Ahsoka (2023)

OK, so there’s an hour or so to go until the seventh episode and I feel like nobody’s brought up the most important thing about last week.

Spoiler: Episode 6

The Chimaera, Grand Admiral Thrawn’s flagship, has been through hell, and so has its crew. A lot of the exterior hull plating has been replaced with some kind of golden alloy, and so have parts of his troopers’ armor. There appear to be either no or few naval officers and ratings; all we’ve seen are what the subtitles refer to as “Night Troopers.” A lot of his troopers have had those red cloth wraps around them, kind of like others who have received the Night Sisters’ magical re-awakening … but that feels like a secondary issue.

What happened to the rest of Thrawn’s resources? Why is Thrawn so dependent on the Night Sisters? What did Thrawn run into after he and his forces arrived there?

And why are the Night Sisters so desperate to leave?

What’s over there?

Spoiler: Speculation

And why do I get the feeling we’ve seen it before?

 

I think we’re about to find out. Skoll definitely hinted that there is something bigger looming.

Also not having access to shipyards with access to materials extracted from known sources, it isn’t shocking he had to improvise. Thrawn even admits he doesn’t have a full complement of personnel.

 

Spoiler

THREEPIO?

 

Interesting casting notes: Claudia Black (Farscape) plays one of the Night Sisters, and Wes Chatham (The Expanse) plays Captain Enoch.

 

I had read that it was coming. I guess it was the best way to resolve that plot thread given the character who would make the most sense can’t appear.

 

Speaking of that cameo, is it time to recast the main characters from the original trilogy? This article got me thinking about it. If it was up to me, they would throw out the sequels and tell new stories with the original characters going forward from the current point in the Mandoverse. I didn't care for what they did with those characters in the sequels and that could be fixed by just ignoring that disjointed mess of a sequel trilogy, but I know it won't happen. That said, they are telling stories when Luke, Han, and Leia are alive and active. They should be part of the Mandoverse version of Heir to the Empire. The leaps of logic necessary to keep them out of it are distracting. They just don't make sense. Disney is missing an opportunity here. Yes, I get the urge to honor Carrie Fisher's memory. I know the failure of Solo drives a lot of this, but it's time to get past that. Put those good actors in those roles, like Sebastian Stan as Luke Skywalker. (Supposedly, he wants to do it and even Mark Hamill approves.) Put them in good stories and most of the fans will get over it. The rest can go kiss a gundark.

 

Recasting can be so hit-and-miss, especially when you’re talking about iconic roles that are synonymous with certain actors.

But you’re right about good stories. That’s why Zach Quinto and Chris Pine worked as Spock and Kirk. The time-travel reboot storyline in their first Trek movie helped tremendously, and allowed for Leonard Nimoy to pass the torch.

I thought Sean Patrick Flannery was good as a young Indiana Jones, but what I remember of those TV storylines is that they sucked out loud.

 

Agreed, but it is worth trying. The problems caused by not using them are only going to get worse.

Also, the changes to those original characters in the sequel trilogy felt unearned. We get a flashback explaining why Luke withdrew from everyone he cared about and from The Force, but it comes out of nowhere. We don't really get to see it. Han Solo losing his family and returning to his life as a smuggler and a bit of a loser was even worse. He just shows up like that and it doesn't feel right even with Ford selling it. Recasting the characters would allow us to see those changes happen.

 

I'd watch a series with characters recast from the OT. There's a lots of stories to tell between ROTJ and the sequels.

Saw Solo again a couple of years ago. It deserved better than what it got. Great? Nah. But a pretty good move. I think the release date and the ridiculous backlash from Last Jedi swamped it.

 

If Andor made anything abundantly clear it's that audiences and critics will adore Star Wars even if there's no Mando/Jedi/Force, as long as it's a good story.

 

100 percent. The story needs to be good. Andor is a great story. At times, the sequels had good moments but I wish they were a cohesive story arc rather than what we got. Rogue 1 was another where the Jedi, the Mandalorians and the Force either are not featured or are very much in the background and it was great.

 

Just watched the season finale. That was an interesting place to leave it. I need to digest it, but I enjoyed it. I also see it leaves Filoni a problem, but I'm not sure how to get into that without spoiling a key plot point.

Spoiler

They clearly weren't done with Baylan Skoll's story. I'm guessing it would involve the World Within Worlds, which I suspect will ultimately be how Ahsoka and Sabine get home. How do they handle that with Ray Stevenson gone?