pursuit of those big money goals.

How I manage my own expectations ( and no one has to follow suit to this obviously) is the Holy Trilogy is the only thing written in stone. I see everything else as super charged fan fiction and sometimes pleasant fan service. The new stuff can be fun, but it's still milk in a bucket at some level. Again, I'm happy for those who are happy and for those who loved Rebels and Clone Wars and the Zahn books and are getting opportunities for some near future cool figures.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

The way I interpreted all that was Thrawn realized his forces would never defeat the Jedi (because: history), so the most he could hope to do was delay them as long as possible.

My take is I have a hard time interpreting most anything of Thrawn at all. He just wasn't in the show very much. I'd also argue the scripts didn't give him very much actual "agency" in his own potential narrative.

I can't say anything good about him. And I can't say anything bad about him. He was there to facilitate other characters. ( And to be fair, despite being the title character, I'd assess Ashoka as also just being a place holder to facilitate other characters) Obviously I hope we get more coverage of Thrawn in the future.

It would be nice, IMHO, if we all got a Thrawn limited series release. Maybe 4-5 episodes just covering pure full time Thrawn. That would help a ton. And it would massively help casual viewers not ingrained with the animated series and books, etc, etc.

I know Marco Polo is an older show, and many people have never seen it, but what Benedict Wong did with the Kublai Khan character, the generally good writing for his character, IMHO, it highlights how this current Thrawn can be developed in a really compelling way.

"The true sweetness of wine is one flavor"

Just my take on things.

 

[Ramatuelle]

Things that interest me about this show:

1. Seeing Rex for five seconds and hearing T. Morrison's voice come out of his helmet.

2. The idea of undead stormtroopers.

Cagoda: Honestly a convo with Anakin about the negativity of the Jedi could turn south real quick lmao

...Who would know about Jedi bull**** better than he? He not only dished it out, it landed on him quite heavily. Yeah, this would probably not be safe subject matter with this notoriously impulsive and labile guy who never "wanted to be a problem" in the first place. I wonder what he had to say to Kylo Ren's Force ghost when they met? I bet it wasn't too friendly.

 

[pixletwin]

I think its been established in the films that only apprentices can see their masters......

If you look at every force ghost we see, its always master and apprentices.....

Correct me if this is wrong?

Luke was never Anakin’s apprentice.