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

[94 Oil Drops]

lol they straight up just said "Heir to the Empire" in reference to Thrawn.

I'm more than certain now that we're getting a slightly revised OG Thrawn trilogy, especially with all of the bread crumbs dropped in the other shows.

I really hope so. Star Wars has become such a mess lately. I haven't really enjoyed any of the TV shows. I quite liked Force Awakens and Rouge 1 but everything else has ranged from terrible to ok.

I haven't watched any of the cartoons mainly because I really detest the animation style and just don't have the time to catch up on everything but Asoka does seem like a pretty neat character and I know the really hard core fans seem love her. Thrawn is a pretty fascinating character too.

 

[Hivemind]

Good trailer, but my expectations are still very low after how Rebels season 4 concluded (time travel and hyperspace whales - really?) plus the mediocrity of BoBF and Obi-Wan and outright badness of Mandalorian season 3.

 

[Osprey]

The trailer didn't really excite me. I haven't seen the cartoons, so I have no familiarity with or affection for the characters or aesthetic, and the idea of a live action cartoon doesn't really appeal to me. I had a lot more anticipation for Andor, since the aesthetic, tone and other qualities of that were a lot more up my alley. I'll certainly still watch this and give it a chance, and maybe it'll surprise me, but I don't have any excitement or expectations.

 

[GabeTravels]

The trailer didn't really excite me. I haven't seen the cartoons, so I have no familiarity with or affection for the characters or aesthetic, and the idea of a live action cartoon doesn't really appeal to me. I had a lot more anticipation for Andor, since the aesthetic, tone and other qualities of that were a lot more up my alley. I'll certainly still watch this and give it a chance, and maybe it'll surprise me, but I don't have any excitement or expectations.

As someone who put off watching the animated shows for years...Rebels is spectacular. I liked Clone Wars too but there was way too much filler. Some of the arcs are epic in that show though. Rebels trims most of the fat and was great.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

As someone who put off watching the animated shows for years...Rebels is spectacular. I liked Clone Wars too but there was way too much filler. Some of the arcs are epic in that show though. Rebels trims most of the far and was great.

The highs of Clone Wars are higher than the highs of Rebels though. I do agree that Rebel is the most consistent show.

 

[GabeTravels]

The highs of Clone Wars are higher than the highs of Rebels though. I do agree that Rebel is the most consistent show.

I'd agree, especially the last season of Clone Wars.

 

[beowulf]

 

[Osprey]

 

[Felidae]

Besides Andor, all the Star Wars TV shows have been pretty disappointing for me personally, sitting through Obi Wan and Boba Fett in particular was a slog. I'll give it an episode or two though.

 

[Very Stable Genius]

Ok, for someone who hasn't watched and isn't planning to watch any of the cartoons, how lost am I going to be?

 

[Osprey]

Ok, for someone who hasn't watched and isn't planning to watch any of the cartoons, how lost am I going to be?

The video that I posted above answers that: "The show does a good job of introducing everything that's happened. No one will be confused watching Ahsoka's first two episodes, but I really do wonder whether it'll have the same impact. Like, they go into the show assuming that you care about these characters from Rebels and the Clone Wars and I'm not sure if they do a good enough job establishing that for new viewers."

 

[Scandale du Jour]

The video that I posted above answers that: "The show does a good job of introducing everything that's happened. No one will be confused watching Ahsoka's first two episodes, but I really do wonder whether it'll have the same impact. Like, they go into the show assuming that you care about these characters from Rebels and the Clone Wars and I'm not sure if they do a good enough job establishing that for new viewers."

Yeah, I do not think people who has not seen the cartoons will be "lost", but they won't get a lot of the subtleties and won't be as attached to the characters as people like me who watched the series like 3 times.

 

[Jovavic]

I think it'll be like the Yakuza game series, each game on its own is it's contained story but if you start in the middle you won't get all the background between the characters and certain references.

As for Ahsoka, I only know some of the story, I watched most of The Clone Wars when it came out years ago but I didn't bother with Rebels and I saw her pop up during Mandolorian.

 

[Hivemind]

E Wings are canon now.

 

[Hivemind]

Spoiler

Better set design and cinematography than other recent Star Wars shows, particularly Mando season 3. Some scenes still feel a little too obviously Volume-y for me, but they do a much better job about maximizing the strengths and working around the shortcomings of the Volume than Mando did in season 3.

It's a little bit of "Star Wars Paint by Numbers" at times. Capital ship flying across screen after the title crawl? Check. Lightsaber battle in a narrow corridor? Check. Jedi macguffin? Check. Land speeder chase and evasion? Check. Probe droid making probe droid noises? Check. Stuffy bipedal droid? Check. Jedi apprentice unsure if they're ready? Check. At least the giant spaceship isn't a Death Star this time.

It can also feel a little bit too much like a video game at times.

I still have a hard time viewing Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka. She's not doing anything wrong, per se, and she's doing a good enough job portraying the mournful, contemplative side of Ahsoka, but it's missing the defiant, sarcastic, spunky, cunning Ahsoka. Filling Ashley Eckstein's shoes was going to be a big challenge for anyone.

Lekkus still don't look very good in live action. They're fine for background characters, and they're fine on bigger roles in animation, but having multiple lead characters with them in live action is clunky.

Order 66? More like Order 66% effective. New survivors just keep cropping up.

Silly gripe that would apply to all sort of Star Wars media - but that puzzle map only has 1296 combinations. A droid should be able to brute force that solution in moments.

It drops you in expecting you to know and care about these characters. The fact they go as far as recreating the last shot from Rebels will go over the heads of new viewers.

Seeing The Phantom did bring back some feels for me, as a fan of Rebels. More so than the characters, funny enough.

"Because you're a hologram" is the best quip in Star Wars in a long, long time.

Chopper's sounds are definitely English turned into R2 beep noises.

I liked Sabine better with long hair.

The end credits really want you to know this is a Dave Filoni project. I'm shocked we didn't see him in his hat as a background character somewhere.

 

[#37]

Ok, for someone who hasn't watched and isn't planning to watch any of the cartoons, how lost am I going to be?

According to various reviews... you are going to be lost. Judging by comments I have seen attached to those reviews, if you complain about this the Gate Keepers will come along and question your fandom. You can Google up various lists of specific episodes from the cartoons that are being recommended ... so that you aren't lost. I expect this was done by design to help retain D+ subscribers... for an extra month or two.

 

[RobBrown4PM]

Man, a bright light went out when Ray Stevenson died.

Way, way too soon.

Also, I know nothing about Rebels, but you can't tell me that the artifact Ahsoka touches at the beginning isn't one of the element stones from the 5th Element.

 

[#37]

The only thing I like about the character Ahsoka is that she doesn't have plot armor... Let us hope they don't miss their chance to build up the character only to kill her off in the finale. Would be epic! ... But, they won't.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

According to various reviews... you are going to be lost. Judging by comments I have seen attached to those reviews, if you complain about this the Gate Keepers will come along and question your fandom. You can Google up various lists of specific episodes from the cartoons that are being recommended ... so that you aren't lost. I expect this was done by design to help retain D+ subscribers... for an extra month or two.

Yes and no.

You will not get some of the call backs, but the story works even if you do not know the characters. At least the first episode does (have not watched the second yet). They do enough to establish who is who. If they continue giving background as they go, it should be fine.

However, someone who has not seen the cartoons won't have a clue why the characters feel the way they feel. They can guess based on the exposition, but it becomes way harder to relate.

As someone who saw all of the cartoons, I was hooked instantly. The only thing that bothered me was why Sabine was Ahsoka's apprentice. I guess we will get more on that later. If so, then all is good.

 

[Very Stable Genius]

I enjoyed it, bbut the whole "Don't lose the macguffin, oh she lost the macguffin now we have to go on this big quest to find the macguffin" storytelling device is getting pretty tired.

 

[Dubi Doo]

The Boba Fett series soured me on Star Wars. I haven't even watched the Mandalorian's new season, which I was pretty invested in. I skipped Obi Wan, too. It's going to take a lot of praise from the public for me to check this out. There are just too many good shows for me to catch up on.

 

[kingsboy11]

Thank god these episodes are coming out at a reasonable hour

 

[Jovavic]

The Boba Fett series soured me on Star Wars. I haven't even watched the Mandalorian's new season, which I was pretty invested in. I skipped Obi Wan, too. It's going to take a lot of praise from the public for me to check this out. There are just too many good shows for me to catch up on.

I'm the exact same, haven't bothered with new Mandolorian or Obi-Wan after Boba Fett, but you gotta watch Andor

 

[Ben Grimm]

Spoiler

An ancient alien race visited the Star Wars galaxy thousands of years ago, changing the timeline.

 

[Jumptheshark]

good first episode but I imagine a few people wont like the idea of a strong, independent woman being the lead and the hero