Hello friends, and happy weekend!
I normally post this on Saturday or Sunday (hence, “weekend”) but I needed some time to watch the first three episodes of The Rings of Power, so here we are. But more on that later.
First, I’ve been getting back into my reading of N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season. It’s such an enthralling story, but I’ve been so busy watching stuff this past week that I haven’t opened the book as much as I would have liked. I did get a big chunk of the book behind me, though, and it doesn’t disappoint. I’ll write more on it when I finish it.
On Kindle, I’ve been slowly reading through A New Hope, which was ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster. It’s so weird, because the story is the same as the movie, obviously, and some lines taken from it are word for word. But there’s also more dialogue in there than in the movie, which makes sense. Movies pare things down. Or a scene is slightly different. For example, I just read today about the cantina scene in Mos Eisley where Ben Kenobi cuts off the arm of that alien that had been bugging Luke (I forget his name; he didn’t have a name, or a name for the species, for that matter, in the book). But he also cut a couple of characters in half as well. Pretty gruesome, Obi-Wan, lol. The author also makes some references to Earth-related creatures, like dogs or pandas or dinosaurs. It kind of takes me out of the story for a second when the author does that. Oh well.
I watched Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi’s Return on Disney+ on Wednesday when it dropped, and enjoyed it. I always enjoy these behind-the-scenes shows, but this one was special because I loved the show so much, lol. Just seeing Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen gush about how glad they are to be back in Star Wars just makes my heart happy.
I also finished my rewatch of The Bad Batch, in preparation for Season Two (which was initially on Sept. 28 but now, I hear, has been moved to Jan. 4 of next year). I’m looking forward to seeing them maybe branch out a bit and join the fight against the Empire. I also hope we learn more about Omega; in other words, what is it that makes her so special? What is her enhancement? Yes, she’s good at strategy, but I don’t think that’s it. I’m still holding on to my theory that she’s Force-sensitive, but we’ll see.
Some casting news has me excited, which is that Eman Esfandi has been cast as Ezra Bridger for the Ahsoka show. I’m not familiar with this actor, but based on his looks alone, I think they nailed it! All he needs is blue eyes, and we have our Ezra. I am chomping at the bit for the Ahsoka show!
I’ve watched the trailers that dropped on D23 day for The Mandalorian S3, Tales of the Jedi, and a new one for Andor. They’re all very exciting. Looks like Mando S3 will be focusing on more Mandalorians, with Din perhaps trying to atone for his “sins.” Personally, I think Din needs to break away from his cult-family and pave his own way. It will be interesting to see how he and Bo-Katan interact and what will become of the Dark Saber.
Tales of the Jedi is an animated show that will drop all six episodes at once, I believe. They look to be about Ahsoka, and Count Dooku. This one looks really cool and I’m looking forward to it.
The Andor trailer just shows us more fantastic footage from the upcoming show, and just makes me even more excited to watch. Ten days!
So over the weekend, I watched the first three episodes of The Rings of Power. Yes, I bit the bullet and signed up for Prime. I just really wanted to watch this show, and the free shipping on all the Star Wars books I buy won’t hurt, either. So what do I think of it so far?
The short answer is: I love it. It’s gorgeous, mesmerizing, intriguing, and I love that the creators have made Galadriel the center of the show, among a fascinating ensemble cast.
I understand that there are some Tolkien purists who are furious (big surprise) that they’ve “mangled” Tolkien’s mythology. Well, here’s some news: not everyone is familiar with The Silmarillion, Tolkien’s book that contains the stories that the creators have drawn from. I actually have the book on my shelf, it’s been there for decades; I think I managed to read 50 pages of it years ago. Does it bother me that the creators of the show have adapted these stories into something else, something that may appeal to a wider audience? Nope. It’s a great show. And don’t get me started on the racists who complain about the dark-skinned characters in the story; they don’t even deserve a rebuttal.
Anyway, I’m totally invested in this story now. I haven’t thought about Middle-Earth for a long while, but it’s so worth going back. To see Galadriel and Elrond in their relative “youth,” to see characters only touched on in the films, like Durin, Elendil, and Isildur. And the new ones are great; I especially like Arondir, the elf who’s in love with the human woman Bronwynn. I’m really worried about him right about now, lol. Halberd seems to be a kind of Aragorn figure, the man who would be king, but who refuses the call at first. And the Harfoots, a kind of pre-hobbit people, are just charming. Norri is delightful. And who is the tall stranger from the meteorite she helps? I keep thinking he must be a wizard, he just doesn’t know it yet. Or maybe it’s obvious, I don’t know.
There’s a lot of exposition coming from characters, but that’s understandable. There’s so much history in this world, you need to know the context of what’s going on. And the elves tend to speak a bit theatrically, poetically, a bit dramatically, but let’s be honest, they’ve been around for thousands of years; they’re gonna be a little weird, lol.
So yes, I love it, and I can’t wait to see how this all plays out.
What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!
Star Wars and Other Obsessions 