I am graduating from college on Monday
Hey, congratulations! Will it be an online ceremony? Hope it goes well and you enjoy it no matter what.
I loved the finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
SPOILERS:
John Walker’s redemption of sorts was maybe a little too fast, as was maybe Karli’s death. Literally my only two criticisms of the episode. I can’t help but feel what happened to John Walker was a bit like what happened to Wanda at the end of Wandavision - both did terrible things, even if they made the right choices later, and came out of it fairly well. In fact, both had renewed identities - she became the Scarlet Witch, he’s now US Agent. But both Wanda and John were developed really well and I can’t wait to see where both of them go next.
(More spoilers)
I admire the show’s willingness to be very on-the-nose about racial themes. It’s a Marvel project that’s really, truly trying to say something important - just take that incredible speech from Sam - and that’s really impressive. The speech scene, the scene where Isaiah visits the museum, Bucky’s confession to Mr Nakajima: all incredibly moving. What a phenomenal series.
Also yeah, if I hadn’t known it was happening beforehand (and if not for the Marvel logo plastered everywhere!) I likely wouldn’t have known Shang Chi is a MCU film. It seems Marvel are stepping out of their comfort zone with this new stuff, I love to see it.
Both eras have good worlds but for some reason the OT had a special effect in me many people in my age are more PT Fans
I’m with you on this. I admire that the prequel era is a very boldly different and creative era, with a phenomenal story in my opinion, and I can get invested in it because of The Clone Wars and novels set in that time - but I love the OT and the prequel films just feel incongruous to them for me. Not because it goes for a different tone or whatever, they just don’t feel like prequels, and the execution of the story has a good many drawbacks.
I appreciate that the prequels are able to be loved by so many though. I think nostalgia does play a big part.
I thought you hadn’t read it yet!
I haven’t, but how could I possibly not hear about Geode? He’s a star. I love him already.
Live action GEODE!
I can die happy if this happens.
Geode would probably make the easiest transition to live action. For Bo Katan, Lucasfilm had to hire hair-styling specialists to make Katee Sackhoff a hairpiece as close to the animated version as possible; for Ahsoka, experiments with practical head-tail length had to be conducted. With Geode, you go to the nearest rocky area and take your pick.
Missing the Obi-wan avatar, but Geode is still epic. I even went online and got him a fancy new profile picture background.
Thanks for your answers they’re all very interesting and made me realise I should rewatch the movies to better see the clues.
One thing that has always bothered me though, ever since I was a kid, is that even if the Jedi were deliberately portrayed as flawed it seems the movies prove them right in some of their ambiguous teachings. For exemple, concerning the « no-attachements » rule, watching AOTC as a kid I remember thinking the Jedi were assholes for banning relationships but then ROTS seemed to validate them because it was like : « see they were right, because a romantic relationship led Anakin to the dark side ». I know it’s not that simple, but as a 12 year-old that’s how I and I’m sure a lot of other kids my age understood it.
I just wish there was a line from Yoda or Obi-Wan at the end of ROTS that acknowleges the Jedi’s errors to make it clear.
I remember touching on this point myself before, maybe in the Ahsoka Tano thread. I think it is a big problem that this Jedi doctrine of no attachments allowed (which is really quite inhuman, and a mistaken decision only made out of fear, I think) has been repeatedly ‘proved’ in Star Wars content. Anakin’s love for Padmé leads to his crippling fear of her loss, which causes his turn to evil; Luke’s attachment to Leia and Han means that, when he sees Ben Solo bringing about their end in a vision, he acts impulsively and inadvertently causes BEN’S final turn to evil. For me, this would all have been resolved in Colin Trevorrow’s Duel of the Fates, where the central theme is Rey learning to be the perfect balance of love and anger, darkness and light, but alas. As it is, I’m very grateful to spinoff content such as books, comics, and series, which explore this theme arguably far deeper than the films. Ezra and Kanan from Rebels (and arguably Ahsoka too),for example, are Jedi who are not afraid to love others and yet are able to ‘let go’ of them when it’s absolutely necessary to move on.
I just finished color correcting the last (half) of my photos from my family trip to France.
I also cooked yesterday. Made Mongolian beef and broccoli. Took me 4 hours and we ate dinner at midnight but it turned out really good!
I love the detail on the Boba Fett one in particular, but all three look perfectly movie-accurate and it’s a great OT-themed display to have! Lovely stuff.
Can someone recommend some science fiction or fantasy?
I haven’t read anything new in a couple decades in these genres beyond GRRM.
Once upon a time i used to read every new book my library brought in. Amazingly i was much more busy back then and still found more time to read than i do now.
Its easy to get comfortable and reread stuff you are familiar with. In Lieu of any such recommendations i’ve began re-reading Mary Stewart’s Merlin Trilogy and Le Morte D’Arthur. I never finished the Winchester version and i figure i might as well finish the second half of that. I’ve read the complete Caxton.
I’m very late to this, but two sci-fi books I read last year I really liked: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood and The Dispossessed by Ursula K Le Guin. Oryx and Crake (definitely the more well-known of the two) chronicles a man’s life story before and after an apocalypse, heavy on the science and with some of the best worldbuilding in a novel I’ve experienced; it’s also morbid as hell and if you’re desperate to avoid anything that reminds you of the pandemic, I’d maybe give it a miss. The Dispossessed is a sci-fi book that FEELS more like fantasy, at least to me - in fact, I thought it was until Earth is mentioned near the end. In a solar system of two neighbouring, opposing planets, it follows Shevek - a galactically famous physicist - as he becomes the first man to travel to the other planet to spread his theories and open minds. He gets caught up in a political game, and the novel is packed with thoughtful political commentary - but it’s never obtrusive or dull. The Dispossessed is one of my favourite books now. There are other novels set in the same universe, but they’re all distinct and you don’t have to read those to understand this book.
That’s a great review. Makes me want to read it again. Are you planning on reading Into the Shadows next? While I don’t think it’s quite as good as Light of the Jedi, it’s definitely worth reading. I’d love to get your thoughts on it.
Thanks, Rodney! As for Into the Dark (which I’m sure is what you meant!), I’ve heard great things about it, but I want to wait until it comes out in paperback. I might give in to temptation before that, but I’ll see. I’ve been collecting the main High Republic comic run by Cavan Scott and the HR Adventures comic run by Daniel Jose Older, so those are what I’m planning to read next after Light of the Jedi.
I think George intended the prequels to deal with the theme of Jedi being a flawed organisation, but it’s only occasionally made clear or done well. I think he wanted to show that the Jedi were corrupted by war and betrayed their own principles, which was a factor in Anakin’s turn to evil. The biggest example of this I can think of is when. Mace Windu says of Palpatine, “He’s too dangerous to be left alive!” echoing the line spoken by Palpatine himself earlier in the film: “He was too dangerous to be kept alive…” I think that’s the point where Anakin begins to see truth in Palpatine’s assertion that the Jedi are very similar to the Sith.
This whole theme was mostly just hinted or grasped at in the prequels, but yeah, I think it was much better explored in The Clone Wars and other novels and comics.
Not entirely relevant to the question, but this reminds me of this quote from Rebels.
“Thousands of Jedi once there were. Then came war. In our arrogance, join the conflict, swiftly, we did. Fear, anger, hate… consumed by the dark side the Jedi were.” - Yoda
Irrelevant, but have you read my Rey Palpatine defense yet?
Now that you’ve asked, I just have. I agree that it doesn’t necessarily contradict the decision in TLJ, but I agree with the other responses that Rey’s arc around accepting that her heritage doesn’t define was mostly completed in TLJ - she just needed a film where she finally gains confidence in taking on the Skywalker mantle (which she does in TROS) and not a whole new plot development. I mostly dislike the Rey Palpatine decision because I love when Star Wars has an everyman/woman theme around standing up for what’s right, and Rey Palpatine means Rey doesn’t have her own power but “his power”, as well as reinforcing the feeling of the main star wars characters being interconnected within this small, elite group.
But as I say, I agree that it doesn’t contradict the theme about Rey learning that heritage doesn’t define her.
I’m a little surprised Dark Empire doesn’t have its own dedicated thread on here - especially considering how popular it still is.
I’m a newcomer to Dark Empire and will start reading it for the first time soon. I’d appreciate a thread like this to update with my thoughts and so on!
I’m about half-way through Light of the Jedi and it’s absolutely one of the best Star Wars books I’ve ever read. It’s perfectly structured; effortlessly alternating between different lines of action, keeping you invested in all. I appreciate it letting the great hyperspace disaster unfold slowly: Charles Soule has a tendency to introduce characters, make them as likeable as possible then immediately kill them off, so the book already had high stakes from chapter 1/2; in chapter 7, things heat up massively; in chapter 14, things heat up massively AGAIN.
Most of all, I love how Charles Soule created a communal spirit, encapsulated by the Chancellor’s new slogan: “We are all the Republic”. I had heard some complaints that the book introduced a lot of characters in the start and it was slightly difficult to keep track, but surprisingly, I never had any problems - and introducing a whole host of new characters working on the same problem helps with this sense of community. Most of all, none of these characters are powerful solely as individuals, but mostly because they work as a team. Captain Bright needs his two junior officers, each with individual heroic moments, to succeed in a rescue mission; Joss and Pikka Adren only come up with a complete plan together; Bell Zettifar relies on his master’s teachings, but when Loden Greatstorm has to concentrate on the Force, he can only do so when Bell protects him from blaster fire. Even Avar Kriss, the most powerful Jedi of all, relies on a younger lieutenant to form a complete picture of the disaster.
I love Charles Soule’s writing style and the way he describes the Force as appearing in different ways to different people is so creative. The High Republic is an era that shows diversity is something to be welcomed, not feared, and that teamwork is what holds a Republic together. Usually in Star Wars, the galaxy is in a bad place - and sure, it’s in a spot of bother here too - but this era still represents what we on earth should strive to achieve.
Hey, this is really good! An intriguing introduction to what should be a big, ambitious project. I have friends who I have major disagreements with on The Last Jedi in particular, and I sometimes enjoy debating them about it - this should give me more ammunition to work with 😉 I’m looking forward to reading your defence.
Regarding the sequel trilogy, the responses to criticisms for each film relies on information from its prior installments and itself, it does not use information from its follow-ups, I am trying to frame it as if the film was recently released which was when the criticism would have to first… pop up; for example, when I am discussing The Last Jedi in this essay I am only going to be using information from itself as well as its prior installments, I am not going to be using information from its follow-up, The Rise of Skywalker. Likewise, I will not use information from ancillary material such as the movie novelizations, as I agree with the notion that one should not have to go outside of a movie and rely on ancillary material in order to fix major story flaws so the movie would make logical sense and be enjoyable by itself.
Regarding the sequel trilogy, the responses to criticisms for each film relies solely on information from its prior installments and itself. It does not use information from its follow-ups; I am trying to frame it as if the film was recently released which was when the criticism would have to first… pop up. For example, when I am discussing The Last Jedi in this essay I will only use information from itself and its prior installments; I am not going to be using information from its follow-up, The Rise of Skywalker. Likewise, I will not use information from ancillary material such as the movie novelizations, as I agree with the notion that one should not have to go outside of a movie and rely on ancillary material in order to fix major story flaws, so the movie would be logical and enjoyable by itself.
You may also notice I’ve substituted some groups of words when one word could communicate the same thing. I’d say it’s best to make it as snappy as possible. Anyway, that’s my two cents. Good luck with writing this!
Episode 1 of a Kylo-centric fan series set before TFA will release sometime later this year. Just through online communication, I know some of the people working on this; they’re super nice and I know they’d appreciate this project getting more support!
It focuses on Kylo Ren as he begins a new quest and his relationship to the past; also featuring Hux, Phasma and Supreme Leader Snoke, as well as new characters such as Pijitio Colani, Kloww Securno, and Arranca Skalis (none of which, disclaimer, I know anything about yet). Hopefully some people on here will be interested.
Updates from Star Wars Editor on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/star.wars.editor/
https://www.instagram.com/kylorenbov/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/KyloRenBOV?s=20
and more details from the SWE website. (Unfortunately details for release schedules are all a bit out-of-date)
https://www.sweditorig.com/
To mods: I posted this in the EU section because the Dark Empire fan series thread is also here, but if there’s a more suitable place for it to go, please feel free to move it!
Not knowing anything about these, Lando is the only one that could interest me if it was 70s/80s style of underground/gambling/casino/smuggling thing. But I’m sure it’s something lame with his feminist droid.
I think it might be something like the former, and I know the concept artists definitely drew on influences in and around the 70s for Lando’s costume (Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Prince etc.) - they should go for that vibe again. I’m expecting a very stylish show maybe where an older Lando recounts his previous adventures. I liked L3 from Solo, though, and would be fine with her appearing. Not sure why she’d be considered feminist. You must be getting confused with the droid rights movement.
I haven’t read Claudia Gray’s Into the Dark yet, but I’m already part of the Geode sub-fandom. Geode is the best. He’s also my avatar now.
I thought this would be a nice way to continue building excitement for the new Star Wars projects coming up - I also wanted to do it before The Bad Batch starts in what, a couple of weeks? I’ve left a bunch of upcoming shows like Star Wars: Visions, Rangers of the New Republic and A Droid Story out partly to narrow down the question or because we know little about them yet, but feel free to talk about them as well. This could be read as a ‘Which upcoming Star Wars show are you most excited for?’ thread.
I think my easy answer might be Mando season 3, because it’s an ongoing and unfinished story. But I’m maybe most excited for The Bad Batch right now because it’s so close, and the more I read of Light of the Jedi, the more I’m interested in The Acolyte, which is set in the same era.
Out of curiosity, where did you get the Gold Variant set of Dark Empire? I went hunting for Dark Empire a few months ago and couldn’t find anywhere to buy any single issues of it for a price that isn’t comically high. I did manage to get the Boxtree collection, which I think is from 1994, but the cover isn’t particularly nice.
Right, I feel I HAVE to come here and comment on this. No spoilers, just in case, but the MCU just got more violent and arguably more politically relevant than it’s ever been. They mentioned Afghanistan! They’re doing real political things now! This series is fantastic and I’m totally hooked, with all different aspects of it. I might like TFATWS even more than Wandavision.
I once worried Marvel’s ‘phase 4’ might just feel like unnecessary cash-grab projects, but they’re going in bold new directions and I couldn’t be happier!
SPOILERS for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 4:
There’s a deal Marvel have had with the US military, where the military provides funding for productions in return for controlling how they’re portrayed in that production. If Marvel have that same deal going for TFATWS, they’re skating on thin ice right now. I can’t help but feel that John Walker’s revenge-killing of a flagsmasher member is an allegory for the excessive retaliation the US inflicted on Afghanistan and Iraq, especially because Walker himself is a veteran from one of those wars.
In all sincerity, when they do flashbacks (and I’m certain they will - not much point casting Hayden otherwise!) I’m looking forward to seeing Clone Troopers who are actually real people wearing costumes. Seeing live action Watch mandos and battle droids with improved special effects in The Mandalorian really worked well for me.
I started playing Dark Forces for the first time while The Mandalorian season 2 was coming out (a happy coincidence that both feature dark troopers and Boba Fett) and while my old PC wasn’t working for several months, I recently got it working again and went back to playing. It’s a great game. I never knew shooting pixelated stormtroopers could bring me so much happiness.
It’s amazing how much older games don’t walk you through levels, they totally leave it up to you to figure out. Each level is like a puzzle to solve, and I really like that aspect of it.
I’ve been watching some ‘Let’s Play’ videos for Jedi Knight: DF II recently (from youtube channel LightingBoltForever: https://www.youtube.com/c/LightningBoltForever/featured) and I think I know what I’ll be playing next. The new choice of weapons and lightsaber combat features in particular look fun.
I read your GoFundMe page this morning and it has been on my mind all day. I’m sorry that I’m not able to donate right now, but I’m very sorry to hear about all you and your mother are having to endure. Of course, if you two ever feel alone, there are always people on here you can talk to - feeling part of a community (which, it sounds like, your neighbours aren’t offering) should be very important.
Best wishes to you and your mum, and I hope either Sweden’s apparently good welfare system does its job to help soon, or this page reaches many more people.