The biggest problem with this series (though it goes all the way back to 1999) is that the more explained, filled out, and deconstructed the setting gets the less interesting it is. Forget everything you know about Star Wars post 1977 for a minute. What was Star Wars? A stand alone movie heavily influenced by old Buck Rogers style serials, Kurosawa (especially Hidden Fortress), basic hero’s journey plotting, and I’d even say a bit of xianxia among others. The world was big and open and interesting ideas (like the nature of the Force) teased but not explained because they didn’t really need to. Lucas himself hurt it with the crap like midichlorians and Anakin being a virgin birth and that has carried forward another 25 years.
The dialogue sucks, the acting is wooden, various bits of the plot make no sense and it is relying heavily on a narrative trick instead of telling a straightforward story, and the parts that have to be believable so that disbelief can be suspended for the rest of the story aren’t believable.
Star Wars was always a fantasy story with Sci Fi trappings but this dials that up to 11. Would this episode be any different if it were Magic and a society of Wizards and not Jedi? Not necessarily a bad thing, just something I noticed.
Huh. I didn’t hate it. Still better than Boba Fett to me and still of potential.
This is showing the height of Jedi power from a perspective that is less than heroic. It is also Osha’s view not Mae’s.
We’ve established here Mae has greater natural talent and got powers inherent in Ascension. What happened out of view? Mae’s fire did not cause what we saw. Was Mae part of confronting the Jedi’s which they responded to with overwhelming force? Was our Sith involved?
I’ll be curious if a future flashback shows us Mae’s version and changes our understanding.
I mean, there was obviously things going on there that we didn’t see. They bothered to show all those suspiciously unburnt dead witches piled up in a single room, after all. I bet we’ll get to see key sections of this episode again from Mae’s point of view, showing what really happened.
All in all, not a bad episode. It’s always nice to see more of the Dathomiri Witches. The child actresses weren’t that great, but what’re you gonna do.
I’m assuming, or hoping, that we get one more episode on this incident from a different point of view. Maybe the padawan, to give insight why he felt guilty? I think we need to see how the witches died and how the Jedi responded.
I did wonder at how quickly the rock burned.
I’m tired of the flashback trope. It used to be used rarely and now a lot of writers use it. Not that I know all that will happen in the series but I would have preferred we start with ep3, then move forward from that to have an episode on Osha’s training (again, I don’t know we will see it), an episode of her failing and becoming a meknek, and then the reveal that her twin is still alive. (That also assumes they don’t give that away in trailers.) I think we saw enough to see that the Jedi think they are better and it’s their way that is best. I would have been more interested in seeing what the Jedi would have done if they had been told no and not allowed to see the girls at all. Show us a straight forward story instead of having a flashback to explain things.
I mean, at this point, that Sith has to be a witch that got away, right? Are we in an era where more than two Sith can exist? Or is it just two?
Were they Dathomiri Witches? I don’t know enough about them to know. Plus, Ahsokha showed they were in another galaxy? Maybe the timeline is all messed up?
I do agree that writing in established franchises, looking at the MCU as well, depends on the viewer either knowing something about the world or doing research on it. I agree, I don’t want that. These shows should stand alone, not be dependent on anything else. Or, better yet, it should stop relying on the full season explaining it and instead explain it as they go, which is what stories used to do.
I think the politics of it is pretty interesting. I assume we’re going to actually see what happened at the Night Sisters compound probably as a penultimate episode reveal.
What I’d like to see is it be more of a Branch Davidian situaton instead of an actual fight break out between them and the Jedi. Like the sisters think the Jedi are “coming for them” and choose ritual suicide (throw in a lne alluding to 'in death we shall become more powerful than they can imagine"). So the 4 Jedi’s guilt is over–if they had never come, this would not have happened, rather than things getting violent.
I think what we are more likely to see is the Jedi rush in because of the fire and the sisters think they set it (Sol somehow knows Mae set it but she lies) and it escalates and…probably the padawan Torbin strikes first.
Also, I hope we see a lot more of Star Wars Jason Mendoza.
They are the same and will turn about to be Darth Plagueis.
Yes, I think its shitty, self-insert, narcissistic pap made by clueless writers and touted by brainless leads.
BUT the usual complaints? It ruined my childhood. It means Anakin isnt special. It retcons blah blah blah
No it doesn’t. The witch is Darth Plagueis. It doesn’t retcon anything. Whats the diff between “The Force is a field that covers everyone and everything” and “The Force is a thread that connects people and the thread can be pulled”??
I agree this sucks, but the hysteria is some places over this ep is off the charts.
Besides…maybe we’ll get a cool appearance by a young Sidious by Timothy Chalomet or someone interesting.
Earlier then 1999. ROTJ sucks. Ewoks, a second Death Star, The Cuckolding of Han Solo. (and i dont mean reversing ‘i love you’. Just the overall oh shucks goofiness of him)
And most important to this subject. The unearned emotional beats with Darth Vader. After watching his kid get roasted for 30 seconds (A relationship btw that also has vastly unearned emotional beats) he finally thrown Palpatine down a well and that makes it all ok??
Then the prequel trilogy doubles down on why I shouldnt give a shit about Anakin. The horrible writing, delivery, the instant change to the dark side, and most important the slaughter of children.
This guy somehow gets to become a Force Ghost? GImme a break.
The thing is, if the Force (and apparently Force sensitivity) is a universal thing, you’d totally expect the many, many species throughout the galaxy to have their own names, understandings, and ways of interacting with and using said Force going far back in time. So no problem with that part. But once again the writing is in this very narrow portion of what is clearly a massive timeline. So the idea that the Jedi order is really rather corrupt and set up to fail isn’t new. The idea that some other society views the Force differently from the way the Jedi do isn’t really a shocker.
So the show is back to a mystery that doesn’t seem all that interesting.
I will say that if they make it that somehow the Jedi caused this to “get their hands on” the twins I will be done. We are at the point where deconstruction is the boring cliche. Can’t something just be good and moral?
Well you know “Anakin blew up the Death Star and killed millions of people” so everything is in grays
But seriously, an examination of the Jedi Cult Order and their arrogance and apathy and penchant for grooming is perfectly fine for me.
A subtle examination of how we get from Jedi like Luke (by that I mean, I assume the Jedi were once as we see Luke in ROTJ) to the infuriating ones in the prequel trilogy
They are a religious order that takes children and turns them into warrior monk cops… There’s nothing good or moral about them if you apply any scrutiny. You can’t even blame modern deconstruction or Disney. The original creator established this over 20 years ago.
Wookiee Jedi looks like Harry of Harry and the Hendersons to me.
I also wonder if they are Dathomir witches or another sect? (Not sure right word)
Yes, way too many dead witches to be just the fire. Fortress is obviously made of coal
I like the idea of different approaches to the Force besides Jedi or Sith.
