Star Wars

The Jedi are SO competent with the force. Some memorable points (spoilers ofc):

• The masters’ restraint in never igniting their lightsabers unless lethality is absolutely necessary, relying on the force as their primary defence.
• The contrast between Yord’s anxious rule-focussed approach and Sol’s force-led approach.
• Torbin’s impenetrable force aura whilst meditating - for over 10 years!!
• Sol’s ability to restrain Mae in-place whilst using the force to figure out what she knows
• Every single example of Jedi mind trick use
• The lightsaber hilts and sounds each being more refined and elegant imo

Instantly sending me back to the pre-prequel era games, books & comics this series is. I am so glad that they chose to flesh out this era with the High Republic books first to ensure we have a vast array of literature and strong world building to draw from.

Naturally hyped for next week. We’re eating well today.

Hmmm I think my expectations were set incorrectly for this show. From the rumblings I heard before the premiere, it was on a similair level as Andor and was kind of a murder mystery thing. It is nothing like Andor (so far) and the murder 'mystery' was solved (at least for the viewers) at the end of the first episode. I was excited about the possibility of 'Law & Order in space with Jedi' since it seemed like a fresh genre for Star Wars but this...is more like 'generic Star Wars plot line #45'. I plan to keep watching because the High Republic era is interesting, but the story has been bleh so far for me.

Also weird that Carrie-Anne Moss figured so prominently in the hype & advertising just to be killed off in the first few minutes. If I was excited that she was in the show (I was ambivalent towards it myself) I would be super mad about that.

I'm afraid Andor has ruined me when it comes to Star Wars media. :-/

Am I the only one that felt like they spoiled the whole plot in the first episode? Like the twin thing could have been a big mystery but we already know what's going on. Also we see the evil twin's master (whoever it is), so we know it's a Sith plot.

The Torbin scene/timeline was confusing.

Sol says he'd like to talk to Torbin.

Sol is taken on a long indirect path to Torbin.

Long enough that Osha can get there first.

Interesting that that opening fight had both knives and blood - I think there was a time (before Andor) where both those things weren't really allowed in Star Wars. It felt like nothing that came after really lived up to that. Episode 2 had two writers, joined by the word 'and' rather than an ampersand, meaning that they worked on it separately, which doesn't bode well (the last time I saw that for a TV show was Secret Invasion, and that was rubbish).

It's okay, good enough to keep watching. It looks like it's getting review-bombed though, so there must be something about it that's upset people.

Also, as soon as my stupid brain heard that a character was called Osha, it didn't stop thinking about Star Wars Health and Safety violations:

It may be a bit early to make this call, but I'm ready to retcon this entire show out of canon. It makes too many bold new assertions about the Star Wars IP without grasping the basics of the lore. It then compounds these missteps with lackluster choreography, cheesy writing, a horribly misguided plot, and several lapses in logic that not even Dave Filoni could explain away if you gave him a 7 season animated series. And it's only been 3 episodes.

Lee Jung-jae's back must really hurt after carrying this entire show alone. I wouldn't blame him if he never worked with western media ever again.

Quite enjoyed these first two episodes. Bit annoyed that Carrie Ann Moss got killed in the opening moments, though.

However, my nitpicking got the better of me (blame autism, I do!). A fire burning on the hull of a ship. OK. The second nitpick was when the Jedi was on the lookout with his binoculars from the 1st floor balcony. When it changed to the POV shot, the footage is quite clearly filmed from the ground.

But apart from that, I enjoyed the fights and the story is quite good so far. Hopefully the quality remains constant to the end.

That one prisoner that Osha saved:

The premise of an evil doppelgänger framing the main character for murders seems trite to me, like an idea that was out of an ‘80s B-film. The One-Punch Man clad Jedi also seem to be making the worst plans for the sake of dragging out the plot, ex. sending in Osha alone to talk to the apothecary guy (whom they at the time didn’t know was unaware that Osha was alive), or somehow taking a long route and slow walk to the meditating Jedi even though they knew exactly where he was, or not sealing off the open roof above the meditating Jedi after he was attacked, or not using the stun gun on Mae during the attempted arrest. There were a few other nitpicks that I had.

The meditating Jedi was cool, though it feels like we needed more background on him. Sol is interesting, and I wonder why he claimed that he saw Mae die. I’d like further depth on Osha’s character, like her showing what makes her tick and what her aims are, rather than just pulling her through situations; her looking back to save the prisoner is a good example of what can help an audience understand a character’s personality, and her frustrated and crafty reaction to having to improvise surviving the landing is a good example of showing her skills and assets. I hope this series allows the characters to express their personalities more, rather than just be pushed from A to B by episodic plot. I’m not familiar with this era of the galaxy, so I look forward to further explanation within the show as to what sets the Jedi and High Republic government apart from how they are in the Prequel Trilogy.

This show is going to benefit a lot from binge re-watching. Episode 5 was the most fun so far, and really dials up the stakes for most of the characters, but ultimately it's a long action set piece with a predictable reveal in the middle of it. Nothing much happens.

And while the reveal was predictable, it was also fine. If those motherfuckers had denied me DARTH BORTLES(!!!) I would have set the building on fire. Best acting and best character in the show so far, and really getting to chew the scenery with Sith philosophy that would be absolutely fanboy-friendly catnip if it were being delivered by a white male with a name they recognized.

I don't love everything about this show, not by a long shot, but beyond our villain, Sol is likeable, Jecki and Yord grew on me just enough I was mildly sad they killed them, and also surprised. There has also now been lightsaber combat that's better than anything in TV Star Wars. I actually want to find out what really happened and what the exact nature of the stain on the 4 Jedi souls is, so I guess that makes a show like this a success.

I do wish they'd offered a bit more of a lore dump to remind me about Cortosis, though. I really thought Jason Mendoza was permanently breaking lightsabers and was very confused when they started working again.

Osha on the cliff face:

"I didn't kill her!"

Bonus: She even escaped a crashed prison vehicle after being arrested for a crime she did not commit!

If Mae loses an arm now...

So spoilers obviously.

We didn't learn much about the sith or the dark side (yet). Hopeful we will, as it's Sol's goal as well.

The twin thing is odd. I mean I can see why the actor doesn't want to be type cast as a villain. Hopefully it will make more sense later.... It is fun to see one person play two completely different characters but the plot of it becomes tiresome.

Death early on that might make people irrationally angry. I'm just sad.

Lots of bizarre choices. Like when they track Osha in the snow via the force and not via her foot prints...?

Definitely a lot of room for cool shit. Learning about this mystery master. Figuring out why both sisters thought the other was dead. New fighting styles for Star Wars, decent amount of action so far and not a light saber battle yet.

All the silly kung fu fights and forced samurai references seem to be ruining what could have been a great story...

Don't get me wrong, I love old kung fu movies, and I LOVE samurai movies and TV shows, but this is too much. I realize the Jedi are somewhat based on samurai characters, but it feels almost like this is just a remake of an old martial arts film with Jedi thrown in so they could name it a Star Wars property

The actual detective/mystery story itself seems pretty interesting but it keeps getting lost under all the other fluff

Just wanted to pop in and say I'm still greatly enjoying it. I feel like a lot of the Internet is jumping to conclusions with some Ep3 stuff that is hinted at but not actually said... Kinda now just holding out hope that the show is going where I expect and can make them eat crow.

After the first 3 episodes felt like a 00's Disney teen sitcom I considered giving up on this show, but this week felt more coherent to me. The forests of Khofar is the best locale so far, the conversational writing has improved and so the acting feels more natural (mostly). I'm still not thrilled that the Jedi Order is being portrayed as mostly antagonistic, and I'm a bit concerned that the best episode so far is one in which very little happens, but the last scene actually has me excited for next week. Here's hoping that the second half overshadows the rocky start.

I'm really enjoying this one so far. There's a few goofy things here and there but overall it's one of the better Star Wars series. If you haven't watched it yet, leave all baggage at the door, ignore the online angst, and just watch it for what it is: a space opera serial in the same lineage as Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. It's just brought up to a more modern style with a more diverse cast. Not a big deal. Watch it like your ten-year-old self would, and you'll have a good time.