My Entertainment Update for May 2024

Hello friends! May was a busy Star Wars month, so let’s get right to it. 🙂

The Bad Batch series finale. Although this is the first thing listed, it’s the last thing I wrote because I don’t even know where to begin with this, lol, and summing it up in a few paragraphs is impossible. I’ve been very emotionally involved in this series since it began, and having it come to an end has been bittersweet. I’m not going to go into details of the show here (I’m assuming you’ve watched), just feel all my feelings, lol.

First off, I feel that Season 3 has been pretty solid, particularly Crosshair’s character arc and redemption. There are lots of characters I would have liked to see return or at least know what happened to them (Cody? Cid? Wolfe? More Rex and the clones? I definitely would have liked more Phee, too) but the season focuses on the Batch and their mission, as it should.

The whole “Is Tech still alive?” thing was really up in the air for me; at the beginning of the season I thought there might be a possibility, and there seemed to be some clues planted here and there. But by the last few episodes I concluded he was truly gone and subsequently had to grieve for him all over again, but also feel relieved that he didn’t come back as some awful brainwashed assassin like the CX’s, Winter Soldier-style, which is the only way I feel he could have come back. But now I can at least move on and know that his sacrifice allowed the happy ending for his family that we got. (There’s always my alternate-universe fan-fiction, where he does survive, and I can live there simultaneously with the canon version, lol).

Anyway, there were so many doom-sayers that were convinced that everybody was going to die at the end in Rogue One style and I just wanted to say to them: um, shutup? I suppose it was one possibility, but I really didn’t think the series would go that route. At most, I thought we’d lose maybe one more member, but I think Tech was enough to make the point that not everyone gets out alive and that there are stakes. The fact that they all survived and got to live out their lives on Pabu pretty much made me over-the-moon happy (At least this part of my fan-fiction was validated! As well as Omega eventually going off to fight in the Rebellion). Even Emerie survived, who I thought for sure would sacrifice herself to help the children escape. I’m glad she lived, too.

Like I said, there’s so much I could touch on here but I’ll just say that I loved every minute of this last season and the finale was everything I hoped for. The tears didn’t start until the credits rolled, because it was then I knew it was over, and that made me sad; but the Batch were allowed to get old on beautiful Pabu and be whatever they wanted to be, and that made me happy. I like to think that they not only helped Rex find the kids’ parents, but also helped out with the Hidden Path in some way, helping Force sensitives evade the Empire. Not fighting anymore, just doing their little part, helping where they could. A good life with purpose.

I’m hoping to see Rex, Echo, Emerie and the other clones in some future project, as well as Omega during her Rebellion adventures. I dream of her and Hera reuniting and giving the Empire hell! And maybe a cameo by the Batch in any of these stories. A girl can dream, lol.

Tales of the Empire. So this show was part of the May 4th festivities, and I couldn’t wait to watch it. I really liked it, for the most part. I think I like Tales of the Jedi better, but this one gave us some insight into Morgan Elsbeth and the long-awaited return of Barriss Offee. Out of the two characters, I preferred the Barriss episodes. The theme of the shorts was how these two different characters reacted to the rising dark, and how they dealt with the idea of revenge.

Morgan was a young Nightsister on Dathomir when her people were slaughtered by the Separatists, led by General Grievous. She survived, but instead of joining the Mountain clan (which seems to be guided by the Light side of the Force, while the Nightsisters draw from the Dark side), she decides to strike out on her own and seek revenge. At first, I wasn’t sure who she was going to wreak vengeance upon, since the Separatists are no more. But I see now that she’s playing the long game, using the Empire (and Thrawn) to consolidate her own power for Dathomir (as she says in Ahsoka, “For Dathomir” under her breath in response to Thrawn’s “For the Empire.”) Unfortunately, that means hurting others in her quest for power.

Barriss, after Order 66, is offered the opportunity to become an Inquisitor, which is what a lot of us theorized. Even though I did like her shorts better, there’s always been something about Barriss that just didn’t make sense to me. She’d been disillusioned with the Jedi and thought they were becoming more war-like, losing their way, so she…rigged an explosion in the Jedi temple? And framed her “best friend” Ahsoka for it? It didn’t quite make sense, especially since she seemed to be an excellent Padawan in every other way. But okay.

Now, after Order 66, she’s given the opportunity to become an Inquisitor, considering her aforementioned crimes. But every step of the way, she resists the darkness. She kills the other Padawan to survive, not because of any inner ambition. She repeatedly questions their orders and missions and seems naive about their true aims. She doesn’t seem brutal enough to have passed their tests in the first place (having read Rise of the Red Blade, yes, they are terribly brutal, culling any sign of weakness whatsoever.)

Anyway, Barriss decides the Inquisitorious is not for her and saves a Jedi she and the Fourth Sister are supposed to kill (I do like that we get more of her, since she didn’t have much to do in the Obi-Wan series). She goes off and becomes a “Wise Mother,” using her Force healing skills to help others. There’s some evidence she’s a link in the Hidden Path, helping Force-sensitives get away from the Empire. I like this destiny for her; she may have believed the Jedi Order didn’t work, but neither did she think going to the dark side would help anything, either. She just uses her gifts to help others.

I do feel like the Fourth Sister came back to the Light much too quickly, but maybe she was already halfway there after years and years of anger and hate. Honestly, I don’t know how anyone can sustain themselves on those exhausting emotions for so long. She accidentally impales Barriss in the cavern in trying to get out; but we don’t know if she actually died or not. So now we’ll continue to get more questions of “What happened to Barriss?” LOL.

The Acolyte excitement and trailers. I just want to point out that in two weeks, The Acolyte premieres and I’m sooo ready for it! The trailers have been awesome and I can’t wait to sink into this Jedi murder-mystery thriller at the end of the High Republic. Naturally I’ll be talking about it more next month.

The Phantom Menace in the theater. For May the 4th weekend, I caught The Phantom Menace in my local theater. It’s celebrating 25 years since its premiere, which is a little crazy to me, lol. When it first came out, I brought my 8-year-old stepson, who loved Qui Gon Jinn, and Maul’s double-lightsaber. At the time, I wasn’t quite so open-minded as I am now and just didn’t get it. It wasn’t “my” Star Wars. It was so different from the OT that I couldn’t really embrace it at the time. But I did it for the boy, lol. And subsequently brought him to see Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, when they came out.

Now that boy is thirty-three and brings his own young son to see all the Star Wars (and Marvel) movies. And me? I love them, of course. I’ve since relaxed A LOT and just enjoy them for what they are–fun Star Wars movies. Back then, Jar Jar grated on my nerves, and I thought he was a stupid character; now I just want to give the big goof a hug. Obi-Wan Kenobi as played by Ewan McGregor has become one of my all-time favorite Star Wars characters. Qui Gon is also a favorite Jedi character; they’re all quite interesting, but I think they’ve been improved upon in subsequent material like The Clone Wars, and many other projects like the Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka series, never mind countless books.

So it was a fun ride watching the film on the big screen again, this time with a lot more appreciation.

In books, I was kind of all over the place this past month. While waiting for the next High Republic book to come out (Temptation of the Force on June 11th), I went back and forth with a few different things, not really sure what I was in the mood for. Here’s a few books I started but haven’t finished yet (and may or may not finish):

Stone Blind, by Natalie Haynes. I’m often drawn to retellings of ancient mythical stories, especially since modern retellings will often turn them on their heads with different perspectives and interpretations. The Medusa myth has always fascinated me: the story of a goddess who was turned into a monster, and whose gaze turned men to stone. Naturally, when I found out some time ago about the details of the story–that Medusa had been raped by Poseidon, was blamed for the incident and turned into the monster–I felt outrage. Typical “blame the victim” patriarchy, misogyny at its worst; good for her, turning arrogant men who would hunt her into stone, they deserve it, and what have you. Yet I wanted to see what this version would bring to the story.

But I wasn’t too far in when I realized why I haven’t read Greek myth retellings for a while now: the rapes kept adding up, and so did my rage. They weren’t particularly graphic scenes; just the fact that they happened on the regular, by Zeus in particular (what a vile creature he is), just made me sick. In fact, all of the Olympian gods are vile and arrogant and petulant and just plain odious. I suppose that’s the point. But I just couldn’t get through it.

I suspect I’ve been spoiled, in a way, by Star Wars books (and movies and shows). Gender oppression isn’t a thing in these stories, not by a long shot. It doesn’t exist. Rape is never, ever mentioned (this is a PG-rated world, after all), but more than that, in the world itself, women (or transgender persons, for that matter) are simply taken for what they are without question. Good, bad, meek, strong, beautiful, ugly, rulers, peasants, soldiers, parents; gender doesn’t play into the role at all (neither does ethnicity nor sexual orientation). Certainly, there are those in our world who have something to say about this and Star Wars “wokeness;” but I have no patience for any of their nonsense and ridiculous labels.

Anyway, what I’m saying is, I’ve read so much Star Wars and immersed myself in this world so much, that when I encounter misogyny and other bigotry in other books, it’s jarring and upsetting to me. As it should be, but…mental health, lol. So Stone Blind has been set aside for now.

Canto Bight, by various authors. So I retreated into another Star Wars book, one that I haven’t had much interest in but thought I’d finally check out since there didn’t seem to be much else I wanted to read. But…it’s boring, lol. The first story was a bit amusing, but I don’t know or care about these characters at all. And Canto Bight isn’t a setting I’m particularly fascinated by. Set aside for another time, perhaps.

Medstar 1: Battle Surgeons, by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry. So now that I’ve watched Tales of the Empire, I’ve got Barriss Offee on my mind, lol, and want to know more about her besides what we see in the Clone Wars. She’s in a couple of Legends books called Medstar: Book One: Battle Surgeons and Book Two: Jedi Healer. They’re like a Star Wars M*A*S*H, following a group of doctors and nurses on the planet Drongar that sew up and treat clones that are injured in battle. The battle is being waged here for a special substance called bota that’s kind of like bacta, and both sides want it. There’s an arrogant Tera Kasi warrior, an ambitious Republic Admiral, and an unidentified spy in their midst. I like how Barriss is portrayed as a Force healer in these books, as we see in the last short of Tales of the Empire. We don’t see too much of that in canon until Rey in the Sequel Trilogy. I just started the first book, and already I like it better than the other books I’ve tried to read lately. I’ll write more about them next month.

That’s it for this month (that’s plenty!). How did you celebrate May the Fourth? What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

The Bad Batch Episode 5 “The Return” Thoughts

So I’m getting this post in by the skin of my teeth before the two-parter drops later tonight, lol. No particular reason, I’ve just been busy, but here we go:

Man, I loved this episode so much! I’ve heard a (very) few grumbles about “filler”–don’t get me started, I just don’t understand these people–but this was an absolutely necessary episode about Hunter and Crosshair working things out in their own way.

We start with the Batch on Pabu with Omega finally waking up where she belongs (and btw, I love her little knit sweater and Pabu-style necklace, lol). Crosshair is keeping his distance from everyone, particularly Hunter, but Omega reminds him that he has to talk to Hunter eventually.

Echo shows up, and they all gather together to discuss next steps and to get any information from Omega and Crosshair about Tantiss. Omega offers up Nala Se’s datapad, but it’s encrypted and they can’t get much info. Echo mentions that it’s harder without Tech, and the mention of his name makes everyone sad; they don’t pause long, but it’s a loud pause. Crosshair mentions that he knows an Imperial facility that will help them access the datapad.

The facility turns out to be Barton IV from the S2 episode “The Outpost,” where Crosshair turned against the Empire and killed the odious Lt. Nolan. It’s abandoned, and they have to dig through the snow into the base. We see an ice vulture, one of the screaming creatures that constantly circled above in The Outpost. The bird came to represent Crosshair, and the fact that we see it up close in this episode tells us (as if we didn’t know) that this one will delve into Crosshair and his journey even more.

While the others connect the datapad to the computer, Crosshair wanders off and finds a pile of clone helmets in a corner; he gently picks them up and places them on a table nearby, in respect, most likely thinking about Mayday and the other clones who died there. Hunter watches silently from around the corner and wonders.

When Crosshair goes outside, Hunter follows. Omega moves to follow them, but Echo tells her to let them work it out. Hunter confronts Crosshair about why he turned on the Empire–he wants answers. All their anger with each other comes spilling out, and Crosshair accuses Hunter of being the cause of Omega’s capture, and that he’s jealous Crosshair helped her escape and not him. It might have come to blows, but they’re interrupted by the arrival of a big Dune-like snow worm.

Turns out that’s what the sensors around the perimeter of the base were keeping out; once they turned them off for more power to the console, the worm came knocking. Wrecker’s cry of “Why are there always big monsters?!” is funny and on the nose. And the answer, of course, is that it’s Star Wars, lol.

So Wrecker has to go to a separate bunker to manually ramp up power to the sensors, Omega mans the console to turn them on when it’s done, and Hunter and Crosshair go out to lure the worm past the sensors before turning them back on. Echo is in the tower “keeping watch.” Basically to make sure Crosshair and Hunter don’t kill each other.

He needn’t have worried, though, as they work together to get the job done. Hunter falls into a snow tunnel, and Crosshair and Batcher follow up top. Once the worm is outside the sensor range, they run back and the sensors are turned on just in time. I love how Wrecker runs to them and hugs them together as they come back, and Echo comments to Omega that at least there’s no blood this time.

Later, Crosshair opens up to Hunter a little and admits he thought he knew what he was getting into with the Empire, and that he did bad things. Hunter says he made mistakes too, and that all they can do is to try to be better. And maybe there’s hope for them after all. Man, I hope so, because I’m a little scared right now as to where this season is leading. But one episode at a time.

So I’m guessing they’ll get enough intel off the datapad to find Tantiss, and that will be the focus of the two-parter coming up.

Highlights of this episode:

Omega calling Crosshair “little brother” and their growing relationship.
How Crosshair is like the dad that didn’t want the dog but now loves the dog more than anyone except Omega.
Crosshair has his toothpicks back and the healing has begun, lol.

What did you think of this episode? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

The Bad Batch Season Premiere Thoughts (Eps 1-3)

Season 3 of the Bad Batch is finally here and I’m so excited!

As you may know, Disney+ dropped the first three episodes together: “Confined,” “Paths Unknown,” and “Shadows of Tantiss.” I’m just going to briefly go over the plot of each and give my thoughts. This one will be a bit longer than usual since there are three episodes to discuss.

So just to be clear: SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It actually starts with a recap of Season 2 and the very first thing we hear is Tech’s words: “When have we ever followed orders?” Yeah, okay, thanks for that, I can see how this is gonna go already, lol. Heartbroken jokes aside, I think it signifies that Tech’s absence will no doubt haunt the entirety of Season 3 (whether or not he “comes back” has been hotly debated since the S2 finale, and though I have thoughts on that, I’m just going to wait and see).

Anyway, “Confined” begins on Tantiss with where Omega and Crosshair are at physically and emotionally. Omega is in a Groundhog’s Day type of existence, helping Emerie everyday with her lab chores, as well as feeding the lurkhounds in their kennels. Emerie tells her she’s not a prisoner, but this just shows how blind she is to her own servitude. It will be interesting to see how Emerie develops over the course of the season. Emerie takes Omega’s blood for testing every day, along with all the other clones, but Nala Se secretly disposes of it. Questions that began in S1 pop up again about Omega and what’s so special about her, questions that have been nagging me all along. But more on that later. She helps and befriends one of the lurkhounds, which she names Batcher, an obvious metaphor for the Batch themselves. Batcher is different and the Imperials conclude she’s useless and slates her for termination; the same could be said of all clones, not just Clone Force 99. You just know that Batcher is going to be important somehow later on.

Crosshair, meanwhile, is quite defeated, slumping along with the other clones, laying morosely on his cot in his cell. He’s totally given up, and he doesn’t care. Omega sneaks down to his cell when she can and talks of escape; he tells her not to bother with him, not to waste her time on “lost causes” like the lurkhound and himself. He tells her he belongs there, obviously punishing himself for all the things he did while with the Empire. Omega tells him that none of them belong there. She’s not going to give up, on escape or on him. It’s not clear if Omega told him about Tech’s death, but I’m going to assume she did until I learn otherwise. If so, maybe he partly blames himself. After all, they were trying to find him (at Tech’s urging), and their plan to get intel on his whereabouts caused Tech’s death (as well Saw Gerrera’s not-very-well-thought-out attack on Eriadu. In fact, I totally blame him. But I digress.)

“Paths Unknown” shifts to Hunter and Wrecker, the only two of the Batch still together, as Echo is off with Rex somewhere. They get some intel on an Imperial lab from Isa Durand and her son, Roland, who we met in S1 when he took over Cid’s parlor. I actually kind of like Roland, lol. His mother, on the other hand, is an icicle.

Echo and Rex can’t meet up with them for two more days and Hunter decides to go without them. Surprisingly, it’s Wrecker who is the voice of reason: he says the last time they infiltrated an Imperial base, not all of them came back. Hunter won’t wait, which further shows his desperation to find Omega. The fact that they messed with the Pykes for the Durand intel shows how far Hunter is willing to go.

So off they go to find this lab, but unfortunately, the intel is outdated: the lab was destroyed by orbital bombardment. They meet up with some young clones who escaped the lab and have been living in the jungle on their own. They surmise Hunter and Wrecker are “99s, defective.” Wrecker’s response, “Defective AND effective!” is perfect, and obvious t-shirt material. Anyway, the young clones explain that the Imperials destroyed the facility when they lost control of one of their experiments, which they face soon after–slithervines that have overrun the lab. They bring them to Mox, a slightly older cadet, who is impressed by their loyalty to Omega, but won’t help them because it’s too dangerous. Deet, one of the younger ones, wants to help, however, and he leads them to the lab. There’s a control panel there that might have some intel that could point the way to where they might have gone. They bring Gonky along for power, and get some intel, but are attacked by an even bigger vine-monster. The other two boys decide to help (after thinking about stealing the Marauder and leaving) and get them out. The intel only gives them a sector to search but it’s better than nothing. Hunter tells the young clones they’ll drop them off on Pabu where they can decide who and what they want to be.

“Shadows of Tantiss” goes back to Omega and Crosshair on Tantiss. Turns out that the Emperor is making a visit to the facility to check on Hemlock’s progress with “Project Necromancer.” Hemlock wants Nala Se to be with him, so she can’t dispose of Omega’s blood like before. She warns Omega that she must leave; she tells her to take her datapad and find a shuttle to get off the planet. Omega won’t leave without Crosshair, however; she runs down to his cell and convinces him to distract the guards, which he does. She brings them down to the kennels to escape through Batcher’s empty tunnel to the outside; she plans on finding the shuttle that had crashed in the first episode and using the communications system to contact Hunter and Wrecker. Emerie finds them first, however, and calls for backup before Crosshair stuns her. The flee into the wilderness with lurkhounds and Imperials following. The communications system in the downed ship doesn’t work and Omega begins to despair. But Crosshair tells her they’re not done yet and they execute Order 72, which apparently means split up and surprise the enemy from two sides. Batcher helps out and they commandeer the Imperials’ shuttle.

They’re pursued by fighters and probably wouldn’t have gotten away except for one thing: Omega’s blood count shows that she’s a match for what they’re looking for– a high M (midichlorian)-count with no degradation. This is what they’re looking for in Project Necromancer, which I presume is how the Emperor is trying to achieve immortality–transferring his essence into a Force-sensitive clone of himself, which tracks with what we’ve seen in the Mandalorian and the Sequel Trilogy.

Anyway, Emerie makes the discovery and tells Hemlock to break off pursuit, since they’ll need Omega alive. Omega and Crosshair jump into hyperspace and get away. Hemlock calls it a “minor setback,” as he has all the resources of the Empire behind him.

There’s SO much I loved about these opening episodes, especially the dynamic between Omega and Crosshair. Crosshair’s got a long way to go, but I’m glad to see he’s still got some spark left in him, and that he’s softening toward Omega. Just a little bit.

I’m also gratified to learn about Omega’s high M-count. It doesn’t mean that she’s Force-sensitive, I guess, but maybe she has a strong potential if taught. Certainly more so than Sabine. If Sabine can learn, who presumably has a very low M-count, then Omega has huge potential. I flirted with the idea of Omega being Force-sensitive early on during the first season; I even made a post about it outlining my “evidence.” But then nothing came of it and I gave up on the idea. So I’m loving this interesting turn of events and I’m eager to see where it all leads.

A very satisfying opener for Season 3, and I can’t wait for the next episode!

Oh, and side note: we get a very brief glimpse of the assassin that’s in the trailer, the one similar to the clone assassin in S2 that went after Senator Chuchi. Of course, there’s been a lot of speculation about who this might be: Cody? (I don’t think so). Rampart? (Maybe? But again, I don’t think so). Tech? (Gahh!!!) It could very well be no one special, just another clone, but I have a feeling it’s someone we know, or they wouldn’t have (briefly) called attention to him right now. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see on that, too.

Oh, side note #2: Crosshair’s tremor. This is an interesting development. Not surprising, considering the trauma he’s been through, but it will definitely affect his sharpshooting skills. He’ll have to reconsider his future, what he may want to do or be going forward, like the rest of the Batch has had to do this whole time. A tall order for a man who followed the Empire, in part, because he didn’t know what else he could be besides a soldier. Anyway, no more side notes or I’ll go on forever, lol.

What did you think of these episodes? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Top Five Favorite Episodes of The Bad Batch Season Two

Last week I made a post about my five favorite episodes of Season One of the Bad Batch. Today is all about Season Two. Honestly, I loved all the episodes of S2 and it was hard for me to pick five, so I did cheat a little and listed a few two-parters as one choice. Here they are:

Commander Cody contemplates his choices.

The Solitary Clone. Episode 3 is the first time we see Crosshair this season, and it’s excellent. We find out that the Empire left Crosshair on that platform on Kamino for 32 rotations. Even Rampart wonders why he remains loyal. But he’s been medically cleared for duty (though not for a command position), and he’s been paired up with Commander Cody, the first time we’ve seen that character after Order 66 in canon. They’re sent to Desix, where an Imperially-assigned governor has been taken hostage by that world’s self-proclaimed governor, Tawny Ames. Their assignment is to free the Imperial governor at all costs. The action-sequence as the clones make their way into the compound is awesome; Kevin Kiner’s soundtrack is just fantastic here. Working together, Cody and Crosshair finally make it to the top of the compound (that stairwell scene!), destroy the tactical droid, and confront Tawny Ames. Cody negotiates with her, promising a peaceful resolution and getting her to release Groton. Once free, Groton demands that Cody execute her. Cody hesitates, but then Crosshair shoots her instead. Many think that Crosshair did it to spare Cody from having to do it when he clearly didn’t want to and to save him from an insubordination charge. There’s no clear answer, but I think this rings true. Cody is disillusioned, and watches as more stormtroopers arrive on Desix. Back on Coruscant, it’s clear Cody is doubting he’s on the right side; this is confirmed when Rampart tells Crosshair that Cody has gone AWOL. And so just when Crosshair begins to feel that he’s part of a team again, he’s not. He’s alone. Again. Such an excellent episode, and I truly hope we get to see Cody again in Season 3.

The Clone Conspiracy/Truth and Consequences. Episodes 7&8 are a two-parter I’m counting as one. The Clone Conspiracy doesn’t have the Batch in it at all; it focuses on Senator Riyo Chuchi, who has decided that she is going to fight for clone rights, as it seems no one else will. Her main antagonist is General Rampart, who has no intention of giving the clones anything, particularly when the Emperor, through Mas Amedda, is pressuring him to push a bill through the Senate that would create a new Imperial army. A clone named Slip tells Chuchi that Kamino wasn’t destroyed by a storm; it was destroyed by Rampart. She wants him to testify, but he tells her she doesn’t need him; the information she wants is in the databanks on Rampart’s Venator. Slip is killed, by a strange assassin who kills himself after being captured by Rex.

In Truth and Consequences, Rex asks the Batch for help. They need to get the information about Kamino off Rampart’s Venator. While they infiltrate the ship to retrieve the data, Omega stays with Chuchi while she consults with Bail Organa. He tells her to “follow the money,” and directs her to the former Senator of Kamino, Halli Bertoni. After some persuasion, she’s willing to testify, but Chuchi needs hard evidence. She finally gets it, and the Senate watches in horror as Kamino is shown destroyed. Their plan backfires, however; the Emperor shows up and throws Rampart under the bus. He claims the clones’ willingness to follow orders without question means they need a new military, made up of recruits that fight for the people (the irony is galling). The recruitment bill is passed, and Sidious wins. These two episodes have great political thriller vibes, and I’m here for it.

At the end of the episode, we find out along with Omega that Echo is going to stay with Rex, at least for a while, to help him fight for the clones. This is deeply upsetting to Omega, as we see more fully in the next episode, The Crossing.

The Crossing. Episode 9 sees the Batch on a mission from Cid, to retrieve an explosive mineral called Ipsium from a mine she purchased on a desolate-looking planet. Things go wrong almost immediately. While in the mine, the Marauder is stolen by a young thief, stranding them. Tech and Wrecker begin to bicker, as it was Wrecker’s responsibility to be the lookout. They start walking to a settlement a long way off but are nearly trampled by a stampede of animals. Then a dust storm blows in, and while they find another mine to take cover in, they lose the Ipsium. It explodes and causes a cave in, and they’re trapped. More bickering ensues, which is upsetting to Omega, who is already upset about Echo leaving. She’s worried about losing the Marauder, too, which has become her home. Tech says something hurtful, and she storms off. This is the most irritated we’ve seen the usually unflappable Tech. Hunter tells him to go after her and make things right. When he finds her, she’s drilling for more Ipsium she found, which she hopes they can use to blast their way out. Tech helps, but then she falls off the ledge into an abyss. Tech immediately follows, not knowing what awaits them at the bottom. It happens to be water, and they’re swept through a tunnel system, over a waterfall, and into another cavern. There’s a way out, but they need the Ipsium to blow a way through. While they wait for Hunter and Wrecker, Tech and Omega have a heart-to-heart talk, which is really the highlight of the entire episode.

I won’t repeat that conversation verbatim here, but it really gives some insight into Tech’s character, and brings the two closer together. Basically he says, I react to things differently than others, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care. It’s a very sweet and touching moment, and this episode is one of my favorites.

The Outpost. Episode 12 brings us back to another amazing Crosshair episode. He’s sent on a mission to a wintry planet called Barton IV with the awful Lt. Nolan, to pick up some cargo that is described as vital to the Empire. There they meet clone trooper Mayday and what’s left of his unit. The outpost is in bad shape, as the Empire has ignored Mayday’s many requests for supplies and help. Which he explains to Nolan, who responds with contempt. The outpost is attacked by native insurgents and some cargo is stolen. Nolan orders Crosshair and Mayday to find them and bring back the cargo. They track the insurgents back to their hideout and destroy it. They find out that the cargo Mayday has been guarding for so long is stormtrooper gear, while the clone troopers have to patch up their old gear. “We were good soldiers. We followed orders. And for what?” he asks Crosshair. The explosions cause an avalanche, and they get caught in it. Mayday is injured, and despite Crosshair’s earlier comment about not wanting to carry “dead weight,” he picks up Mayday and half-carries, half-drags him through the freezing cold and snow. When they get back to the outpost, instead of helping them, Nolan sneers and scolds. Crosshair nearly begs him to help Mayday, but Nolan refuses and Mayday dies. “He was expendable. As are you,” he tells Crosshair. As he walks away, you can see the turmoil in Crosshair, the despair, the dawning realization of his colossal mistake. He shoots Nolan dead, and then collapses. He wakes to find himself on Tantiss, in Hemlock’s clutches, though he doesn’t know it yet.

I thought The Solitary Clone was a great Crosshair episode; when I watched this one I thought, Wow. Just wow. Watching the end of this one, with the screaming bird monster circling above, reminded me of how I felt at the end of Clone Wars, as Vader watched Morai circling above a different wintry planet: haunted, bereft, unutterably sad. Damn, these “cartoons” are killing me, lol.

Crosshair is so done with Nolan and the Empire.

The Summit/Plan 99. And we’re not done with the tragedy yet. These last two episodes of the season culminate in the unraveling of everything Hunter has fought for: keeping his squad safe and together. The Batch head for Eriadu, where the mysterious Dr. Hemlock is meeting Tarkin and other Imperial bigwigs. Their goal is to plant a tracker on Hemlock’s ship and follow him back to his base, where ostensibly Crosshair and other clones are being held. But they’re not the only ones infiltrating the summit; Saw Gerrera and his crew are there planting explosives to blow the place up. The explosions cause the railcar they’re on to stop in midair and hang dangerously above an abyss, while Imperials attack them, leaving them literally hanging on a cliffhanger.

Plan 99 picks right up where they left off, as sitting ducks for the Imperials. Tech thinks he can get the railcar moving again, but he needs to get to the terminal, which of course is not nearby. He goes to the top of the car, runs along the line and jumps to the terminal, does what he needs to do, and runs back, all while the Batch try to fend off the attacking Imperials. Blaster bolts cause the car to unhitch from the cable even more, throwing Tech off of it, leaving him hanging. We all know what happens next: Tech knows there’s no time to haul him up and shoots the cable that holds him to the railcar; he plummets into the abyss, to the horror of his friends. The car hitches up to the cable again, they go careening into the station at the other end and are injured. They make it back to the Marauder and Hunter tells them to go to Ord Mantell so AZ can help them.

It’s difficult to watch their grief as Tech’s death sinks in, especially with Omega. But they’re not out of danger–Hemlock shows up at Cid’s, and it’s clear she betrayed them. She probably didn’t have a choice, but it still stings. Hemlock captures Wrecker and Hunter and throws them Tech’s shattered goggles, which twists the knife in our hearts. He wants Omega in order to coerce Nala Se into working on Sidious’ cloning agenda. Omega tries to stop them, but she’s stunned and taken to Hemlock’s ship; meanwhile Echo and AZ help free Hunter and Wrecker from Hemlock’s clutches. Hunter can only watch helplessly as Hemlock’s ship lifts off with Omega on it. There’s no way to know where they’ve gone. Omega is brought to Tantiss and finds an unconscious Crosshair; Emerie reveals that she’s Omega’s “sister.”

And that’s where we are at the end of Season Two. Again, I loved all of this season’s episodes, and would have added Faster and Pabu to the list, but this post has gone on long enough, lol. The three-episode premiere of Season 3 is only days away, and it can’t come fast enough!

What are your favorite episodes of Season Two? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Top Five Favorite Episodes of The Bad Batch Season One

As a Bad Batch fan, I would argue that I love ALL of the episodes, lol. And I do. People like to throw around the word “filler” a lot, but I believe that each and every episode has something to offer as far as characterization or plot. Some are just plain fun, and why not? However, I do have favorites, and I do believe that some are “more important” than others. Here are some of my favorites from Season One:

Aftermath. This is the 76-minute premiere of S1, and it’s still one of my favorites. Out of all episodes of Seasons 1 and 2, I think I rewatch this one the most. I love how it transitions from Clone Wars to something new: it starts with the traditional Clone Wars narration, setting the stage for us. But the Clone War ends at the beginning of this episode, with Order 66 (yes, we have to go through it again). I love how we see a young Caleb Dume, who will grow up to become Kanan Jarrus, an integral part of Rebels. And I love how Hunter lets him go.

The premiere reintroduces us to Clone Force 99, who we met at the beginning of Season 7 of Clone Wars. When I watched that arc, I thought they were a little strange and definitely stereotypical characters. They grew on me, but I didn’t think much of them afterward. But this show about them has to go deeper into their characters and make them more three dimensional, and I think this first episode succeeds in that.

This show sets up the premise of the entire first season: the Batch, because of their defects, are immune to Order 66. Except Crosshair. Not only do they have to figure out where they fit in this new Empire, but they have to deal with a schism in their squad and how it affects them. They’re now deserters, with a former brother going after them.

And they meet Omega, their younger clone sister, which adds another element to the mix. Who is she? Why was she created? How will she fit into their squad, and how will that affect them all?

There’s a lot going on in this first (long) episode, and it’s a great introduction to the series.

Rex leads the Batch through the Bracca shipyards.

Battle Scars. Episode 7 sees the return of Rex, and the Batch getting their inhibitor chips removed. Rex takes them to Bracca (known from the game Jedi: Fallen Order, where Cal Kestis hides after Order 66) to an old Jedi Venator’s medical facility, the same kind of place he had his chip removed with the help of Ahsoka. By this time Wrecker has been suffering from frequent head bangs and headaches and his chip is dangerously close to activating. Which it does before they can get the chip out, and he is positively terrifying as he goes after them, intent on destroying them. Even Omega, who he’s formed a close bond with. They finally get him under control, all their chips are removed, and Hunter discovers Rex is covertly working against the Empire. Rex tells them they would be a great help, but Hunter replies he must do what’s best for his squad. Rex disappears into the mist, and we just know we’re going to see him again for another mission.

Reunion. This is Episode 8 and a kind of Part Two to Battle Scars, as it takes place on the Jedi Venator. The Batch decide to salvage some weapons on the ship for Cid to pay off some of their debt to her, but the Scrapper’s Guild has spotted them and alerts the Empire. It’s Crosshair who shows up, and he’s relentless here, going after them with a malicious zeal. They finally escape, but Hunter has been shot and Omega has been kidnapped by Cad Bane, who’s been hired by the Kaminoans to get her back for her special Jango-DNA.

Return to Kamino. Episode 15. In a previous episode, the Batch does Rex a favor and rescues Gregor from an Imperial facility, but in so doing, Hunter gets captured and is brought back to Kamino. Crosshair uses him as bait to lure the others to Kamino as well; we think it’s just to kill them, but no: Crosshair wants to convince them to join him in the Empire. He reveals that he’s had his inhibitor chip removed “a long time ago,” and is giving them a chance they never game him. “Don’t make me your enemy,” he says to them, to which Hunter replies, “Crosshair, we never were.” So I get the feeling he never wanted to kill them (or at least, no longer wants to kill them since having the chip removed) but wants to get them back on his side. It’s not going to happen, of course, and by this time Rampart is done with these clones and orders the destruction of Kamino.

The Batch watches Kamino smolder in the distance.

Kamino Lost. In Episode 16, the season finale, the Batch and Crosshair must find a way off of Kamino City, which has been totally devastated by Rampart and has sunk to the bottom of the ocean. As they traverse the dangerously unstable structure, trying to find a way out, they bicker and argue with Crosshair, who is still bitter, “severe and unyielding,” as Tech describes him. Omega even saves his life with the help of AZ, and he’s still a jerk, lol. What’s interesting in this episode is that we find out that Omega was created before the rest of them and is technically older than they are. They eventually find a way out, and Crosshair returns the favor and saves Omega and AZ from drowning. But back at the Marauder, they offer him a place with them and he refuses. “I’ve made my decision,” he says, and turns his back on them. Even after being left for dead and abandoned by the Empire, he remains loyal. I feel like this is at least part stubbornness on his part. He’s done such terrible things, I think he has to believe he’s on the right side. Or maybe he doesn’t think he deserves to rejoin them. Or maybe he really does love the Empire. Or all of these things, I don’t know. Crosshair’s character arc is truly the most compelling in the series, and continues in Season 2, which I’ll talk about in the next post.

What’s your favorite episode(s) from Season 1? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

The Bad Batch S3 Trailer is here!

Okay, Bad Batchers, it’s finally here!

I came home from work last night and the internet was abuzz with the long-awaited new trailer for Season 3. The show premieres on Februray 21st with three, count ’em, three episodes. Woo-hoo!

Here’s the trailer if you haven’t seen it yet:

I don’t normally break down trailers, but let’s talk about this, because I’m super-excited.

We see a lot of familiar faces returning here: Phee, Rex, Fennec Shand, Cad Bane, Hemlock, of course, besides the Batch, which seems to be made up of Hunter and Wrecker at this point. I didn’t see Echo at all, but maybe he’s on Coruscant helping Rex and Riyo Chuchi? At one point, and you’ll miss it if you blink, it looks like Crosshair is in a vehicle with Hunter-or at least someone in Crosshair’s armor. So maybe he somehow escaped Tantiss, and now they’re going back for Omega?

We see Omega at one point passing Crosshair on Tantiss (and he looks quite defeated), Omega in a room being scanned somehow as she’s holding a tray or something, and Omega looking fierce as she pilots some kind of ship, perhaps.

We see another one of those weird assassin clones that we saw in Season 2, and I was soooo scared it might be Tech, but then we see the guy without his helmet talking some poo-doo, and he looked just like the reg clone from before. Whew! But then, at least he’d be alive. Or it could just be trailer trickery…at any rate, we’ll have to wait and see how that debate turns out.

It seems that lovely Pabu finally sees the arrival of Imperial troops. But I’m not worried–Shep told Hunter that if they do come, they’ll be ready. I believe the mysterious Arkium holds the key, but again, we’ll see.

The biggest and most shocking surprise is at the end of the trailer, when we see none other than Asaaj Ventress make an appearance! She’s clearly in her Light-side form, as seen in the novel Dark Disciple, with her blonde hair and yellow lightsabers. Readers of the book may well be confused, because in that book-spoiler!-she dies, at least several years before the events of this series. But I trust that the writers know what they’re doing, and I’m pretty excited to see her in the show. All will become clear.

Needless to say, I can’t wait for February 21st. We even have a list of episodes and their air-dates:

What do you think of the trailer? What are your hopes for Season 3? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Tech-nical Difficulties

Bad Batch Spoilers!!!

[Deep Sigh]

So, I’ve been in mourning this past week, along with a very large segment of the fandom, over Tech’s death in the season finale of The Bad Batch. I’ve been obsessively reading and replying and commiserating with other fans on several social media fan groups, and the consensus is we’re all devastated .

Oh Star Wars, why do you insist on breaking our hearts?

I haven’t been this heartbroken since Kanan’s death in Rebels. But even then, we had clues. Clearly something very bad was going to happen to him (and I was a bit late to the party, so I already knew he was doomed, but still, it hurt). I didn’t see Tech’s death coming until he was hanging off that rail car and announced Plan 99. But, looking back over Season 2, I suppose there were clues. These episodes were quite Tech-heavy, with him strengthening his relationship with Omega, saving the day with the Riot Race, and the little kind-of romance with Phee. I didn’t know why we were getting so much Tech, but boy, was I pleased. Now? Not so pleased. They were making us love him even more, so when he died, the emotional impact would be epic.

I misquoted him in a previous post, but I think I got the gist.

But it’s a double-anguish, because–IF, in Star Wars fashion, he might still be alive, the only outcome I can see is Tech being taken by Hemlock and turned into something really awful. And that would break my heart even more. (I was going to be upset if Crosshair suffered that fate). So, given the choice of him being dead or being turned into a monster, I’d choose him dying as a hero. And he IS a hero, even if he does come back in whatever form. When he was hanging from that railcar, he knew the only way to save his family was to cut the line. That decision will not be erased by some “miracle” of him coming back. It wouldn’t be “for nothing,” as some fans suggested. In my opinion, he’s forever a hero.

That’s it. That’s the post. I loved Tech, and now he’s gone (forever? Only Season 3 will tell).

You will be missed, my awkward but still badass friend.

Mando Excitement and Bad Batch Thoughts

Hello friends!

With the release of the latest Mandalorian Season 3 trailer and the upcoming release date of March 1st, I decided to do a Mando rewatch of Seasons 1&2, as well as the two episodes in The Book of Boba Fett (and perhaps all of BoBF). Since it seemed so far away for so long, I hadn’t really thought about the show for the last year or so, but I’m definitely getting back into that Mando vibe. The spaghetti western beats, the music, and of course, Baby! I forgot how much I love it. Here’s the trailer for S3, in the off chance you haven’t seen it yet:

As expected, it looks like we’re going to get more focused on Mandalore, what it means to be a Mandalorian in this post-Empire period, what role Din Djarin will play, and of course, Grogu’s growing Force powers. I won’t unpack everything in this trailer, but suffice it to say, I’m psyched!

And of course I’ve been watching Season 2 of The Bad Batch. I really missed these guys, too. Here are some thoughts on the first four episodes:

Eps 1&2 “The Spoils of War” and “The Ruins of War”: The two-part opener has our crew going on a mission for Cid, but also for themselves–if they can snatch some of Count Dooku’s “War Chest” that the Empire is confiscating, then they can retire to an easier, safer life, which is something Hunter in particular would like for Omega. Echo thinks they should be doing more against the Empire, and makes his thoughts known to Hunter; unfortunately, Omega overhears and misunderstands him, thinking she’s put a wrench into their style of life. This makes her particularly keen on succeeding in the mission.

While not spectacular as a season opener, it’s still entertaining, and I really like how it focuses on character development. Echo and Tech, in particular, get more screen time; Echo has a few touching moments with Omega, and Tech has a learning moment with Romar. Tech also comports himself admirably in combat with the clone regs, despite a broken leg. Wrecker, not normally the innovative one, throws together a new weapon out of Separatist wreckage, and Hunter has to do a bit of tech work that, well, Tech usually does. Romar also reminds Omega just to be a kid.

The clone reg in charge of defending the War Chest mission for the Empire, Wilco, makes his report to Rampart, telling him that it’s Clone Force 99 that tried to steal the treasure. Thinking they had died on Kamino, and in fear of consequences for his failure, he tells Wilco to change the report and lie. Wilco refuses, and Rampart kills him. Truly, the clones are too good for the Empire. Despite the inhibitor chip (the influence of which seems to be waning), some clones are still operating under the principles of the Republic, as Cody will demonstrate in Episode 3.

Cody and Crosshair at the Battle Memorial on Coruscant. I’m assuming these are names of fallen clones.

Episode 3 “The Solitary Clone”: This exceptional episode catches us up with Crosshair, and reintroduces Captain Cody. Crosshair was finally rescued from Kamino after, I don’t know, 32 rotations or something, after being left for dead. And yet he still remains loyal to the Empire, something that even Rampart questions. “I’m a soldier of the Empire,” he responds. I’m starting to think that Crosshair stays with the Empire, despite removing the chip, because he doesn’t know how to do anything else except be a soldier. The rest of the Batch aren’t soldiers anymore, not really, and their future is vague. Perhaps he doesn’t know who he is outside of his assassin skills. The rest of the Batch are willing to find out who they are beyond soldiers, but Crosshair is stubbornly refusing, perhaps out of fear. Anyway, that’s my take on it.

So Rampart has a mission for him, although he’s not in charge–Cody is. Fans have been wondering what has happened to Cody after Order 66 (at least in canon), and I’m happy to see that he’s questioning the Empire and himself. (In Legends, he remains loyal to the Empire, which makes me sad, lol). So he and Crosshair are assigned to go to Desix to rescue an Imperial Governor named Grotton after he’s taken prisoner by the world’s rightful governor, Tawni Ames. The planet was a Separatist world during the Clone Wars, and feels the Empire has no jurisdiction there. The Empire, of course, feels differently.

We get a really amazing sequence of events as Cody’s team makes their assault and battles B-1 battle droids and droidekas, and it feels like old times with clones against battle droids again. But this time they’re fighting for the Empire, and the rules have changed. Cody and Crosshair are impressive as they work together to gain access to Grotton, but Cody negotiates with Tawni Ames (definitely Kenobi’s man) and convinces her to release him. He seems not to understand that the Empire does not negotiate, that the principles of the Republic do not apply here, and Grotton commands him to shoot her. Cody hesitates, but Crosshair doesn’t and kills her. Cody watches helplessly as stormtroopers arrive on Desix, and realizes this is not a galaxy he recognizes.

Back on Coruscant, Cody asks Crosshair if they’re making the galaxy a better place. Again, Crosshair replies with “We’re soldiers, we do what needs to be done.” Cody remarks that what makes them different from battle droids is that they make their own decisions, and have to live with them. Later, Rampart tells Crosshair that Cody has gone AWOL, and I’m so happy about that! I’m hoping he comes across Rex and we see him again, fighting against the Empire. But now Crosshair is, once again, all alone. The regs don’t like him, and now even Cody is gone. And despite his loyalty, the Empire doesn’t trust or respect him. What’s it gonna take, Crosshair??? Lol. I’m really looking forward to his arc this season.

Episode 4 “Faster”: Some fans might call this one “filler,” and maybe they’re right in a way. I don’t care for the word, though; I prefer “breather.” It is a bit jarring after the super-heavy episode 3, but it’s nice once in a while just to have a bit of fun. And this one focuses on Tech, who is my favorite at the moment.

This one has Tech, Wrecker and Omega (Hunter and Echo are off on a transport mission) accompanying Cid to Safa Toma, which hosts a form of podracing called “Riot Racing.” Cid has a droid racer named Tay-0 who’s quite annoying and funny, and who loses the race to a racer owned by a Dowutin named Millegi. Cid and Millegi, who seem to have a shady past together, made a bet on the race, and now Cid owes him credits she doesn’t have. Omega, who seems fond of Cid but probably shouldn’t be, proposes another race. But Tay-0 gets busted up and Tech decides he’ll step in and be the racer.

Tech employs his own strategy to win the race: instead of focusing on hurting or disabling the other racers, he gets rid of his own weapons in order to go faster; he also takes a risk on a shortcut, using his pilot skills to win the day. Using thoughtfulness over aggression is very Star Warsy, and I think George Lucas himself, who had a need for speed, would appreciate this episode.

I think this episode also sets up some trouble ahead with Cid. When they’re leaving, they’re warned by Millegi that their loyalty to Cid will not be rewarded in kind. Perhaps a Cid betrayal will spur the Batch on to bigger and better things. I can’t wait to find out!

Symbols in Star Wars Rebels

I’ve been rewatching Star Wars Rebels, and although this is my third rewatch, I’ve never looked into the various symbols I’ve noticed in the show until now. So here’s a few of them and their possible meanings:

Starbird or phoenix on Ezra’s jacket: Ezra has a very obvious symbol on the back of his orange and yellow jacket. With a little snooping around on Google, I found that it’s been compared to the Skywalker Sound symbol, below. Kind of like a little easter egg to those in the know.

By the way, the Skywalker Sound symbol can be found in Attack of the Clones, on Coruscant during the speeder chase.

Ezra’s jacket symbol could also be a precursor to Sabine’s phoenix symbol, below.

Sabine’s phoenix symbol: Perhaps Sabine was inspired by Ezra’s jacket, or she came up with this herself, but it’s the symbol that came to represent the Ghost crew Rebels, as well as Phoenix Squadron later.

The Rebel Alliance later adapted the phoenix symbol into their own, below:

Kanan’s armor: It’s been suggested that the symbol on Kanan’s shoulder armor is reminiscent of the symbol for the Jedi Order, below. It makes sense that Kanan would want to honor his former Order, without calling attention to himself as a Jedi.

Kanan’s symbol is also found on the forehead of the lothwolf, which I never noticed before I looked it up. Kanan has a deep Force-level connection to this animal, who calls himself Dume (which is Kanan’s real name: Caleb Dume). The name Dume, while spelled differently, is an obvious foreshadowing of Kanan’s fate, although I don’t care for the connotation. Kanan selflessly sacrificed himself for those he loved; that’s far from being doomed, in my opinion.

Kanan’s mask: I often wondered about the symbols on Kanan’s mask after he was blinded. Clearly they look like some sort of eyes, and I thought maybe they were meant to represent wolf eyes, since he’s connected to the lothwolf.

After some Google research, I was surprised to learn that some clones, including Rex, were bestowed with the symbols on their helmets after distinguishing themselves on the battlefield. They’re called “Jaig Eyes,” which I never knew. I love it when I learn something new about Star Wars!

Those are the most obvious symbols that I’d wondered about. I already knew Fulcrum’s symbol, the Empire symbol, etc. I thought it was pretty cool to learn about these (finally!)

Did you know what these symbols meant, or is it new to you? Any I missed? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My thoughts on Star Wars: Visions

When I heard about Star Wars Visions way back when all the new shows coming up were announced, it was pretty much last on my list concerning my interest level. I’m not an anime fan and don’t know much about it. But even with it at the bottom of my list, I knew I’d at least check it out when it released, out of curiosity if anything.

I’m pleasantly surprised to report that I enjoyed it, for the most part. It’s visually beautiful and looks at Star Wars from a different perspective, one that I found intriguing, for the most part. As I suspected, there were shorts that I really liked, even loved, while others were a little too “out there” for me, lol. Here’s a list of my personal ranking from best to worst, with some brief thoughts on each:

The Elder. I have to admit, I think this is my favorite because of the familiar Star Wars elements, mainly the Jedi Master/Padawan relationship. It looks like it could be right out of the Republic era. Master Taijin reminds me of Qui Gon Jinn (and I think maybe that was intentional), and so of course I loved him. I love that Taijin was voiced by David Harbour, from Stranger Things and Black Widow.
The Duel. I loved the look of this one, and the story was pretty intriguing, too (that’s why I ordered the novel based on it, called Ronin). I want to know this man’s story, and to learn about the alternate Jedi and Sith history.
The Ninth Jedi. I think everyone universally loved this one, and I thought it was great, too. I love the idea of lightsabers changing colors based on who wields it. And it’s ripe for continuation in either more shorts or books or whatever they want to do with it.
The Village Bride. I thought this one was lovely. I recognized the groom’s voice as Christopher Sean, who voiced Kazuda in Star Wars Resistance, which immediately endeared me.
Lop and Ocho. Despite the bunny (not a fan of the cutesy stuff), this one was pretty good. I liked the strained family dynamics, the very cool lightsaber, the adopted kid becoming the father’s heir.
Akakiri. This one committed the ultimate sin of being kind of boring, lol. The main character reminded me of Diego Luna, who plays Cassian Andor, which I thought was interesting even though there’s absolutely no connection, lol.
T0-B1. An obvious Pinocchio allusion, this one was a bit too cutesy for me. I’m intrigued by a droid training as a Jedi, though.
The Twins. Although this one looked cool and the story sounded promising, it was just too much for me. Fighting in the vacuum of space? Riding on top of a ship during hyperspace? The female sibling screaming dramatically and incoherently? No thanks.
Tatooine Rhapsody. Maybe I’m being too harsh on this one, I know some people loved it, but it just didn’t work for me. The singing didn’t interest me, but I could have tolerated it if the Padawan singer actually did some Jedi stuff with his lightsaber microphone. But he didn’t. He just sang. That’s fine, but not enough for me, lol.

All in all, I enjoyed watching these shorts and I’m glad Star Wars was explored through this perspective. Despite looking a little different, they focused on what Star Wars, to me, is all about: Jedi and Sith, The Force, lightsabers (I especially loved the variations on lightsabers–even the microphone one, lol), family, good against evil, dreams and longing, wonder and hope. I’m even up for a Season Two, if it happens.

Let me know what you thought about Star Wars Visions, and we’ll talk about it!