Dave Filoni has been good at that before, I think.
I agree Deborah Chow might be a better director though, and I hope she gets lots of praise for her work on this series. Jon and Dave can’t have ALL the spotlight.
I think he’s understood the broader beats of character drama, but I’ve always felt like he’s lacked subtlety that makes his characters truly feel real. Emotional moments for him are big moments, the in-between filled with external action that [can] tee up character changes without being the point. Development only happens via plot triggers, characters don’t have to explicitly carry anything with them to the next arc if it’s not the point.
I don’t quite know how to articulate it, but I don’t think Filoni would have approached the scene the way we just saw in that clip, if he would have even approached character work in that way to result in a similar scene at all. It’s way too understated and nuanced for him; Owen and Ben behave like real people with storied friction, as opposed to just vessels for the emotional concept, if that makes any sense.
I’m probably overthinking it. I’m just excited to see a non Abrams, Filoni, or Favreau Star Wars. Hell, even Non Lucas.