Following the cancellation of ‘The Acolyte’, many fans are taking a step back and asking questions about the state of the franchise. And rightly so, considering the confused state that many have been left in. Especially considering that Lucasfilm continues to leave us in the dark, with no official word following the recent cancellation. They've also done very little to inspire trust in their current creative process given the number of high profile project announcements that have never come to fruition. Meanwhile, the fandom is imploding on itself. Creators and influencers in the community are pitted against each other, seemingly in a fight for influence over control of the narrative surrounding each new project. Debates over what is or isn’t "Star Wars" wage on the internet as fans dodge bad-faith landmines across their social feeds. Julian and Rachel look at where things stand with Star Wars today, how we got here, and what the future might hold.
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SSSW - Tales of the Empire
Last year on Star Wars Day (May the 4th), Lucasfilm Animation surprised us with 'Tales of the Jedi' a mini-series of shorts dedicated to showing some untold stories from before the fall of the Jedi. This seems to have become somewhat of a tradition, as this year, on the same day, we got 'Tales of the Empire'. A darker twist on the same concept. This time though, it was bit more focused. Two stories, told in three parts each, for a total of six shorts. The first story follows Morgan Elsbeth and her journey of revenge, which begins with her as a young girl on Dathomir to where we fist met her in 'The Mandalorian' season three. Unfortunately, despite another noticeable step forward in animation quality throughout, this first story-arch leaves a lot to be desired. While 'Tales of the Jedi' revealed secrets of Jedi's pasts, Morgan's doesn't really provide the audience with any new information. Instead, just expanding on a lot of which we already knew or could have inferred. The second half of 'Tales of the Empire' however does pack more of a punch. We follow Barriss Offee, a young Jedi Padawan we had not seen since she framed Ahsoka for the Temple bombing in 'The Clone Wars', as she's recruited to become an Imperial Inquisitor. These final three episodes are filled with fascinating glimpses into the Inquisitorius Program, insightful dialogue into the psyche of the fallen Jedi that make up their order, and some genuine twists that keep you guessing throughout. Listen as Julian and Rachel unpack each mini-episode, and discuss the package as a whole.
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SSSW - The Bad Batch Series Finale
It's with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Clone Force 99, and their adorable clone sidekick. It may be somewhat surprising that none of our heroes met an untimely end in this series finale. Sure, maybe we should have guessed as much, considering this is ultimately a kids show, but after last season's shocking death of Tech, the stakes felt more real here than they have in Star Wars for a long time. It's those stakes that allowed me, after coming out the other side of the emotional rollercoaster that was the last few moments in this Bad Batch saga, to take a breath and appreciate what a wonderful show we were treated to for 3 glorious season. No, it's not the most dramatic decision to leave the full cast alive, but after some time to sit and think, I can honesty say that I can appreciate a happy ending for Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair. As Omega rightly points out, they've fought enough. So few characters in this world get to retire peacefully. Yes, the door is open for some final adventures, assuming Omega one day still needs their help, but their mission is ostensibly complete, and their retirement is well earned. As a whole, this final episode, "The Cavalry Has Arrived", delivers on the action, while taking just enough time to wrap up the lingering character work. Crosshair being the beneficiary of much of that. This is Star Wars though, and that means that there remains more than enough story threads for future creators to pull on. Where does Lucasfilm Animation go from here? We don't know yet, but whatever it is, you know we'll be there for whatever and whenever it is. Bravo, this was a finale to remember.
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