Jaxom 1974

Oohhhh...I totally missed the idea that the first two episodes were a bit of a prequel/catch up to where Rebels left ofleft that actually makes some sense...kinda...

He'll still command upwards of 500 million though...

I did watch all of Rebels...and with that knowledge watched the start of Ahsoka and even then, the way it was presented, it absolutely worked if you had no working knowledge of the characters. Even with working knowledge, the same questions are being asked: What was the actual relationship of Sabine/Ahsoka? How did Ezra's disappearance and the search for him play into what happened between them? Will, does, that matter to any solution to the show, or is it background? Who is Balyan Skoll ultimately? Who is the mysterious, silent Inquisitor working with him? (A question the clickbait media wants to be a bigger part of the show - is it Bariss Offee or Ezra?) Why is the New Republic so bad at things? It all worked overall...

To be fair, we don't know what Thrawn's motivation is yet...or why it seemingly works for the dark side users to want to work with/for him. And Baylan Skoll is only, at this point, a mercenary anyway. And the thing about the Rebellion, and I think this comes through in Andor in some ways, is that there doesn't seem to be much of a plan of what to dononce the Empire is overthrown besides, "Restore the Republic"...which is, as shown here in the second episode, only possibly if so many of the Imperials are allowed to continue on doing what they'd been doing. Yes, Mandalorian seems to indicate the more hard-core Imperials have to be re-educated to some degree...but the New Republic seems to miss the point that the Empire appears to have succeeded and been accepted so readily because so many of the galaxy's population was already buying what the Emperor was selling...I mean, they had to have jad the same personnel issues that the New Republic faced, right?

This is why the Special Counsel went for the Twitter stuff, I thought. For the tweets, but also all those sweet, sweet DMs...

Hmmmm...and to think when the space map first appeared, I thought she'd found the Power Stone... And while it was clunky in its overall execution, at least the reason for a map makes at least a little sense...moreso than a map to find Luke...

Hmmm...I will accept the rebuke because gatekeepering is not something I believe in, and I in no way intended to come off that way. Though I can see that it might be interpreted that way. @Ser Scot A Ellison has my apologies if I said something to offend him. However, I will rework my initial statement to suggest that I, me personally, struggle with the idea that one form lf storytelling within a shared universe, "can ruin" the rest for someone and allow them to remain fans of the greater whole with new material. I don't believe shared universe storytelling should be a zero sum game and saying the rest is "ruined" by one version over potential others does seem very limiting. To me. That is what I wished to convey when I was disagreeing with Scot's assertion. Doing so poorly is on me.

And...? In a shared universe setting of the scope of Star Wars, that has existed for nearly 50 years, a universe built for my generation who were children during the OT and grew up on the stuff, it simply cannot be one or the other. It also should not be gate kept by my generation because of that. As a fan from the beginning, who grew up on this stuff, I want both. I need Filoni's storytelling and looser scripting to make things as light as it can be serious so that my children can come into this world and enjoy it and want to explore it. And I, as the longtime fan, want to see what can be done in a prestige style of storytelling within this universe now because I also think the story world can support it without reducing my take on the other stuff to, " Well that all sucks now because those telling the stories can do prestige so well". It isn't zero sum storytelling. It can't be. This doesn't mean the stories that aren't Andor can't be less than compelling. It also doesn't mean Andor Season 2 will stick the landing (based on expectations) either...

I'm less than ten miles from the Fiserv Forum and I can decide if it is the debate or the 100 degree heat that's keeping me from wanting to do anything outdoors today... Next summer is going to suck soooooo much...

Sorry. I can't accept this view. If you have to have a universe like Star Wars be, essentially, produced at the same level for all phases of it, then I'm not really certain how you can be a fan of any of it. Andor certainly has risen to the top, and I actually do agree it's some of the best storytelling that there has been in SW. However, I think there is large portions of Clone Wars and Rebels that are nearly as good, but they aren't even the same. Yeah, I don't know if The Mandalorian is good, but I enjoyed parts of it. Empire is still the best movie, but it certainly isn't at the same level as Andor in the end. A shared universe like Star Wars, you have to compartmentalize to some extent and remember to evaluate individually, as much as against the others. As to Asohka, I know I like the characters. I know I see the potential of the story. I also know I see that they have, as so many other Star Wars properties, a Luke Skywalker problem. Sure it's the same problem that you see in comic books and, of course, the MCU. And no, you can't have Luke Skywalker in everything. That's the time you have to let story logic kinda disappear. Either you have a weak reason why he can't be there, or you ignore it. And yeah, it isn't Andor, but it never was meant to be. I am going to keep watching before I pass any judgements. Sometimes it feels like Filoni truly wants to step away from the Skywalker Saga and expand the galaxy, but he keeps finding himself needing to shoehorn the saga back into things...I'd like to believe he is trying to drive a story that doesn't have to result in arriving at the First Order and the Sequels, but do it in a way that if it works, just maybe those movies can be forgotten, yet at the same time thread the needle to have things line up that way if need be...

Oh Tywin's off to a nice start. Who's on what hobby horse, smart guy?

Someone thinks that this new Snyder film is going to be original? How quaint.

Is there a comprehensive breakdown of the stories recapped anywhere? I mean, I enjoy the hell out of these stories, but I missed almost everything you all bring up...

The 5th and 6th are no go's for certain. I'm still waiting on my money league date...but right now, I THINK the rest are doable...

That's the thing...wasn't it a stowaway Gorn? It was trapped on the Defiant that went to the mirror universe...or was that the Tholian...? I can't remember exactly...

How do, if at all, do the Gorn mesh with the representation of the species from the fourth season on Enterprise...? It's like everyone forgot about that...

She was the best character in the first story...

The characters in Blade of Dream are absolutely more engaging overall than the ones from Age of Ash. But I'd be lying if I knew exactly what the heck was going on...but I know I want to know more in the third one!

I liked the finale. Yes, there is some stretching going on with Chapel and her survival, but considering the show length, the characters involved and what they have yet to do, and bit of story that was being told there...I'll accept a hand wave. It doesn't make or break the episode in the end. The Gorn...yeah...one of this show's remaining ret-cons of existing canon they need to address. They alluded to a significant Gorn story this season, but haven't developed the species beyond the young are like Xenomorphs or something...that we got an adult this time! In a space suit! Can they pull it off...? The adult Gorn, after watching The Ready Room, is pretty complicated. How will it translate to an articulated, speaking, character...?

Long live Gail Simone...

Her head had been sufficiently confused by the presentation of the issue that she'd been inclined to vote Yes, had she decided to though. This Ohiospecial election was a weird, weird thing...

My SiL admitted to knowing very little about the initiative in general. When my wife pointed out the tactic of making it seem reasonable to the less informed, and barring that, make it too confusing to hopefully keep people away from the poll. Based on that conversation, that tactic worked on my SiL... Thank goodness enough people are more savvy than that in Ohio.

Finally watched GOTG3 and it was absolutely, completely, utterly...mediocre. Why is Gunn considered a genius? Oh don't get me wrong, I'd sooner see him helm a film than JJ or Snyder...but his movies just do not do it for me. They're fine. That's the best I can say about them. And maybe it's simply the characters. But the banter and humor just feels forced at times...I've also never been a huge Chris Pratt fan and believe that Dave Bautista as Drax was played out midway before the first GOTG film... But that's all my opinion and I'll just let it all go now...

Gotta defend! I'm in.