Star Wars Expanded Universe Thread

houjix

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If anyone hasn't seen Tales of the Jedi yet, you are missing out. While not every episode is spectacular, episode 4 is about as good as anything we've seen in Star Wars, and the overall arc of the series is pretty good too.
The Dooku ones were pretty good. Ep. 5 was something else, though. You got to see Anakin essentially forging Ahsoka into a warrior, not a guardian of peace. He was raised during a time of conflict, so his mindset was to train the next generation for the same thing. The Jedi were becoming something there were never supposed to be and it was part of what led to their downfall.
 
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NorthCyd

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khardbored

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Last nights episode of Andor was slightly nightmarish. And shows just how evil the Empire is (was). They torture low level people, imprison people for nothing, kill people in captivity (the pilot - discussed, not seen) if it suits them, and kill off 100 prisoners just to suppress info.

Still can't help but think of 2 major "plot armor" things for the rebels:
- If only the Empire used direct deposit!
- If only the Empire took a picture of each prisoner!

(The last two are just funny observations, I do very much enjoy the show. More than Mandalorian or BoBF even)
 

khardbored

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That's fine with me. Slow down, get it right. No need to release a new movie every year.

They seem to be doing well with the Disney+ shows, and I'm fine with that.
 

Gorm

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houjix

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Last nights episode of Andor was slightly nightmarish. And shows just how evil the Empire is (was). They torture low level people, imprison people for nothing, kill people in captivity (the pilot - discussed, not seen) if it suits them, and kill off 100 prisoners just to suppress info.

Still can't help but think of 2 major "plot armor" things for the rebels:
- If only the Empire used direct deposit!
- If only the Empire took a picture of each prisoner!

(The last two are just funny observations, I do very much enjoy the show. More than Mandalorian or BoBF even)
The 2nd plot armor quibble also ignores just how big the galaxy is. I know if they were targeting their searches of the data they might find what they want. However, were talking trillions of people and thousands of systems. Finding anybody without concrete leads would be difficult.

Reminds me a bit of the old Star Wars Rebellion game. You could send out spies and you might get some information on the whereabouts of the Rebel base. But the speed of travel, both of the spies to return and for you to send a fleet to investigate means the Rebels could have moved the base before you get there. The films and shows have never done the greatest of jobs of illustrating just how long it takes to get from place to place and often give a false impression of the proximity of things.

This show has done a fantastic job of highlighting just how cruel even the rank and file of the Empire could be. The oppression feels real and it going to make re-watches of the classic trilogy feel so much different.
 

bos

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Last nights episode of Andor was slightly nightmarish. And shows just how evil the Empire is (was). They torture low level people, imprison people for nothing, kill people in captivity (the pilot - discussed, not seen) if it suits them, and kill off 100 prisoners just to suppress info.

Still can't help but think of 2 major "plot armor" things for the rebels:
- If only the Empire used direct deposit!
- If only the Empire took a picture of each prisoner!


(The last two are just funny observations, I do very much enjoy the show. More than Mandalorian or BoBF even)

I mean, our government still uses antiquated software systems. Renewing my vehicle registration is a prime example. The empire grew too big too quick, I’d imagine it wasn’t super organized. Not saying it’s not plot armor but I see this stuff in my own life and chuckle about it.
 
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NorthCyd

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Another great episode. Definitely a slow burn, but a lot of interesting character development going on. Some of the explanation of plot points got a little overwhelming to me and I'm going to have to watch again to fully grasp what's going on, like the part where the ISB is discussing the captured pilot.

The Syril plot line continues to fascinate me and him simping for Dedra is kind of an amazing development that completely makes sense. Of course a guy with a mom like that is going to have the hots for a by the book domineering woman. As for Dedra, I found myself rooting for her at certain points in the series, but we really get to see what a monster she is in this episode.

Lots of other great stuff in the episode. Vel continues to develop in surprising and interesting ways. The prison scenes and the arc of Serkis's character is great, and at the end of the episode you know we are in for some fireworks in the next episode. Can't wait for the last 3 episodes in the series.
 

houjix

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Lots of other great stuff in the episode. Vel continues to develop in surprising and interesting ways. The prison scenes and the arc of Serkis's character is great, and at the end of the episode you know we are in for some fireworks in the next episode. Can't wait for the last 3 episodes in the series.

His turn from "keep your head down, do what you're told and you'll get out of here eventually" to "Never more than 12" was spine tingling.
 

khardbored

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The 2nd plot armor quibble also ignores just how big the galaxy is. I know if they were targeting their searches of the data they might find what they want. However, were talking trillions of people and thousands of systems. Finding anybody without concrete leads would be difficult.

Reminds me a bit of the old Star Wars Rebellion game. You could send out spies and you might get some information on the whereabouts of the Rebel base. But the speed of travel, both of the spies to return and for you to send a fleet to investigate means the Rebels could have moved the base before you get there. The films and shows have never done the greatest of jobs of illustrating just how long it takes to get from place to place and often give a false impression of the proximity of things.

This show has done a fantastic job of highlighting just how cruel even the rank and file of the Empire could be. The oppression feels real and it going to make re-watches of the classic trilogy feel so much different.
(I'm gonna get real nerdy here. I do love the show)

If the speed to get info across the galaxy is so slow, why was the ISB able to get the info on the captured pilot (picked up in a random customs incident) so quickly that they could report, remote interrogate, kill, and send his ship on it's way before it was missed?

I always get the impression they have high-speed internet all over. :)

Take a picture of every prisoner, upload - boom. There's Andor.
 

Bigman38

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(I'm gonna get real nerdy here. I do love the show)

If the speed to get info across the galaxy is so slow, why was the ISB able to get the info on the captured pilot (picked up in a random customs incident) so quickly that they could report, remote interrogate, kill, and send his ship on it's way before it was missed?

I always get the impression they have high-speed internet all over. :)

Take a picture of every prisoner, upload - boom. There's Andor.

They just don’t care though, those prisoners are already dead to them, it’s just a question of how much labor they can squeeze from them first.
 
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Bigman38

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Not a unique opinion but what a great job they’ve done in grounding this series. Usually in Star Wars the word space is almost a prefix you use to describe things, but in Andor they’re showing you the reality of facism, and how helpless it leaves the common people. All in a way that’s very easy to relate to.

I kind of can’t believe they’ve gone where they’ve gone in a Star Wars series. They’ll never do away with the lighter kid oriented content, but I’d be happy with something of this caliber every few years.
 

Frak

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Gotta say that I love the Disney+ stuff way more than the movies they put out. Mando and Boba were more for nostalgia. Mando just seeing the whole Mandalorian bounty hunter in action. Bringing to life animated CW characters Asohka and Bo-Katan. I was skeptical that Bill Burr could play a good SW character and he was great. And seeing RTOJ era Luke in action was almost emotional for someone who grew up playing Luke while climbing around on farm machinery (the combine was the Death Star).

Boba I didn't like quite as much, but he was always one of my favorite characters. It was cool seeing Jabba's palace again. Getting to dive into sand people culture was really fun too. I enjoyed the heck out of that series.

But I think I like Andor most of all. It doesn't have the action of the other two but the suspense and character development are off the charts. It also really fleshes out the whole struggle and danger of crossing the Empire. We all knew that the Empire was bad and there was a small group of people fighting against them, but never really a why or what they did to spark a rebellion. Or how the rebellion came about...although some of the animated shows get into that a little. One of my favorite TV plot lines is the "how's he going to get out of this one" or "one wrong move and he's screwed" or "they're closing in on him". Andor has that. So did BSG. Honestly, so did Breaking Bad to a point. It just creates a level of tension that keeps you locked in. I'm also loving the political scene with Mon Mothma. That lady deserves an Emmy. She's so good at bouncing between the facade and her real self. Oh, and by the way, Andy Serkis is amazing in this latest episode. Came a long way from crawling around as Golem.
 

CloniesForLife

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Another great episode! This show is phenomenal. Next week's episode is going to be intense. So many great acting performances, great tension and awesome character development.

Need to watch Tales of a Jedi soon.