Online Series: Star Wars: Ahsoka (August 23rd)

[LarKing]

Another fantastic episode. I was worried how Thrawn would do as I feel a character like that is really hard to nail in both looks and personality. Very pleased with the actor/writing portraying him this far. His scenes felt absolutely sinister. Mini emperor vibes where he’s just playing everyone to get to his goals.

This episode really felt like they were trying to show us Star Wars but in another galaxy. Lots of parallels. Loved the turtle dudes. Ezra felt like Ezra but still a lot to see with that.

Did anyone else notice how the doors made the same sound effect as the ones on Korriban from KOTOR? I don’t know much of the lore with the sith, but is this perhaps where they came from originally? That whole temple building gave me those types of vibes.

This show as a whole just feels like Star Wars. I haven’t gotten that feeling from much new Star Wars content since Disney took over. Much of the other stuff has made me feel like I’m watching some form of a Star Wars imitation. But this show has me feeling like I’m watching Star Wars for the first time again. Absolutely loving it.

 

[LarKing]

I enjoyed it. My only real complaints are:

1. The opening effect of hyperspace and the purgills looked laughably cheap. Like I get that hyperspace might look different when it's a biological species doing it but the old-new effect Disney has been using was fine. The effect here was laughable.

2. Not enough Ashoka in an Ashoka show again.

But that said it was a good Sabine episode and I enjoyed the sort of self contained adventure she went on in the way I enjoyed season 1 of Mando episodes. Good progression on Baylan and his apprentice, solid reveals. Only one real action scene but that's fine.

Spoiler

I can't remember if I actually watched episodes of Rebels with Thrawn or YouTube clips but I thought the introduction of the character was well handled and Lars Mikkelsen is off to an awesome start. Wasn't expecting the Ezra reveal so quickly. A bit annoying that Sabine isn't in more of a rush to tell Ezra what the circumstances are so they can plan accordingly in a hurry, but I understand that's how a drama series operates sometimes. Even the best prestige dramas will have characters keep their mouths shut with necessary information another character should know to keep the episodic narrative flow compelling.

I found the hyperspace effect a bit strange too but didn’t really bother me. Perhaps they’re trying to show that hyperspace looks different when you’re the originals doing it.

To your second point, the show may be called Ahsoka but it’s the sequel to Rebels. I’m fine with her not being in the show as much especially as it would make sense they’d be a bit behind here.

I mean she said she wanted to just enjoy his presence for a minute or something along those lines. Now if that ends up costing them, we’ll see. But I also wouldn’t want to bring up the bad news with what happened in the first five minutes of seeing a long lost friend again.

 

[Hivemind]

More than anything else, that episode was intended to be visual and audio candy. And it mostly worked, at least for the scenes that weren't painfully obvious about being shot on the volume. The character and set designs were striking, but when the Volume is trying to simulate something other than a wide-open expanse, you get this very obvious real foreground/fake background effect that detracts heavily (even worse when they have stormtroopers or characters in that fake background).

Keeping Lars Mikkelsen for Thrawn's voice is a huge plus. But, visually, it's pretty rough. It's taken a lot of willpower to overlook the make-up and costuming on Ahsoka and Hera, but Thrawn's make-up is possibly the worst of them all.

The Great Mothers costumes look great. Really points out how much Morgan Elsbeth doesn't look like the other Night Sisters. Definitely feels like the decision to make that her origin came after she was introduced in Mandalorian.

The score did some real heavy lifting in this episode.

The bandits felt a bit Sequel-trilogy-like (plus the very obvious samurai influences).

Not a whole lot of plot movement this episode, but we got tastes of development from Baylon Skoll.

The fact it will take three "cycles" to load up the Star Destroyer with the Dathomiri stuff is a pretty convenient plot stalling technique.

Ezra making friends with turtle rocks is very Ezra. Still skeptical about how a pretty flat coming-of-age character will translate to a live action show.

We went from finally having an Ahsoka-focused episode to an episode with barely any Ahsoka at all. I guess space whale farts are a lot slower than Hyperspace rings.

 

[HanSolo]

More than anything else, that episode was intended to be visual and audio candy. And it mostly worked, at least for the scenes that weren't painfully obvious about being shot on the volume. The character and set designs were striking, but when the Volume is trying to simulate something other than a wide-open expanse, you get this very obvious real foreground/fake background effect that detracts heavily (even worse when they have stormtroopers or characters in that fake background).

1. Keeping Lars Mikkelsen for Thrawn's voice is a huge plus. But, visually, it's pretty rough. It's taken a lot of willpower to overlook the make-up and costuming on Ahsoka and Hera, but Thrawn's make-up is possibly the worst of them all.

2. The Great Mothers costumes look great. Really points out how much Morgan Elsbeth doesn't look like the other Night Sisters. Definitely feels like the decision to make that her origin came after she was introduced in Mandalorian.

The score did some real heavy lifting in this episode.

3. The bandits felt a bit Sequel-trilogy-like (plus the very obvious samurai influences).

4. Not a whole lot of plot movement this episode, but we got tastes of development from Baylon Skoll.

5. The fact it will take three "cycles" to load up the Star Destroyer with the Dathomiri stuff is a pretty convenient plot stalling technique.

Ezra making friends with turtle rocks is very Ezra. Still skeptical about how a pretty flat coming-of-age character will translate to a live action show.

6. We went from finally having an Ahsoka-focused episode to an episode with barely any Ahsoka at all. I guess space whale farts are a lot slower than Hyperspace rings.

I added bolded numbers to what I felt like responding to.

1. I thought he looked fine, certainly better than Hera. Which to that point, another thing I noticed is her...lekkus I think they're called? The head tails. Are horrendously cheap for a project looking to be taken seriously. The slightest movement betrayed that they're made out of some kind of overly sensitive rubber/latex. It was really distracting when I rewatched episode 5 seeing them constantly bounce around when Ashoka's move naturally. But as for Thrawn, he looked how I expect a Chiss to look. Maybe a little lighter on the blue than I was expecting but he looked fine.

2. Seemed pretty obvious to me. I don't even get the sense that they had bigger plans for her outside her initial Mando appearance. Which I still maintain is a fantastic episode for modern Jedi action.

3. If anything, I thought they looked like cheap Tusken knock offs. Not necessarily cheap design, but unimaginative.

4. I mean, define movement. Both sides successfully found who they were looking for and things are moving towards a massive clash between 2 1/2 Jedi and a small Remnant army + the Fallen Jedi. I'd argue there was more plot movement in this episode than Episode 5, honestly, which was more of a character introspective.

5. I mean yes, on the surface, but I'd imagine a star destroyer can hold a fair bit of cargo. And if Thrawn intends to wage another war, he'll need every bit of weaponry he can carry back with him. What I'm thinking about more, re: convenience is what are they going to introduce to get the heroes back to the original galaxy? The purgills go to this planet to die, so it's a one way ticket. I'm presuming that given this is a multi season affair, both Thrawn and the heroes will make it back to the original galaxy, but I can't see them just sneaking on the donut ship to go back with Thrawn.

6. Agreed lol. I do think that was the best "Sabine episode" thus far and I do appreciate that they're still showing restraint with not having her tap into the force and instantly becoming a jedi badass. Though the Night Sisters have hinted that she's a legitimate threat so we're probably still going to see that at some point.

 

[HanSolo]

Another fantastic episode. I was worried how Thrawn would do as I feel a character like that is really hard to nail in both looks and personality. Very pleased with the actor/writing portraying him this far. His scenes felt absolutely sinister. Mini emperor vibes where he’s just playing everyone to get to his goals.

This episode really felt like they were trying to show us Star Wars but in another galaxy. Lots of parallels. Loved the turtle dudes. Ezra felt like Ezra but still a lot to see with that.

Did anyone else notice how the doors made the same sound effect as the ones on Korriban from KOTOR? I don’t know much of the lore with the sith, but is this perhaps where they came from originally? That whole temple building gave me those types of vibes.

This show as a whole just feels like Star Wars. I haven’t gotten that feeling from much new Star Wars content since Disney took over. Much of the other stuff has made me feel like I’m watching some form of a Star Wars imitation. But this show has me feeling like I’m watching Star Wars for the first time again. Absolutely loving it.

I think Disney Star Wars has had its hits and misses.

TFA was fun if a bit too familiar. I expect I can still enjoy it on a rewatch but I haven't done so in a while. TLJ drank subversion Kool-Aid. TROS did an ass poor job trying to retcon TLJ and ended up making an utter mess. It all did feel like Star Wars to me, but the narrative incohesion was distracting and disappointing. A lot of wasted potential.

Rogue One felt like Star Wars but the reshoots, poor editing, and poor character balancing of the first couple acts really drag it down and can't save the fun action of the final act for me.

I'm one of the few people that really enjoyed Solo and have rewatched a few times to have a fun time watching a Star Wars adventure, but I'll admit that it does feel like they're putting on a Star Wars play or something. It captured the spirit of adventure of the original movie well, but something felt off about the atmosphere where, I agree, it feels like an imitation.

Mando started off well enough and I enjoyed Season 2 but not as much as S1. It has a different tone and tempo compared to other Star Wars projects, but it felt like watching an adventure in another pocket/time frame of the saga. Season 3 was just dull and honestly, I couldn't even tell you if I actually finished it or not.

Book of Boba Fett was a rushed and sloppy mess. I watched it all the way through because I felt compelled to but I have no interest or need to ever rewatch it.

Obi Wan was fine, but I'd agree it felt like an imitation and a story crafted just to give fans one more adventure with McGregor's Obi-Wan.

Andor was outstanding though, I'll admit, it's such a tonal departure that it does feel like watching something different yet somehow still in the same narrative universe. Either way, it's a shame it's only getting two seasons.

This show has a solid Star Wars feel...lacking a bit of charm and humor but it does feel like it's got the better parts of Filoni's take on Star Wars going for it. As it stands right now I wouldn't put it above Andor, but it's one of the better Disney Star Wars products.

 

[Bounces R Way]

It was cool. Definitely really well scored as mentioned, does make a huge difference and the score was one of the reasons I remember disliking The Rise of Skywalker so much. That movie really overdid it to cover up it's other failings.

Doing a full animation to live action switch of a show is an interesting concept, and now that I've come to think of this project as more Rebels Season 5 than Ahsoka I am appreciating it more. It hasn't lost the cartoon storytelling bits(which befriending a pack of clothed rock crabs definitely is) and in fact has often enhanced and expanded on them. It's offering something very different than Mando, Andor, Kenobi, and BoBF did. And I think that's great. Star Wars for me isn't one specific thing, not about Jedi v Sith or Rebellion v Empire or space fights or kooky aliens. The thing that appealed about it to me when I was a kid was it was a whole galaxy of possibility.

The Thrawn intro was worth the wait. The Chimera pulling up, the alien landscape, the nightsisters, the bandit fight, really the whole episode I thought was visually quite well executed. As far as a setup episode I don't think I would have done much different.

 

[MadDevil]

I'm still kind of in disbelief that we're seeing Grand Admiral Thrawn in live action. I must have read the Thrawn Trilogy at least 10 times in my life, plus numerous re-reads of the comic adaptation. This feels even bigger than seeing him in Rebels, which was it's own fanboy moment for me.

I'm digging the patched up Chimaera and stormtroopers. Thrawn's head of security looked like something out of Stargate.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Thrawn's entrance and every scene he was in was awesome. There can be some cheesy CGI and some of the usages of green screens are pretty obvious, but what's Star Wars without some cheesy CGI?!

Overall, awesome episode. I'm psyched for next week. It's going DOWN.

 

[Sad People]

Thrawns entrance was one of the best in SW for me. Top notch stuff.

I wonder if the Thrawns army is like Merrok and that theyre undead from nightsister magick?

Also it makes me wonder that the cargo they are transferring from the catacombs is dead nightsisters and thats the army Thrawn wants to command is an undead army full of nightsisters and zabrak?

I really hope we get more nightsisters and nightsister magick going forward not just in Ahsoka but in SW in general. Really cool stuff.

 

[Hivemind]

I really hope we get more nightsisters and nightsister magick going forward not just in Ahsoka but in SW in general. Really cool stuff.

Considering every time Shin appears on screen with a Dathomiri she says "witch" - they're definitely setting up for casual fans to understand that they have powers and for more magic to occur.

 

[Sad People]

Considering every time Shin appears on screen with a Dathomiri she says "witch" - they're definitely setting up for casual fans to understand that they have powers and for more magic to occur.

Yeah its a really cool world/ species or whatever word you wanna use that id love to see SW dive deeper into.

 

[Hivemind]

Yeah its a really cool world/ species or whatever word you wanna use that id love to see SW dive deeper into.

Between Clone Wars and Jedi Fallen Order, there's already a fair bit of Dathomir content out there. Although I suppose this is the first time it's been brought to live action (other than Maul, obviously).

 

[Dubi Doo]

Anyone wondering what Baylan sensed that he said was causing Thrawn to want to leave quickly?

 

[Jumptheshark]

Every time Ray Stevenson says or does something, I am sad. Been a fan of his since the Rome TV series. Very underrated actor. If he had not passed away, I could see him using this role as a step to other real good supporting roles

 

[LarKing]

Every time Ray Stevenson says or does something, I am sad. Been a fan of his since the Rome TV series. Very underrated actor. If he had not passed away, I could see him using this role as a step to other real good supporting roles

He just owns every scene he’s in. Even with Thrawn there, you got the feeling that there were two huge villains/anti heroes in the room.

 

[Sad People]

Every time Ray Stevenson says or does something, I am sad. Been a fan of his since the Rome TV series. Very underrated actor. If he had not passed away, I could see him using this role as a step to other real good supporting roles

Ive never seen Rome and just started watching Rome because of this show and ive been really enjoy the show and Rays character.

 

[Lt Dan]

Thrawns entrance was one of the best in SW for me. Top notch stuff.

I wonder if the Thrawns army is like Merrok and that theyre undead from nightsister magick?

Also it makes me wonder that the cargo they are transferring from the catacombs is dead nightsisters and thats the army Thrawn wants to command is an undead army full of nightsisters and zabrak?

I really hope we get more nightsisters and nightsister magick going forward not just in Ahsoka but in SW in general. Really cool stuff.

yes

 

[HanSolo]

Weirdly enough I was thinking that Game of Thrones squandered a great opportunity to have Stevenson somewhere in their catalog of seasons. Feels like he'd fit right in.

He's gotta be up there with Luthen from Andor among the best new characters from the Disney era of Star Wars.

 

[Sad People]

Weirdly enough I was thinking that Game of Thrones squandered a great opportunity to have Stevenson somewhere in their catalog of seasons. Feels like he'd fit right in.

He's gotta be up there with Luthen from Andor among the best new characters from the Disney era of Star Wars.

Yeah hes been doing such a good job with his character.

 

[MadDevil]

Weirdly enough I was thinking that Game of Thrones squandered a great opportunity to have Stevenson somewhere in their catalog of seasons. Feels like he'd fit right in.

He's gotta be up there with Luthen from Andor among the best new characters from the Disney era of Star Wars.

He has a Barristan Selmy feel to him. Although he probably would have been a little too young for the character at the time.

 

[HanSolo]

He has a Barristan Selmy feel to him. Although he probably would have been a little too young for the character at the time.

Yeah I was thinking that too. I feel like he could've done well as the Blackfish, but that was a limited role as is.

 

[Hivemind]

There's a dozen "grizzled old white dude" roles that he could reasonably have played in Game of Thrones. Selmy and Blackfish already mentioned. But also Stannis, Jorah Mormont, Qhorin Halfhand, Yoren, etc etc etc

But the casting of those characters was mostly on-point anyway.

'Game Of Thrones' Running Out Of Unkempt Old Men To Cast

LOS ANGELES—According to insider sources, the future of HBO’s Game Of Thrones is currently in doubt, with the hit fantasy series facing a dire shortage of weather-beaten, bedraggled old men to cast. “A lot of the big crowd scenes in season two really depleted the available pool of greasy-haired...

www.theonion.com

 

[HanSolo]

There's a dozen "grizzled old white dude" roles that he could reasonably have played in Game of Thrones. Selmy and Blackfish already mentioned. But also Stannis, Jorah Mormont, Qhorin Halfhand, Yoren, etc etc etc

But the casting of those characters was mostly on-point anyway.

'Game Of Thrones' Running Out Of Unkempt Old Men To Cast

LOS ANGELES—According to insider sources, the future of HBO’s Game Of Thrones is currently in doubt, with the hit fantasy series facing a dire shortage of weather-beaten, bedraggled old men to cast. “A lot of the big crowd scenes in season two really depleted the available pool of greasy-haired...

www.theonion.com

Yeah but now that you've mentioned it I think he could have had an awesome take on Stannis. Not that Dillane didn't kill it as well. I'm just imagining Stevenson's Stannis at the Battle of the Blackwater. Would've been something.

 

[Tawnos]

The actor playing Ezra nailed it.

For a low event episode, I was enthralled the whole time proving that low event =/= bad.

 

[#37]

Old Mother witch can detect Ahsoka in hyperspace, in the mouth of a whale, but can't detect Ezra on her home planet. It's ok though, because Sabine found him in less than a day.