EddieDean

S02E01 - THE BLOCKADE OF RYLOTH - REVIEW CUT AVAILABLE.

See the few prior posts for details.

PM for a link to the tracker if you don’t yet have it.

Thanks Samuel95! I might end up having to reinsert Cutup’s death. The advantage of having that scene gone is that (1) the stuff on the surface of the Rishi moon looks awful, (2) the worm looks awful, and (3) nobody cares about cutup. But I think that may be overweighed by the continuity of having him die offscreen and to set up the worm, as you and others have highlighted.

I agree on 99’s reaction to Hevy’s death. Unfortunately it was already quite a quick scene, and removing the references to now-excised content, it now goes even quicker. At least this way he now seems far more certain about joining the fight more quickly, which I think adds to his heroism, but unfortunately I don’t think there’s a way to milk this scene any further. I will check again though.

I’ll fix the timing of ‘two weeks later’ too.

Glad these are going down well - keep the feedback coming!

OK, ‘The Blockade of Ryloth’, as it shall be called, is rendering now, running time 34 minutes.

Its cuts are described above.

This one is just going to be a REVIEW CUT for now, because I spent so much time staring at each scene in isolation and merging them together that I’ve lost my ability to judge the quality of the whole, so I need a little distance from it. It’s perfectly watchable though, I’ve completed the edit and done a polish pass, I might just need to reorder some scenes and fix some transitions. Be brutal with this one!

Also, Where did we land on the best approach for the Domino Squad episode? I’m going to go with the far shorter Clone Cadets, unless anyone objects.

Thanks for the clarification, guys!

Apologies, folks, I’m just trying to understand the status of the various Rogue One projects right now. In my understanding:

• DigMod created Rise of the Rebellion a while back, with a fair few changes on too of the base film.
• HAL made one change to that for his edit (what was that?)
• The recent deepfakes have been included in v2s of both of those.
• Burbin’s and others’ recent suggestions have spawned a few new ideas, which DigMod has implemented and Hal intends to (meaning the two are still identical except for Hal’s one change?)

And Rogueleader, forgive me, I can’t remember if you’ve made your own edits, but it looks like you’ve got even more radical (but still great sounding) ideas? But I’m not clear if you’re going to implement those or if HAL/DigMod are?

It all sounds good and it feels like there’re no bad options here, I’m just struggling to follow the changes per editor right now!

Right, I’m not going to finish that episode today, because I’ve done so many splice and merges that it’s wiped me out! Soon though…

Hah! I love how often you guys give great suggestions just as I’m thinking the same thing. I’m literally editing those parts right now, and had come to the same conclusion. I’m going to minimise Wat Tambor, but you’re exactly right, this Neimoidian is competent and has an interesting character, so I’m preserving him.

The other 180 I’m doing on a previous decision in this episode is that I’m keeping the SkyGuy/Snips nicknames. I think their introduction on Christophsis was more adversarial and less about representing a bond, whereas they’ve earned one now. Now, Ahsoka first calls him SkyGuy after they grow together during the Malevolence crisis, and sometime after that he’s started calling her Snips. Without the adversarial introduction I almost read it like “little sister”.

Knight of Kalee said:

Are the scenes with the Nikto Jedi master, in particular his last stand and death, included in your cut of Supply Lines?

Yep, all of his scenes are preserved.

I just found out that guy’s name is literally ‘Ima-Gun Di’, pronounced “I’mma gon’ die”.

Well, this period of editing has been a big success. I’ve chopped out all of the unwanted scenes from Supply Lines, leaving just the Cham/Bail ones, ready to insert into Storm.

I had written out in this post a bonus scene I’m quite proud of, but actually I think I’ll leave it a suprise. But suffice to say, those wishing for a little more value to the Toydarians should be pleased - I think I’ve found a way to emphasise their nobility whilst minimising their goofiness and Jar Jar’s scenes. (And avoid the fact that we’ve literally just seen Katuunko die.)

OK, yeah, I don’t think it’s worth extending the episode beyond what I’ve described above.

In terms of Innocents of Ryloth-

• YES there are innocents saved by Obi-Wan, BUT this doesn’t add a thing to his arc, and we don’t know these characters so they’re just numbers, we don’t have a connection to them.
• YES the twi’lek child is cute and tugs at the emotions, BUT her arc is entirely related to Waxer and Boil who are far from main characters and if anything muddy the water of recognisable known clones.
• Both storylines are really slow, and because the Waxer/Boil/Numa plot has the same ending as the innocents saved plot, this can’t be used within the previous Ahsoka frame to pace it better.
• I think it’s not additive, and it would throw off the pacing by extending the episode out after the emotional peak.

In terms of Liberty on Ryloth-

• YES Cham Syndulla is interesting, especially his political conflict with Orn Free Taa and his distrust of the Republic, BUT his main beats are covered by the existing content, and we don’t need anything of this in order that his appearance in Rebels ends up having more relevance.
• The actual combat in this episode is bland-looking, geographically boring, and extremely slow and anticlimactic, and nowhere near on the scale that was implied by Storm Over Ryloth making a big thing about how important it was to get the ability to land the army. It’s better in our heads.
• Similarly, the actual twi’lek resistance is anticlimactic, since the battle is essentially won by Mace Windu, rendering Cham’s efforts ultimately unnecessary. It’s also better in our heads.
• The episode also has far too much Wat Tambor, that you really couldn’t work around. God, that guy looks like ass.

So yeah, sorry Numa and Cham fans, I think we have to keep the focus on Supply Lines / Storm over Ryloth.

The good news is that, like Lair of Grievous following my version of Cloak of Darkness, you can simply follow my Ryloth episode with Innocents/Liberty if you prefer.

I think I’ve learned a lesson about storytelling from this and a couple of prior episodes. And that’s that, in something we know is fictional, we don’t build an emotional connection to “the nameless masses”. Because we know they’re made up. BUT, when they’re used to demonstrate the personality of the characters we have invested in, then they have value. Seeing Obi-Wan liberate some nameless masses doesn’t add to his character because we already know he’s that kind of hero. But seeing the nameless masses’ happiness over supplies delivered (even indirectly) through Ahsoka’s actions adds value to her struggles as we’re seeing her grow.

So, on to Ryloth.

The strongest emotional arc, and the one which is most relevant to the show, is Storm Over Ryloth’s Ahsoka plot. She fails to break the blockade, then helps Anakin to break it, allowing the military led by Obi-Wan to establish a ground presence. This can be enhanced quite easily by splicing it with the scenes on the ground from Supply Lines, where Cham Syndulla is involved in protecting civilians in a ground assault, and capped at the beginning and end with Bail helping bring supplies to the front lines, to make Ahsoka’s vistory that much sweeter.

With some droid chatter trimming, and either trims to or the full removal of the Neimoidian admiral who serves as Anakin’s foil, that’s a tight and tidy ~30 minute episode, which gives some great Ahsoka content and also keeps Cham in for future continuity.

The only question really is how much of Innocents of Ryloth and Liberty on Ryloth to preserve. I’m reviewing those episodes now, and the ideal without watching them is to allow the breaking of the blockade to remain the finale of the episode, since it’s the emotional conclusion. Anything else that’s good from those other episodes ideally will be able to fit within the established timeline rather than after it. Let’s see how possible that is…

Absolutely possible, Delpheas. And it might not be for a long time that Rey Palpatine becomes relevant again. In spite of what I said above, Rey Nobody is one thing I’ll cling to for as long as possible. And it looks like the TV focus is currently post-OT, and the only known post-ST source (Rogue Squadron) has a subject less likely to touch on that plotline. And with luck, new sources featuring Rey/Palpatine will have softened the awkwardness of that ‘fact’ of canon by then.

Yeah, that’s the thing. And I like the phrase “ALL of Star Wars is better than ANY of Star Wars.” By which I mean, the world is better than the elements, and the more you explore the world, the more good you’ll find. Imagine being a ‘Boba Fett died in the Sarlacc’ purist and denying yourself the Mandalorian season 2.

And The Clone Wars is one of the best examples of this. From an EXTREMELY shaky start it gave us some moments which are absolutely best-of-the-best Star Wars. And for that reason, it deserves to be made as palatable as possible.

Well, getting started with the Ryloth arc I had that popping issue again, and I’ve found the fix for it, so after I’ve finished using Big Brain on the Ryloth arc I’ll use Small Brain to fix the Nightsisters arc.

Hal 9000 said:

Just wondering, will the opening line “It is the early days of the Clone Wars” be changed at some point through the series? It’s only three years and Anakin’s had time to fight a while, get knighted, and grow his hair out.

Yes, starting in the very next episode, which begins my (production) season 02. So roughly every six episodes, that first line will change. My intention is that taken as a whole, you have that slow-rolling update of where the war is at, then within each episode you follow that first line with a bit more context on what’s happening in the war that’s relevant to that episode, then you get more custom detail. So it’s always kind of framed within this developing war, and you have a bit more of a sense of the ebb and flow.

Oh and one other thing about the last episode I know I would have commented on, even though it should it impact any of your decisions, is that Obi-Wan calls R2 by name. Just because of my history. There’s no good way to reconcile it with ANH. lol

Yeah, I’m afraid that viewers of TCW (and TCW:R) are going to have to live with the fact that Obi-Wan and Yoda both knew R2-D2 well enough to recognise him in the Original Trilogy, and vice versa. I understand of course why people would prefer to allow the OT’s canon win out in conflicts like this, and I appreciate that it takes a little of the magic away from the OT. (R2-D2 was actually WITH Yoda when Yoda first visited Dagobah…)

It’s a shame, but I think the audience need to bend on this one. I know the OT spawned all of Star Wars, and is some of the very best of Star Wars, and therefore holds great cultural ‘mass’. However, with the franchise being as alive and productive as it is right now, there’s new content being created all of the time which builds typically on the newest content, which also gives the ‘new world’ huge momentum. There’s a conflict between the purity of the OT which people want preserved in amber, and the momentum of this new content which is going to refer to (and thus reinforce) increasingly to non-OT sources. And because that new content is never going to stop, I think it wins the fight, and the OT regrettably has to bend. For this reason, I believe that the ‘easier’ fix is to accept that in the OT, R2 and Yoda/Obi-Wan know each other, and Padmé dies in childbirth in a way that Leia doesn’t (conventionally) remember, etc.

It’s the ‘rocks in the stream’ approach to editing. We’re editing now within an absolute flowing torrent of new content and canon. Our edits, the rocks, can cause minor diversions - to minimise cringe, to restructure for impact, to emphasise and de-emphasise - but ultimately that water is going to flow in the same direction. Our starts and ends, and all of our main beats, have to fit within that flow, otherwise the franchise (and the potential FUTURE franchise) doesn’t work as a coherent whole. For example, I’m really against Rey being a Palpatine. I’d love a Nobody cut. But I know that sooner or later there’s going to be some new media - Rey’s Jedi Academy, Mandalorian 2.0, whatever - that references Rey Palpatine, and in order to enjoy that new bit of content we’re going to have to accept Rey Palpatine. So I’ll always edit towards preservation of the FRANCHISE canon, over canon from any one source - and I think that’s necessary in order that fanediting doesn’t become a Sisyphean effort. And in this case, I think the franchise now says “Those guys knew each other, which raises some awkward questions in the OT.”

That’s just me though, and I can understand people wishing it weren’t so enough to make it so.

So I’m aware I haven’t yet released a “finished” episode, so I’ve got a growing backlog of patches, but I’m still waiting on a handful of sources from others, so I’m going to continue to put them to one side, just whilst I wait. But I’ll absolutely pick them up and finish the full batch before long.

I tried to get started on s01e00 Tartaovsky just now, but NumeralJoker’s AI upscaled sources disagree with my editing software, and his part one and part two are in two different FPS. So I’ve contacted Tackel. Worst case I’ll end up cutting it from non-upscaled sources soon.

But those two facts, plus the fact that I now have two full uninterrupted weekend days ahead of me, mean that it’s sensible right now to take on something that requires more mental capacity. So I’m going to pick up the next episode, the Battle of Ryloth arc. Let’s see how far through it I can get in 48 hours…

I’ve gotta say, Movies Remastered, that it’s very impressive that you persist at this in the face of the additional challenges of colour. Well done, and good for you.

Maybe I’ll take the following episode, Geonosis, which has Ahsoka, and put it before Children of Night.

Or I could move Cloak of Darkness to after The 501st Legion…

Edit: Actually yeah, I’m definitely going to do the latter. That way the season’s narrative becomes:

• Ventress alone commences a siege on Christophsis (a planet that produces ray shields), Anakin meets Ahsoka, they defeat the siege, Obi-Wan is called off to respond to the crisis on Mandalore. (Ventress’ first strategic failiure.)
• Obi-Wan deals with the Mandalore crisis
• Anakin and Ahsoka counter and destroy the Malevolence, which had been destroying clone medical stations, before Grievous flees
• Anakin alone pursues Grievous for two+ weeks, while Echo and Fives go from failing with Domino Squad to defending Kamino, the clone homeworld, against Grievous’ assault. (Ventress fails, but forgivably so.)
• Meanwhile, Ahsoka’s been left with Luminara. (Ventress succeeds, and is back fully in Dooku’s good graces.)
• And all of that distraction leaves time for Dooku’s fleet to assault the shipyards in orbit of Sullust (led by a well-liked Ventress, just in time for Sidious to object.)

This way your first experience of the show is Ahsoka/no Ahsoka in balance for a few episodes, so if you like her you get her every other episode, but if you don’t, you get a break every other episode.

Yup, using Son of Dathomir in full.

I actually have a plan for this! I forget exactly the placement, but I intend to have the Clovis arc immediately AFTER Ahsoka’s Trial. But the kicker is, I’m going to add the audio of the fireside chat from Utapau where Anakin and Obi-Wan discuss the loss of Ahsoka. So this way, my hope will be that the violence Anakin displays over his jealousy of Padmé is partially an emotional response to that.

In terms of the actual pacing, I can’t remember where I ended up but it’s trying to balance feeling Ahsoka’s absence with wanting to not have her away too long.

Speaking as the ‘why movie format?’ guy, I can also see a restructuring of Rogue One that turns it into the N+1th season of the Andor show, featuring two to four episodes (based on sensible arcs).

Kanemedhurst said:

Question: If S01E06 has everyone with their new ‘ROTS’ outifts, we are going to chronologically see them revert back to their old outfits in for example, the Geonosis episode. Is there a way this will be adressed. I’m loving what’s going on so far.

Nah, it’s not something I can address. In this version of the Clone Wars, just like in real life, after you change your clothes you might change back to an older set of clothes some other day. Ahsoka won’t de-age, and I won’t have the guys change their hair back and forward, but they’re going to switch between a few outfits.

Ignore my post.

That’d be lovely. I’ll wait until we have the main outro finalised then get in touch!

Thanks Kalee, glad that worked for you. I assume you still had the popping sounds? And yeah, I’m not happy with the outro music there. The difficulty was that the existing music was in a minor key whilst my outro is major, so there was just no good blend point (with my limited skills), so I just had to switch to the outro early. It’s something I’ll chat with McFibb about but I don’t want to make him any more work. There might be something I can do if I have time to play around.