My Star Wars Entertainment Update for October 2025

Hello friends! Lots of things to cover this past month, so let’s get started.

If you missed the past two reviews of my Legends Reading Challenge, here are the links: Deceived, and Red Harvest.

The Final Order, by Kwame Mbalia. I’ve been really looking forward to this book, as I’ve been extremely eager for some post-sequel trilogy stories. In fact, we sequel fans have been starved for stories, and we kept waiting and waiting and waiting…

Well, this book ain’t that.

Not exactly, anyway. It begins mere days after the Battle of Exegol with a young man named Coy, who’d been part of the Citizen’s Fleet. His family grows tea on his home planet, and he was pretty damn well terrified at the battle. But he made it and is proud he took part. He was ready to go home…until a ship arrived full of refugee kids from the First Order, and Finn and Jannah need a ride to find a vicious FO officer named Major Grohl. So Coy finds himself on another adventure.

But the bulk of the book is alternating chapters between Finn and Jannah, flashbacks to their time as stormtroopers. Like, 95% of the book. Which was disappointing. Sure, we get to see Jannah and her troops refuse to fire on civilians on Ansette Island–at the very end of the book. And the whole story of how they got to that point. As well as Finn’s entanglements with Major Grohl. But did I really need these stories? No, not really. Nope.

That’s not to say it’s a bad book. The author did a fine job with what he was given and allowed to write about. But it wasn’t what I expected or wanted, and I’m being grumpy about it, lol. I feel like Lucasfilm/Disney is holding back on sequel-era stories, while The Rise of Skywalker came out six freaking years ago! We’ve gotten plenty of “leading up to” stories, and “between this movie and that movie” stories, but nothing after. It’s frustrating. And yes, the Rey movie, blah blah blah, but who knows if that will even come out? (I hope so). And yes, Starfighter takes place after the sequels, and I’m eager to see what might be going on. But damn, give us some books or comics with Rey, Finn, Poe, etc. after TROS. Please???

Anyway, rant over. The book was fine, and if you want to know more about Finn and Jannah’s experiences as stormtroopers, this is your book; if you’re looking for new, uncharted material, you’ll have to wait.

Comics:

Han Solo: Hunt for the Falcon #2. Han and Chewie continue their search for the Falcon, this time running into the Irving Boys. The only thing I find particularly interesting about these comics are the personal moments, the character-driven moments, Han’s memories of his family, etc. At the beginning of this one, Leia is speaking to Chewie via hologram and warns him not to let Han drag him into one of his schemes. To go back to his family. Also, Han has a memory of himself and Leia with little Ben on the Falcon, and Ben is so excited to be at the controls with his old man. Damn. I imagine the next two issues will involve Unkar Plutt, the Guavian Death Gang and/or Kanjiklub. Stay tuned.

Legacy of Vader #9. Tava Ren fights Kylo Ren, then they have dinner, a little conversation, she kisses him, he recoils and attacks her, she escapes his ship, and though he could shoot her ship down, he lets her go. In a nutshell, lol. Tava fights Kylo, teases him, provokes him, infuriates him. I’m still not sure why she even went there, to be honest. To serve him was a lie, and she admits that. She tells him he misses the freedom of the Knights of Ren, that with the First Order he’s in a cage. She definitely strikes a nerve, but I’m not sure if we’ll see her again or what her end game is. Stay tuned.

Visions 1 & 2 rewatch. With Season 3 of Visions dropping on October 29th, I thought I’d rewatch Seasons 1 & 2. There’s only a few episodes that don’t really resonate with me, but for the most part I love this series. My favorites are “The Duel,” “The Ninth Jedi,” and “The Elder,” from Season 1; almost all the episodes from Season 2 are fantastic but I particularly love “Sith,” “The Bandits of Golak,” and “The Pit.” I can’t wait to see what we get in Season 3–there are sequel episodes to “The Ninth Jedi” (and a series in the works, I hear), and “The Bride.” I love it all so much!

(I’ve since watched S3 and will discuss it a bit more in my next Update).

Book news:

Ooh, new book news! I love that we’re getting some more sequel novels; along with The Last Order (see above), we’re getting this one with Leia and Rey between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Can’t wait! Here’s the blurb:

STAR WARS: LEGACY

By Madeleine Roux

On Sale Date: July 28, 2026

Set between Episodes VIII and IX, Rey and Leia embark on a quest to repair Rey’s lightsaber and rekindle the legacy of the Jedi.

After barely escaping the First Order on Crait, Rey and the Resistance are struggling to rebuild. Her friends need the last Jedi more than ever, but Rey feels alone and overwhelmed. Jedi tradition is built on masters and apprentices, and Rey’s teacher is gone. Leia Organa tries her best to train Rey in the ways of the Force as Luke did for her so many years ago, but Leia’s knowledge is limited, Rey’s lightsaber is broken, and the specter of Kylo Ren and regrets from the past haunt them both. How can Leia pass the torch when she herself is unsure of the way?
But then, the ancient Jedi texts offer a glimmer of hope: a long-forgotten Jedi temple on Tython that might hold the key to repairing Rey’s saber. Rey leaps at the chance to journey there — and to her surprise, so does Leia.
Rey and Leia’s nascent mentorship is put to the test when they discover the temple on Tython is filled with obscure clues to decipher and arcane trials to complete. As they work to unravel the temple’s mysteries, they encounter a group of refugees living in its shadow, hiding from a First Order officer hot on the trail of two freedom fighters in their midst. With the threat of the First Order looming and the secrets of the temple yet to be unlocked, the newly forged master and apprentice must confront their pasts, reach each other in the present, and decide what it means to carry the legacy of the Jedi into the future.

Again, an “in-between” story, but I’ll take it, because I still would like some more insight into Rey and Leia’s relationship.

Eyes Like Stars, by Ashley Poston. There’s always been romance in Star Wars, with some books focusing on it more than others, but this one is being touted as the first “romance novel” in Star Wars. It’s a young adult novel, which makes sense, and I’ll probably read it out of curiosity. It’s also during the sequel era, which is a plus. I’m kind of hoping it leads to more romance novels featuring more familiar characters (Obi-Wan and Satine, anyone? We’re waiting, Disney/Lucasfilm!), but we’ll see. Here’s a little blurb:

What’s been entertaining you lately? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Can we talk about this Ben Solo thing?

Hello friends 🙂

I don’t usually do “Star Wars News” posts, at least not in a separate post, but I have a few thoughts about this latest news. If you haven’t already heard, Adam Driver recently stated in an interview that he and director Steven Soderbergh had developed a script about Ben Solo that takes place after The Rise of Skywalker called “The Hunt for Ben Solo.”

Whaaaa????

As a sequel trilogy fan, a Kylo/Ben fan, and an Adam Driver fan, this is hugely exciting. The two brought the script to Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm and got a green light there. But when they brought it to Bob Iger (head of Disney) he said no. His reason? He can’t see how Ben Solo is still alive after TROS. End of story.

Excuse me? Disney Star Wars, where somehow…Palpatine returned? Not to mention Maul, Asajj Ventress, and Boba Fett all made miraculous returns after death? Adam freaking Driver, perhaps one of the best actors of his generation, and who brought his considerable acting chops to Star Wars, wants to do a movie, which was greenlit by Kathy Kennedy and Lucasfilm, and you’re just like, “Nah” ????

I know that the sequel trilogy wasn’t perfect. It was, in fact, Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren who carried a lot if it with his performance. And one of the things that hugely disappointed me was Ben Solo’s death. Yes, I get it, he’d been a monster as Kylo and even though he turned back to the light, how would the galaxy ever forgive him, blah blah blah. Easier to just kill him off, like most redemption stories in Star Wars. Crosshair in The Bad Batch was a great exception to this rule, as he has to live with his sins and try to atone for them somehow. We need to see more of this.

But Ben’s death left a huge hole in my heart. We only got a short, tantalizing glimpse of Ben Solo, a few amazing scenes in which he says nothing at all (and yes, actions speak louder than words, but his last word was “Ow.” Come on, man!) I NEED more Ben Solo in my life, please, yes, please. And I was content to maybe get some books or comics about him; lately all we’ve been getting are comics about Kylo Ren. I’m not complaining, exactly, I just want more Ben. But to have Adam Driver actually want to reprise the role in some way and bring him back to the big screen–dreams do come true! I was under the impression the guy was done with Star Wars and Kylo, but no, it looks like Driver had some unfinished business with Ben himself. And that’s just amazing to me!

But Bob “I’m an idiot” Iger said no. Now, there is a question as to how Ben would come back. As we don’t have access to the actual script, we can’t really know what Driver had in mind. But based on all the other characters who have been raised from the dead, in a sci-fi fantasy story, no less, there are endless possibilities.

At the end of TROS, Ben disappeared into the Force. Maybe he’s in the World Between Worlds and needs to learn some lessons there? Maybe it’s about young Ben Solo and his childhood and Driver isn’t in it at all, he just has the idea for the character and wants to executive produce? I don’t know. But I’m sure there’s an answer there.

He’s a complicated man. Sorry, he WAS a complicated man.

Anyway, I’m very disappointed and a bit flummoxed as to why it was shot down. It seems to be a huge missed opportunity. I’m sure there are other fans out there who feel “He died, end of story. He sacrificed himself for Rey, and if he comes back that would cheapen it, blah blah blah.” I get it. As someone who is a big Bad Batch fan and has been embroiled in the whole #TechLives thing on social media, I get it. The point is valid. The thing is, I don’t care, lol. If I can’t have Tech back, give me Ben Solo. I’d forfeit Maul, Ventress, and Boba Fett, all of them, in an instant to get either one back. Anyway, that’s my rant on the whole Ben Solo thing.

What do you think? Should Iger have agreed to this? Or did he do the right thing? Let me know how you feel about #thehuntforbensolo in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Star Wars Chat Pack: What if Ben Solo never turned to the dark side?

Welcome to Day 25 of my NaBloPoMo Challenge, where I randomly pick a card from the Star Wars Chat Pack.

Today’s question is: What if Ben Solo never turned to the dark side? Would he still have a connection to Rey? Would the destiny of the galaxy-at-large be affected differently?

Ooh, this is a good one, and another Sequel question! But hard, because I’ve never been good with What If scenarios. Everything in the stories seem so pre-ordained, it’s hard for me to imagine if something was different. I see them a lot on Youtube and such: What if Anakin never turned to the dark side? What if Luke was brought up on Alderaan and Leia went to Tatooine? What if Padme didn’t die? What if, what if, what if….well, I dunno, lol. We’d have a completely different story, that’s for sure.

But this one intrigues me. I’m not sure why; maybe because I find Kylo Ren so fascinating; maybe because we never got to know Ben Solo; maybe because the concept of the dyad is so interesting to me. Whatever the reason, I’ll give it a go.

So first of all, if Ben never turned–if, for whatever reason, Palps never whispered poison into his ear–then I think perhaps his parents would have stayed together. It’s the pain of losing Ben that caused them to separate. I think Leia still would have become involved in the Resistance. She did that before Ben burned down Luke’s school and went in search of Snoke. Not much before that, but she did.

I think the Resistance would still be needed because the First Order would still rise. I’m getting a lot of this from the book Bloodline, by Claudia Gray, and it outlines how the First Order rose from the ashes of the Empire. So Leia would be a General still. What about Han? In the book Bloodline, he was involved in racing. Maybe he would have stayed with racing, or maybe he would have helped his wife in the Resistance, but I don’t think he would have gone back to smuggling. That was a knee-jerk reaction to losing his family.

So, Ben–he would have gone to Luke’s school. He never would have burned it down. He never would have caused Luke to question his loyalties. The school would have gone on, producing more Jedi to help in the fight against the First Order. Luke certainly wouldn’t have exiled himself to Ach-To. He wouldn’t be all “I failed my nephew and the Jedi Order sucks and needs to die,” etc.

So if Luke is not on Ach-To, then Poe would never have to go looking for a map to him, would never have gone to Jakku, would never have met a psycho named Kylo Ren and become his prisoner; Finn would never have been on Jakku, although he still might have had a change of heart somewhere else with some other atrocity.

So, no map in BB-8 going down to Jakku, no Finn or Poe crashing there. The Millenium Falcon would not be on Jakku, and Rey certainly would never have met Han. Rey would have just gone on with her awful life there, scavenging and waiting for a family that would never show. Or would she?

The other part of this question is, would Ben and Rey still have the dyad connection? I think so. Snoke claims he caused the connection between them, but I don’t think I believe him. Also, Palpatine was surprised by the dyad connection in TROS, but speaks of it as if it’s a thing. “Not seen for generations,” he says.

So they would still have the dyad connection, and because Ben never turned to the dark side, it would be truly what it was meant to be, a profound connection in the Force that makes them one. They get a glimpse of this at the end of TROS, when Ben goes to Exegol to help Rey. The whole lightsaber hand-off is rather mind-blowing, and probably just hints at what they might be capable of.

I think they would have found each other somehow. The connection is too strong and profound for them not to. Perhaps Ben senses it and goes in search of her. Can you imagine what they could do against the First Order, with other Jedi beside them?

But of course, that’s too easy. Our heroes need obstacles, things have to go terribly wrong, tragedy must strike, the odds must ever be against them–at least for a good story. It makes the triumph at the end that much sweeter. Maybe Ben would still die at the end, sacrificing himself to save Rey or something, I don’t know. But I believe they would definitely defeat Palpatine, just as they did in TROS.

Although it pains me that Han and Leia’s love child was manipulated and twisted to the dark side, it does bring more drama to the table (and borrows from Legends, as well, as one of their sons–Jacen–fell to the dark side). And Kylo/Ben’s redemption arc was satisfying.

What do you think about all this? How do you think it would have played out if Ben Solo never turned? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Star Wars Chat Pack: What is your favorite Rey moment?

Welcome to Day 21 of my NaBloPoMo Challenge, where I randomly choose a card from the Star Wars Chat Pack.

Today’s question is: What is your favorite Rey moment?

Yay! Finally, a Sequel question! But it’s kind of hard, because there are a lot of Rey moments I love. Here’s a few I can think of:

Claiming the Skywalker Lightsaber:

At the end of The Force Awakens, Rey faces Kylo Ren and must defend an injured Finn. Finn had battled Kylo with the Skywalker lightsaber, but lost it during the fight. As Kylo reaches for it, he’s surprised when it flies right past him into Rey’s waiting hand. This is Rey’s first steps in accepting her destiny and leaving the past behind. The Force theme swelling during this scene makes it truly a special moment.

I call this one The Pasaana Flip:

In The Rise of Skywalker, Rey and friends are on Pasaana, searching for clues as to where they could find Exegol and the Final Order. Kylo finds out she’s there, and duly goes after her. She senses him coming, and waits for him to arrive in his TIE fighter. This whole sequence is awesome, as she runs in front of the TIE and then flips backwards over the wing, cutting it with her lightsaber. She lands neatly as the TIE goes rolling across the desert like a giant smoking ball. Just for the sheer Force-supported acrobatics alone, this scene is super cool.

Defeating Palpatine

On Exegol, Rey faces Palpatine after nearly being drained of her life-force. Ben has been flung down a crevasse, and she must face him alone. But not completely alone–the Force ghost voices of Jedi past are finally with her, encouraging her to get up and fight and finish the job. So she does, pushing Palpatine’s Force lightning back onto himself and dissolving him once and for all. This is a great scene and brings the Skywalker saga to an end, but there’s another, quieter scene that I like most of all:

Healing Kylo

“I did want to take your hand. Ben’s hand.”

On Kef Bir, after piercing Kylo with his own lightsaber, Rey decides to heal him instead of letting him die. This is a great act of compassion, as Kylo had just been about to strike her down before his mother’s voice distracted him. He’d been ready to kill her. When he drops his lightsaber, she catches it and thrusts it viciously through his torso. It’s an act of instinctual fury. As he sits there dying, both of them knowing that Leia had just died, she takes pity and decides to heal him, as she’d healed the giant snake earlier (the symbolism of that scene, while a little obvious, gets me every time, lol. Kylo’s just a wounded animal, lashing out.) It’s Leia’s reaching out and Rey’s compassion here that cause Kylo to re-evaluate his life decisions and bring Ben Solo back. That’s why I love this scene so much.

I realize I have no Rey scenes from The Last Jedi here, which kind of pains me, since I adore that movie. And there are great Rey scenes in that film, but they just didn’t make the cut for this little list. I think that movie is a good pick for the best Kylo Ren scenes.

Now I really want to re-watch the Sequel trilogy! Perhaps after this Challenge, I’ll settle down with some popcorn and sink into it. I’m actually thinking of a Star Wars marathon sometime soon, watching in chronological order. But one challenge at a time…

Anyway, what’s your favorite Rey scene? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

What I’d like to see in a Star Wars sequel to the Sequels

I’ve been reading Shadow of the Sith by Adam Christopher, and it’s about Luke and Lando trying to help Rey and her parents escape Ochi of Bestoon. It’s put me in a sequel sort of mood, and I’ve been thinking about what I’d like to see in a sequel to the Sequels. It could be a movie, a TV show, a book, I don’t care; I just want to know what happens with Rey, Finn, Poe, etc. after The Rise of Skywalker! Here are some of the things I’d like to see or questions to be answered:

Rey training Finn/A new Jedi Order. In The Rise of Skywalker we learned that Finn is Force-sensitive. It only makes sense that Rey trains him, even though she didn’t have too much training herself. They’re going to have to figure it out themselves. I’m curious to see how strong Finn is in the Force–Jedi-level, or just Force-sensitive? At any rate, I’d love to see Rey seek out Force-sensitives and continue the Jedi tradition.

How will the galaxy be governed? What happens after the defeat of the First/Final Order? Who will lead? Or will the galaxy’s planets and peoples rule themselves? It’s clear both Republic and Empire models have failed, so something new may be required.

I want a Poe romance. The question is, with who? Zorii has made it clear she’s not interested anymore. There are fans who ship him with Finn, and I’m not against it, but honestly I’d like to see him with Rey. In the original Colin Treverow script for the third movie in the sequel trilogy, Poe and Rey begin a romance, and I kind of like the idea. But I don’t know, Rey seems like a loner in that regard. I think it’s best if maybe the three just remain good friends. Maybe it could be someone completely new. Just give that man a love interest!

Please, for the love of God, give me some more Ben Solo! Clearly, he would have to be a Force ghost, and I’d love it if Ben appeared to Rey, either to help her with her Jedi Order training, to give advice, to keep her company, I don’t care. The dyad is a rare, powerful bond, and I can’t imagine even death would break it. Right?? I have doubts Adam Driver would be interested in reprising the role, so it would need to be in a book (please, no comics–I need a novel, lol).

Naturally, there needs to be a new antagonist. I’m not sure what form that antagonist should take. The Sith are done, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any dark Force users out there. Or it could just be a new bully trying to run things. I’m just curious as to what the writers would come up with.

So yes, yes, I know the powers-that-be said the Skywalker saga is done. And Rey has named herself a Skywalker, but I don’t care. I want more. I love all the new stuff Star Wars is putting out, but I still need something familiar, too. And I don’t care, to hell with the haters, I love these characters, and I need to know what happens to them. I would be very happy with a book or a series of books. A trilogy of books! Maybe someday. A girl can dream.

Poe Dameron Fan Art

With Moon Knight premiering on Disney Plus today, I thought I’d showcase Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron in some fan art. I found some really cool pieces, so enjoy!

Jake Bartok is always a favorite with me, and here he has Poe as part of his Medieval series. I love how he made BB-8 an orange and white cat!

The Ace pilot. Yeah, he’s a handsome devil, lol.

Noooooo!

First Order Poe by Brilcrist on DevientArt.com

This is more like it. Poe with his buddy BB-8.

Classic Poe with his X-Wing. I love the style here.

These are the ones that stood out to me. What do you think of these images? Are you looking forward to Moon Knight? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy weekend, my friends!

Just a few things this week. I’ve finished the YA book Before the Awakening, by Greck Rucka, and it was actually a lot better than I was expecting, to be honest. It consists of three short stories, each one focusing on the three sequel trilogy leads: Finn, Rey, and Poe. The stories take place just before the events of The Force Awakens, and we get a little glimpse of what these characters were doing just before the film.

Nothing revelatory here: Finn is training as a stromtrooper with the First Order and is beginning to have some doubts; Rey is on Jakku and finds a crashed ship she decides to fix up and sell to Unkar Plutt for rations; and Poe goes on an exciting piloting adventure in his first foray in the Resistance. They’re fun little stories that gives us a little more insight into these characters and where they’re at emotionally at the beginning of TFA. I enjoyed it.

As I await the next new Star Wars book (Queen’s Hope, on April 5th), I was casting around for an adult Star Wars novel to read to get me by until then. As I was scrolling through some canon books I haven’t read yet, I realized I just wasn’t interested in them (at least at the moment). I enjoy a good Legends book now and then, and thought it might be time for one of those.

One in particular (or rather, one trilogy) that I’ve been avoiding in Legends is the original Thrawn trilogy, and the first set of books that came out after Return of the Jedi. Not because I don’t like Thrawn; on the contrary, I think he’s a great character. I’ve tried to read the new canon Thrawn books (well, at least the first one, simply called Thrawn) but I couldn’t seem to get into it. I think it’s because in these books, Thrawn is the protagonist. But I like my Thrawn as the antagonist–the bad guy.

So I decided to read Heir to the Empire. I’d been avoiding it because, unlike some of the prequel Legends books I’ve read, this one diverges radically from what is now considered canon. Taking place five years after the Battle of Endor, Han and Leia are married, and are expecting twins, a girl and a boy. Luke is involved in the New Republic trying to establish itself on Coruscant. It’s a whole new set of events, and I wanted to get a handle on the canon first before I dived into this. I consider Legends an “alternate universe” version of Star Wars, kind of like the Marvel What If? idea.

Strangely enough, I did read this book when it first came out in 1991. I was starving for more Star Wars, and wanted to know what happened after Endor. Funny thing is, I couldn’t remember a thing about it (it was over thirty years ago, I guess, lol), except that it had Thrawn in it, and Leia and Han had twins. And Mara Jade, who I remember not liking very much at the time. I might have read the second book in the trilogy, but I really can’t remember. It all just seemed so weird to me, lol. But I figured this time, with the perspective of time and all the Star Wars I’ve ingested over the years, it could be interesting.

Anyway, I’ve read about a quarter of the book so far, and the verdict is…I’m loving it!

It’s quite entertaining, and fun, and well-written by Timothy Zahn. Thrawn is great as the bad guy, although a very interesting one, and it’s much faster-paced than the new canon book Thrawn (I couldn’t finish that one). I love that we get Luke, Han and Leia front and center going on adventures together. I find the idea of the twins fascinating (and the sequel trilogy characters Rey and Kylo/Ben were modeled after them, I believe). There’s just a lot to love here, and I can’t wait to read the rest of it! Then onto Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command.

I’ve also been reading the High Republic comics: the Marvel series and the High Republic Adventures. I wanted to get more of the High Republic story that I’d been missing from the novels. And they’re great, but I was surprised by how unprepared I was to read comics.

What I mean is, I’m a book reader, and I’ve never in my fifty years read any comics, or any graphic novels, for that matter. And I found it–disorienting–trying to read comic panels. It was kind of overwhelming, at first. A lot of things are going on visually, and I had a hard time deciding what gets read first, and which way to go, and taking it all in…it definitely has all your brain cells firing at once! I love, love, love the images, though. A very different experience than reading a book, which is a very orderly process. But I’m getting used to it! I’ll probably write about them in next week’s High Republic Wednesday.

Sskeer is a rather terrifying Jedi, lol.

That’s it this week. What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Hello friends!

I’m done with my reread of The Rising Storm, by Cavan Scott, and as I mentioned last week, I enjoyed it more the second time around. The crux of the story revolves around the Republic Fair on the planet Valo, which is attacked by the villainous Nihil. Jedi Masters Stellan Gios and Elzar Mann lead the Jedi in defending against the attack, along with Padawan Bell Zettifar and his devoted charhound, Ember.

Star Wars Holocron on Twitter: "Character of the Day: Ember https://t.co/H1wwIxdCoY" / Twitter — Aw, what a sweet doggie. She blows fire out of her mouth.

I easily finished the book before The Fallen Star arrives at my door. The next High Republic book by Claudia Gray was released January 4th, but delivery being what it is these days, I’m not expecting it for a few more days. Waiting is hard….but while I’m waiting, I’ll start the middle-grade book Race to Crashpoint Tower, by Justine Ireland. It also takes place during the attack at the Republic Fair, but from the point of view of young Jedi Knight Ram Jamoram (that just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?). It was only 99 cents on Kindle, so why not? 🙂

Meanwhile, I’ve finished my rewatch of the sequel trilogy, with The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. One of the most interesting aspects of the sequels for me, personally, is my flip-flopping of how I feel about Kylo Ren. After hating him in The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi delves a little more into his history and your feelings soften for him a little bit. You feel a little sorry for him, lol. But then at the beginning of TROS, he’s hardened again, and you think maybe he’s lost for good and there’s no hope for him. Right up until his and Rey’s last duel on the wrecked Death Star, he’s implacable.

And then, suddenly, his mother reaches out to him, and something answers. Rey deals him the death blow, and then heals him. And then the incredibly emotional scene with Han Solo happens, and he throws his wobbly lightsaber into the sea, and you know Ben’s back. It did seem really quick, but then again, throughout the sequels he’d been as wobbly as that lightsaber, feeling the pull of the light, struggling, torn, miserable. I really didn’t know which way he’d go until the very end. He’s one of the most interesting characters in Star Wars, in my opinion, and it helps that Adam Driver is such a great actor.

So, onto the second episode of The Book of Boba Fett, The Tribes of Tatooine. This was a great episode, and a lot happened, with a lot to take in. Hutts! A terrifying Wookiee named Black Krrsantan! Pykes and spice! A dream-inducing lizard up the nose! So many cool things. I like how we’re getting more cultural stuff about the Tuskens–we got a little bit in The Mandalorian, and there’s some interesting stuff in the book Kenobi that I recently read (although it’s Legends). They’re more than just savage brutes. I’m just learning that the warrior that teaches Boba how to fight with the gaffi stick is a female, which is awesome. (She’s played by stuntwoman Joanna Bennett).

Why Boba Fett's evil Wookiee is more important than you realise — This is one scary Wookiee. He and Boba have a history in the comics.

But besides all that, I think it’s important that we see Boba’s spiritual journey in these flashback scenes. Once he climbed out of that Sarlacc, he was reborn, and now he has to face trials, both physical and spiritual, to figure out who he really is and what he wants now. He needs to become more than his father’s clone, more than a bounty hunter. In Legends, Boba also escapes the Sarlacc, but he remains a bounty hunter for the rest of his life, for the most part. As a main character now, he needs to be more than that, and I think this show is doing a great job telling that story. I love the soundtrack, by the way.

So with this new year, I’m going to be doing more blog posts, and I’ll write briefly about that in my Monday post. Stay tuned.

That’s it for now; what’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy New Year, my friends!

I’m continuing my reread of The Rising Storm, by Cavan Scott, and I find I’m enjoying it much more this second time around. I’m not sure why, but it happens to me a lot–I’ll reread something, or rewatch a film, and like it a lot more than the first time. I guess I just need time to absorb and think about the story and see it from a new perspective. Or maybe the timing just needs to be right. I’m so ready to continue the story of The High Republic, and can’t wait for The Fallen Star next week!

The Book Of Boba Fett Episode 1 Breakdown & Easter Eggs Explained — This Tusken knows what’s what.

So of course the first episode of The Book of Boba Fett premiered this past week, and like many others, I’m cautiously optimistic about the series. As I’ve mentioned before, I was never a huge fan of the guy, but his appearance in The Mandalorian piqued my interest. The first show answered some of our questions, like how he got out of the Sarlaac, and what happened just after. I thought it a clever device to show the flashbacks while he was in the bacta tank. As for ruling in Jabba’s (and Bib Fortuna’s) wake, I don’t think he entirely knows what he’s doing, lol, but he’s figuring it out as he goes along, with Fennec’s help. We have to shift our view of him from being a villain to being the protagonist of his own show, which means he can’t be a villain, not entirely. As the main character, we need to root for him, so he needs some redeeming qualities. I think his experiences with his near-death in the Sarlaac and the trials with the Tuskens changed him, at least a little. And I’m okay with that; it makes him more interesting, at least to me. I’m looking forward to the upcoming episodes and to see where this leads.

It’s not the inhibitor chip; he’s just naturally a jerk.

After my rewatch of The Clone Wars, I wasn’t intending on continuing with the animated series, but it just naturally segued into The Bad Batch, transitioning from the Republic to the Empire after Order 66. The first episode, Aftermath, is fantastic, but I found, again, that I enjoyed watching the series more this second time around than the first. Maybe it’s because I can binge-watch it rather than wait a week between episodes. I don’t know, but I just love it. I didn’t love Clone Force 99 right off the bat when they first showed up in The Clone Wars, but I love them now, every single one. Even Crosshair, that bastard, lol. There are a lot of things I’d love to see in Season 2, and I’ll probably do a little post about it as its premier gets closer (I don’t think we have a specific date yet).

Seems I’m doing a lot of rewatching/rereading of familiar territory, as I rewatched The Force Awakens on New Year’s Eve. I don’t care what anyone says, it’s such a great movie. I’ll never forget how I felt when I watched it for the first time in the theater in 2016: I was so incredibly excited to be watching a new Star Wars movie. To see Han, Chewie, Leia, Threepio and Artoo, as well as a batch of interesting new characters, was amazing, and it reignited my love for the franchise. I never thought I’d see these characters on film again, and here they were, so many years later, dealing with new bad guys, and incredibly painful personal stuff. No Star Wars movie is perfect (except perhaps Empire), but they’re all enjoyable, this one included. I’ll probably watch the rest of the sequel trilogy this weekend.

So with the new year comes new goals and resolutions, and one of mine (besides cutting down on the dark chocolate consumption, lol) is getting back to writing, specifically the Star Wars fan fiction I began a couple of months ago, and predictably, set aside. I really like the story idea and the characters I’ve created, so I’m not sure why I put it down (I suspect it’s simply laziness, lol), but I intend to get back to it and stay in it. If I accomplish one thing in the coming year, I’d like it to be a finished story that I can be proud of and that I enjoyed writing.

So that’s it for this week (and this year!) What’s been entertaining you lately? Any New Year’s resolutions? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Star Wars Resistance: An Overview

So I finally finished both seasons of Resistance the other day, and I have to say it was worth the time. Really.

I know Resistance doesn’t get that much respect, or attention for that matter. And I understand why–it doesn’t have the same gravitas or stakes as The Clone Wars or Rebels. It was made for a younger audience, after all, and isn’t quite as dark or tragic. But does that mean it’s bad? Heck no!

Resistance is Disney/Lucasfilm’s animated answer to the sequel trilogy, just as Clone Wars was to the prequels, and Rebels was to the OT. So here’s the basic rundown:

Kazuda Xiono is a young New Republic pilot recruited by Poe Dameron to be a Resistance spy on the refueling depot called the Colossus. The Colossus is a huge station in the middle of the waterworld Castellon. Poe introduces Kaz to Jarek Yeager, a former Rebellion soldier who fought at Jakku. Yeager is now a mechanic on the Colossus, but is privy to Poe’s activities and helps him when he can. He reluctantly agrees to take on Kaz as a mechanic on his payroll, as a cover. Apparently there has been some First Order activity on the Colossus, and Poe (as well as Leia Organa) would like to know what might be going on there.

Poe Dameron and Kazuda Xiono star wars poster prints — Poe with Kaz

Kaz is enthusiastic in his new duty as Resistance spy, perhaps a bit too eager. He’s young and naïve, prone to boasting (he happens to be a very good pilot), but also friendly and sweet, and just a tad clumsy. Okay, a lot clumsy. Turns out he’s the son of a wealthy New Republic Senator on Hosnian Prime, and apparently his father has micromanaged his life thus far; Kaz is eager to do something to prove to his father that he can do his own thing. He also believes in the purpose of the Resistance. But nobody is supposed to know any of that, so he’s just a mechanic for Yeager. Kaz, though an exceptional pilot, is a terrible mechanic, which leads to some problems, as you can imagine.

Also under Yeager’s employ is Tamara Ryvora, a young woman who left home to be an ace pilot in racing, but lost everything and is now trying to save enough to get another ship. Another member of Yeager’s team is Neeku Vozo, a Nikto who is a very skilled mechanic and my absolute favorite character in Resistance. He’s just so sweet and kind-hearted, and takes everything quite literally, which leads to some very funny moments. He takes to Kaz immediately, but Tam, not so much. She comes around after a while, but mostly just criticizes Kaz constantly.

No Star Wars show is complete without droids, and Poe left BB-8 behind on the Colossus to help Kaz (until he comes back to reclaim him for a “mission to Jakku”, at which point he leaves behind another roll-y, CB-23, who is just as adorable). Yeager’s team has their own droid in Bucket, who literally looks like a bucket of bolts with a helmet on.

The Colossus is a refueling depot, but it also has racing–and it’s own team of “Flying Aces” that put on a race every week to entertain the crew and people who live there. They’re also supposed to protect the station, from pirates and other undesirables. They’re made up of a group that includes a Rodian named Hype (who’s pretty annoying, most of the time), an former Imperial, a woman with (strangely) a Russian accent, a guy in a yellow suit whose face we never see, and a young woman named Torra Doza, who happens to be the daughter of the mysterious Captain of the Colossus. Torra eventually becomes friends with Kaz, and over the course of the show, Captain Doza becomes less mysterious. Turns out he used to be an Imperial, but defected when he met Torra’s mother, a Rebel back in the day. We don’t meet Torra’s mother until the second season, however, as she’s a Resistance fighter now.

Anyway, Kaz tries to fit in and do his “spying” thing, and it turns out he does give Poe and Leia important information about the First Order, who’s been nosing around a lot. We see Phasma early on in Season One, but the main antagonist becomes a golden-armored stormtrooper named Pyre. The First Order wants the Colossus for its own fueling needs, and comes up with a plan to take it over: they hire some pirates to attack the station and make the Captain feel he needs to let the First Order onto the station to help defend it. Captain Doza increasingly feels uneasy with the agreements he makes with the First Order, until he decides enough is enough. The First Order aren’t willing to give it up so easily, and when they find out a Resistance spy is on board, they make it their business to occupy the station.

That’s the basics of it, and most of Season One; I won’t go into detail about everything, or much of Season Two (which is actually even better than S1) except to say that the Colossus is actually a space ship and takes off from Castellon, and the First Order pursues them relentlessly.

There are a few cameos besides Poe (who’s always fun) and Phasma; later we get General Hux, and even Kylo Ren. Once Poe comes back for BB-8 for that mission to Jakku, we know that the events of The Force Awakens is beginning; we even see Hux’s mad speech on Starkiller Base through a hologram. Things get pretty personal for Kaz just then–his parents live on Hosnian Prime, and when the planet is destroyed, he’s distraught, naturally.

The big crisis of the end of Season One and all of Season Two is that Kaz’s friend, Tam, joins the First Order. Naively, she feels the First Order are simply bringing order and safety to the station; when she finds out that Kaz and Yeager have been lying to her about being with the Resistance, she’s extremely angry (unreasonably so, in my opinion). She feels betrayed by the people she had come to see as family, and lets herself be recruited by a new character, Agent Tierney. (Another character named Rucklan, who’s kind of a jerk on the station, also joins. I had no idea that Elijah Wood voiced him until I saw it pointed out elsewhere, and then I couldn’t unhear Elijah Wood, lol). Season Two was about getting rid of the First Order pursuing their station, and getting Tam back into the fold.

I just found it a joy to watch Resistance, simply because it was entertaining and quite funny sometimes, and I knew my heart wouldn’t get ripped to shreds over tragic events. I even wish there was a Season Three that coincides with The Rise of Skywalker. I’d love to see the crew of the Colossus join the Battle of Exegol (maybe they do–there were a lot of ships that Lando brought with him, and maybe the Colossus is there; I haven’t taken the time to study all those ships–I’m convinced someone else did take the time and made a list of all the recognizable ships, so maybe it’s research time!)

If you’ve got some time on your hands and never watched Resistance, you might want to give it a go. Like all the other animated series, it takes a while to get going, and is geared toward the younger audience, but grows as it goes along.

And I haven’t even mentioned Flix and Orka: