Star Wars Ahsoka (tv series)
- Thread starter ghostryder
- Start date
Jodo
Master Member
That is more prosthetic though, compared to a vital organ wound.
You know what would have been cool? Ezra reaching out through the force, trying to let his location be known, and not only reaching Ahsoka, but also accidentally letting one of the bad force users know. That’s better than yet another ball shaped McGuffin.
That could have set thing in motion for the Rebels to rescue Ezra, and the bad guys to find him, where in turn they could use him to find Thrawn.
You know what would have been cool? Ezra reaching out through the force, trying to let his location be known, and not only reaching Ahsoka, but also accidentally letting one of the bad force users know. That’s better than yet another ball shaped McGuffin.
That could have set thing in motion for the Rebels to rescue Ezra, and the bad guys to find him, where in turn they could use him to find Thrawn.
Paul Andrew
Master Member
Haven't watched the second episode yet. Is it specifically stated that he is outside the galaxy, or is that a thing that's being inferred from how the visualization of the map works?
Also, back in the Legends era Thrawn spent years in the Unknown Regions prior to becoming the big bad at about 5yrs post ROTJ (I do like how they've kept that part of the timeline). Wherever the purgills took him could just be an analog for the Unknown Regions.
Also, back in the Legends era Thrawn spent years in the Unknown Regions prior to becoming the big bad at about 5yrs post ROTJ (I do like how they've kept that part of the timeline). Wherever the purgills took him could just be an analog for the Unknown Regions.
I'm typically a super positive person when it comes to this stuff, so I'm shocked I'm more negative than most on there. It's usually the opposite. It's possible I built it up in my head too much. I appreciate that people are more positive on this show than me and I'll try to use it to tone down my own negativity, as I'm possibly being too nit-picky. Having said that, I wanted to share my unfiltered thoughts. Hopefully I don't come off as too sour.
I'm a big Rebels fan, and I love Dave Filoni's previous work, but these two episodes were so odd. The pacing, the dialogue, the story choices, the acting. Everything felt off. I rarely think about media this way, but it felt like it lacked confidence. As if Dave had a long checklist of things he needed to accomplish in these episodes and lost all feeling for how it worked together and flowed. It's like I could see what he was trying to do in some cases, but it never clicked. It all just felt very flat and uninspired.
Negatives:
Characters/acting - Most everyone in this show is really boring and lacks charisma. The story seems to require this a bit, as there is supposed to a lot of tension in these first two episodes. Tension that Thrawn may be back and tension that Ahsoka and Sabine apparently had a falling out. But it doesn't really work. Everyone is so stoic and lacking charisma. The life has been sucked out of everything. I will say that I really enjoyed the villians though. Baylon is by far the best character and the only one really bringing any kind of presence. I like the cast, overall, and I know Star Wars isn't known for it's amazing dialogue, but the issues also stem a bit from the writing and tone.
Writing and tone - It feels like Dave is trying to write something serious in these first couple episodes and tries to write a lot of "tense" scenes. I can see what he was trying to do in a lot of these scenes but they just don't work. I now understand why people who didn't watch Rebels feel like they are missing something. Because there are so many odd scenes where the characters pause and reflect in odd ways that doesn't feel natural. Almost as if they said something profound that we are supposed to understand as being profound. But almost none of this has anything to do with Rebels or any backstory, it's just odd writing choices. If I was a non-fan, I'd assume these were all moments I would understand if I understood more backstory.
Additionally, there were times where the tone was super goofy. I would have already thought of it feeling goofy in any show, but when you have some of these super slow, boring "dramatic" scenes, and then go into a very goofy scene, it's even more jarring. I like some cheesiness in my Star Wars, so there is room for that, but this wasn't really cheesiness. It felt pretty amateurish.
Finally, I hate that we are seeing some story elements that annoyed us recently with other shows/movies being used here. The "secret map that points to the whereabouts of an important person" device, and having yet another person survive being stabbed by a lightsaber both made me groan.
Pacing - Kind of linked with the above, the pacing is really bad and drags a lot. I feel like it's made worse by the issues with the writing. It's often said that good dramas are okay taking their time and letting scenes breathe rather than rushing forward. It seems Dave took this to heart, but the problem is that if nothing interesting is actually happening that extra time just ends up being boring. A perfect example is the Indiana Jones style opening. It takes a good bit of time allowing Ahsoka to slowly figure out the puzzle to unlock the map. However, there is no actual tension or intrigue here. If you look at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark, we get a nice set up of boobie traps and danger leading up to him reaching the idol. This adds nice tension as he studies the device it's placed on and tries to figure out a solution. We know if he gets it wrong, he'll likely activate a deadly booby trap. There are clear stakes that creates tension and allows us to feel something as he slowly tries to work it out. In Ahsoka, there are no stakes. She is just looking around figuring out clues and slowly activating the pillars. There is nothing at stake, no tension. There is no immediate danger, no ticking clock. Nothing. Heck, she encounters the danger AFTER she solves it. Had she got in a scuffle with the HK droids BEFORE she went down there and then escaped them just long enough to have a few moments to solve the puzzle, then there would be some tension there that would have made it interesting.
Production - I'm really starting to think they are just spreading themselves too thin on this budget. In Mando S1 and S2, everything looked solid. But they also had a smaller story that didn't go too grand. As they have continued on with these shows where they have a lot of locations with more CGI and action, it feels like every scene I'm alternating between things looking good and then things looking like a fan film. The fact that it can still look good in some spots, and the fact that they have done it before with Mando, makes me think they are just saving budget for bigger moments and forgetting to spend on the basics needed to have a consistent look and feel.
Positives:
Villains - Ray Stevenson is great. He didn't have much to do in these first two episodes, but he really has a presence on screen and made his limited time very interesting. Shin is also an interesting character so far. Pretty basic, but she has a little bit of a menacing presence that's nice. I also like that they made Morgan a Nightsister. Just a potential extra dimension to her that could make a bigger threat than just a figurehead.
Music - Outside of a few scenes, I enjoyed the music. Nothing earth shattering, but there were a few moments I noticed that the music fit well to a particular scene.
I'll close by saying that I still plan to watch the rest of the show and have hopes I'll enjoy it more. I have endless amounts of copium when it comes to Star Wars. Even as I'm disappointed, I keep hoping "next week will be different". My little bit of copium for this show was that it did start to pick up a bit towards the end of the second episode and the ending kind of signaled that we were done with the set up and ready to move the story forward a bit more. We'll see where it goes now.
I'm a big Rebels fan, and I love Dave Filoni's previous work, but these two episodes were so odd. The pacing, the dialogue, the story choices, the acting. Everything felt off. I rarely think about media this way, but it felt like it lacked confidence. As if Dave had a long checklist of things he needed to accomplish in these episodes and lost all feeling for how it worked together and flowed. It's like I could see what he was trying to do in some cases, but it never clicked. It all just felt very flat and uninspired.
Negatives:
Characters/acting - Most everyone in this show is really boring and lacks charisma. The story seems to require this a bit, as there is supposed to a lot of tension in these first two episodes. Tension that Thrawn may be back and tension that Ahsoka and Sabine apparently had a falling out. But it doesn't really work. Everyone is so stoic and lacking charisma. The life has been sucked out of everything. I will say that I really enjoyed the villians though. Baylon is by far the best character and the only one really bringing any kind of presence. I like the cast, overall, and I know Star Wars isn't known for it's amazing dialogue, but the issues also stem a bit from the writing and tone.
Writing and tone - It feels like Dave is trying to write something serious in these first couple episodes and tries to write a lot of "tense" scenes. I can see what he was trying to do in a lot of these scenes but they just don't work. I now understand why people who didn't watch Rebels feel like they are missing something. Because there are so many odd scenes where the characters pause and reflect in odd ways that doesn't feel natural. Almost as if they said something profound that we are supposed to understand as being profound. But almost none of this has anything to do with Rebels or any backstory, it's just odd writing choices. If I was a non-fan, I'd assume these were all moments I would understand if I understood more backstory.
Additionally, there were times where the tone was super goofy. I would have already thought of it feeling goofy in any show, but when you have some of these super slow, boring "dramatic" scenes, and then go into a very goofy scene, it's even more jarring. I like some cheesiness in my Star Wars, so there is room for that, but this wasn't really cheesiness. It felt pretty amateurish.
Finally, I hate that we are seeing some story elements that annoyed us recently with other shows/movies being used here. The "secret map that points to the whereabouts of an important person" device, and having yet another person survive being stabbed by a lightsaber both made me groan.
Pacing - Kind of linked with the above, the pacing is really bad and drags a lot. I feel like it's made worse by the issues with the writing. It's often said that good dramas are okay taking their time and letting scenes breathe rather than rushing forward. It seems Dave took this to heart, but the problem is that if nothing interesting is actually happening that extra time just ends up being boring. A perfect example is the Indiana Jones style opening. It takes a good bit of time allowing Ahsoka to slowly figure out the puzzle to unlock the map. However, there is no actual tension or intrigue here. If you look at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark, we get a nice set up of boobie traps and danger leading up to him reaching the idol. This adds nice tension as he studies the device it's placed on and tries to figure out a solution. We know if he gets it wrong, he'll likely activate a deadly booby trap. There are clear stakes that creates tension and allows us to feel something as he slowly tries to work it out. In Ahsoka, there are no stakes. She is just looking around figuring out clues and slowly activating the pillars. There is nothing at stake, no tension. There is no immediate danger, no ticking clock. Nothing. Heck, she encounters the danger AFTER she solves it. Had she got in a scuffle with the HK droids BEFORE she went down there and then escaped them just long enough to have a few moments to solve the puzzle, then there would be some tension there that would have made it interesting.
Production - I'm really starting to think they are just spreading themselves too thin on this budget. In Mando S1 and S2, everything looked solid. But they also had a smaller story that didn't go too grand. As they have continued on with these shows where they have a lot of locations with more CGI and action, it feels like every scene I'm alternating between things looking good and then things looking like a fan film. The fact that it can still look good in some spots, and the fact that they have done it before with Mando, makes me think they are just saving budget for bigger moments and forgetting to spend on the basics needed to have a consistent look and feel.
Positives:
Villains - Ray Stevenson is great. He didn't have much to do in these first two episodes, but he really has a presence on screen and made his limited time very interesting. Shin is also an interesting character so far. Pretty basic, but she has a little bit of a menacing presence that's nice. I also like that they made Morgan a Nightsister. Just a potential extra dimension to her that could make a bigger threat than just a figurehead.
Music - Outside of a few scenes, I enjoyed the music. Nothing earth shattering, but there were a few moments I noticed that the music fit well to a particular scene.
I'll close by saying that I still plan to watch the rest of the show and have hopes I'll enjoy it more. I have endless amounts of copium when it comes to Star Wars. Even as I'm disappointed, I keep hoping "next week will be different". My little bit of copium for this show was that it did start to pick up a bit towards the end of the second episode and the ending kind of signaled that we were done with the set up and ready to move the story forward a bit more. We'll see where it goes now.
Who?
Anyone else think they need to go back to making lightsaber fights the old way? I think these neopixel style lightsaber fights have a weak and slow feeling to them since they have to worry about not hitting each other too hard. There doesn't seem to be much speed and power behind the swings.
Ahsoka's Droid.
Sorry- poor dad joke
Joek3rr
Master Member
Hew been doing since TCW.
He also voiced the character in 4 episodes of The Clone Wars.
I was wondering but I wasn't sure so I figured I would answer it just in case.
onderon
Sr Member
Eh, well, it was okay. My wife was bored but I cannot blame her.
I really loved the sets! Finally they look good, alive, no lame CGI or badly painted walls. I still don't understand why the spaceships always look brand new inside, especially the cockpit, but whatever.
Dawson's Ahsoka is good. I like Bordizzo's Sabrine as well. But man I don't like Mrs. McGregor's Syndulla. Acting is bad, face is bad, not matching, she is not feeling it. Rest is okay. I absolutely hated the Nightsister. What is this? Why? So bad. So bad.
And the biggest problem that I can't get over, is why, Oh Why looking for a map again?! MAPS! Always maps! Maps for Luke, Maps for Palpatine, Maps for Maps, Maps now again. I am pretty sure there were more maps but I don't remember all of them. Boring. And why? Why would ANYONE hide Thrawn's location in the ruins of a Nightsister temple?? I don't get it, I don't like it, I am looking forward to the third episode because overall, I liked it, It felt good, felt Star Wars.
I would give 7/10 for the first 2 episodes.
I really loved the sets! Finally they look good, alive, no lame CGI or badly painted walls. I still don't understand why the spaceships always look brand new inside, especially the cockpit, but whatever.
Dawson's Ahsoka is good. I like Bordizzo's Sabrine as well. But man I don't like Mrs. McGregor's Syndulla. Acting is bad, face is bad, not matching, she is not feeling it. Rest is okay. I absolutely hated the Nightsister. What is this? Why? So bad. So bad.
And the biggest problem that I can't get over, is why, Oh Why looking for a map again?! MAPS! Always maps! Maps for Luke, Maps for Palpatine, Maps for Maps, Maps now again. I am pretty sure there were more maps but I don't remember all of them. Boring. And why? Why would ANYONE hide Thrawn's location in the ruins of a Nightsister temple?? I don't get it, I don't like it, I am looking forward to the third episode because overall, I liked it, It felt good, felt Star Wars.
I would give 7/10 for the first 2 episodes.
nwjedidave
Sr Member
I'm guessing there will be a small coven (?) of Nightsisters that long ago ventured off Dathomir. We find out in the end that the very few who survived were off'ed by Thrawn which sets off Morgan to help take him down.
Kylash spelled out it’s not necessarily a map to Thrawn but the purgils, and everyone knows they took him. Still it’s a map, and yes, that does seem overused recently.
Darth Lars
Master Member
I hadn't followed Rebels, so I decided to binge ... a selection of the episodes.
To narrow down my viewing, I searched the web for "Best Star Wars Rebels Episodes" and found about five web pages that ranked episodes, or presented a selection. Then I counted which episodes that had multiple mentions and watched those, and skipped (most of) the rest.
If anyone is considering doing the same, my documentation is below. I did not keep the URL to each web page I visited, sorry, as I had intended this only for my own use.
If an episode has more than one mention, the "score" is after the title:
(Did not count the pilot)
1:5 Rise of the Old Masters 3
1:7 Out of Darkness 2
1:9 Gathering forces
1:10 Path of the Jedi: 4
1:15 Fire across the Galaxy 4
2:1,2 The Siege of Lothal 5
2:3,4 The Lost Commanders / Relics of the Old Republic
2:5 Always Two There are
2:9 Stealth Strike
2:11 Legacy 2
2:12 A Princess on Lothal
2:13 The Protector of Concord Dawn
2:14 Legends of the Lasat 2
2:15 The Call 2
2:16 Homecoming 2
2:17 The Honorable Ones 4
2:18 Shroud of Darkness 5
2:21,22 Twilight of the Apprentice 6
3:1,2 Steps into Shadow
3:3 The Holocrons of Fate: 4
3:5 Hera's Heroes
3:6 The Last Battle 2
3:10 Visions and Voices 2
3:12,13 Ghosts of Geonosis
3:15 Trials of the Darksaber: 5
3:17 Through Imperial Eyes 2
3:18 Secret Cargo
3:20 Twin Suns 5
3:21,22 Zero hour 4
4:1,2 Heroes of mandalore
4:3 In the name of the Rebellion 1 2
,4 In the name of the Rebellion 1 2
4:7 Kindred
4:8 Crawler
4:9 Rebel Assault
4:10 Jedi Night 4
4:11 Dume
4:13 A World Between Worlds 3
4:14 A Fool's Hope
4:15,16 Family Reunion and farewell 4
(Did not count the pilot)
1:5 Rise of the Old Masters 3
1:7 Out of Darkness 2
1:9 Gathering forces
1:10 Path of the Jedi: 4
1:15 Fire across the Galaxy 4
2:1,2 The Siege of Lothal 5
2:3,4 The Lost Commanders / Relics of the Old Republic
2:5 Always Two There are
2:9 Stealth Strike
2:11 Legacy 2
2:12 A Princess on Lothal
2:13 The Protector of Concord Dawn
2:14 Legends of the Lasat 2
2:15 The Call 2
2:16 Homecoming 2
2:17 The Honorable Ones 4
2:18 Shroud of Darkness 5
2:21,22 Twilight of the Apprentice 6
3:1,2 Steps into Shadow
3:3 The Holocrons of Fate: 4
3:5 Hera's Heroes
3:6 The Last Battle 2
3:10 Visions and Voices 2
3:12,13 Ghosts of Geonosis
3:15 Trials of the Darksaber: 5
3:17 Through Imperial Eyes 2
3:18 Secret Cargo
3:20 Twin Suns 5
3:21,22 Zero hour 4
4:1,2 Heroes of mandalore
4:3 In the name of the Rebellion 1 2
,4 In the name of the Rebellion 1 2
4:7 Kindred
4:8 Crawler
4:9 Rebel Assault
4:10 Jedi Night 4
4:11 Dume
4:13 A World Between Worlds 3
4:14 A Fool's Hope
4:15,16 Family Reunion and farewell 4
Last edited:
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