With the engagement on Anaxes now dealt with, The Clone Wars turns its attention to Ahsoka and her recent self exile from the Jedi Order. She’s now on her own and apparently trying to find herself on the lower levels of Coruscant. The episode takes us to the notorious level 1313 (with even some fun easter eggs to the cancelled video game from a few years ago), when her chopper inspired (no not the droid) speeder bike breaks down, she’s introduced to a pair of hard on their luck sisters. In the process she reconnects with the everyday galactic citizen and has a run-in with a cross-wired demolition droid.
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The Clone Wars S7E4 "Unfinished Business"
Julian and Rachel help unpack all the details, and discuss the ups and downs an episode that saw a recovering Echo, freshly removed from the grip of the Techno Union, looking to get back to work. Unfortunately, things are still not going exactly as planned on Anaxes for the Republic. According to Master Windu, they are losing their grip on the planet. Fortunately, Echo has a plan to sabotage the Separatist strategies and take back the planet for good. As per usual, things don’t go exactly as planned, and even though the Bad Batch harbour some distrust for Echo, things work out for the heroes, with a bonus of no longer having to deal with Admiral Trench.
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The Clone Wars S7E3 "On the Wings of Keeradaks"
Anakin and Rex have found and rescued Echo from the clutches of the Techno Union, but they’re now neck deep in droids and it’s time for an escape from Skako Minor! The Bad Batch and the rest of the gang are left to fend for themselves with no backup, hundreds of feet in the air, and completely surrounded. Luckily, they have a plan! Julian and Rachel break down a very action heavy episode, that also happens to be one of the shortest in the series. Unfortunately, It’s not the strongest episode either, but it does make you consider what choosing sides in a war really means, and how its not as black and white as it might seem. Oh and there’s a “Devastator”… that’s not that devastating.
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The Clone Wars S7E2 "A Distant Echo"
Better late than never! A saying that could apply to this week’s episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as well as this podcast (snare drum*). This week Julian is joined by special guest, Rachel Wilkinson, to help break down the the action Speaking of action, there was plenty of it this week as Anakin joined Rex and the Bad Batch on their mission to rescue Echo. There was also plenty of character moments to go around, not the least of which being a rare scene between Padme and Anakin, that lead into an interaction with Obi-Wan that revealed a lot, in very little screen time.
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The Clone Wars S7E1 "The Bad Batch"
The Clone Wars is back for it’s final season! Having bounced around from Disney XD to Netflix (after already being cancelled once!), the series will finally come to rest on Disney+. Was it worth the wait? Time will tell, but this first episode “The Bad Batch” starts off the season on the right foot, even if for a few missteps. Join Julian, as he breaks it all down and discusses in the ins and outs of an episode that joins Rex and Cody, with a team of clones with “desirable mutations”.
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Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker - Spoiler Cast
With the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premiere now far enough in the past and the discourse surrounding the divisive picture now quieted down, it’s finally time for the ToB Crew to dive deep into the final chapter of the Skywalker saga. Full spoilers ahead, as Julian, Daniel, and Jeremy discuss the ins and outs of a movie that has A LOT to break down. Plus the guys try to fully flush out how this movie follows what was left by Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi” (A conversation that may never end). Ultimately, there’s enough content in this movie to keep podcasters busy for years, and this will likely not be the last ToB word on this subject.
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The Mandalorian S1E8 "Redemption"
What better way is there to cap off 2019 than to soak up the awesomeness that is the finale to the first season of The Mandalorian? Join Julian, Dan, and Jeremy as they unpack what was a thoroughly satisfying conclusion to the story that began with the surprise reveal of Baby Yoda. A conclusion that also that came with some unexpected twists, asked some interesting questions, and left the door open for more adventures with our favourite Mandalorian next fall. What a way to bring live action Star Wars to the small screen for the first time!
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The Mandalorian S1E7 "The Reckoning"
After a series of self-contained episodes exploring the life of a Bounty Hunter on the run, Chapter 7 begins to bring the story full circle by having the Mandalorian finally confront his pursuers.
Greef Karga extends an olive branch to Mando, hoping to rid Nevarro of the remaining imperial presence, while promising to absolve Mando of all transgressions against the guild. Anticipating the obvious double-cross, The Mandalorian recruits a crew of allies met in previous chapters in order to save the Child and put an end to the mercenary-of-the-week motif. Alongside the redoubtable Rebel Drop-Trooper Cara Dune, and the laconic Ugnaught Kuiil, The Mandalorian allows a repurposed IG-11 to join the crew, albeit reluctantly. After meeting with Greef, surviving a space-dragon attack, and witnessing some impressive force abilities from the Child, the rag-tag group sets out to face the Client and his sinister group of imperial loyalists.
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Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker - Initial Reaction
The final installment of the Skywalker saga is here, and it marks the end of not only the sequel trilogy, but Star Wars as we know it. Hot off the heels of a first viewing, the full ToB crew sat down to decompress and analyze in a spoiler-free initial reaction episode.
Endings are tough, and this is no exception; while the performances are consistently fantastic, with so many characters and plot lines left unresolved the film was faced with a Herculean task in wrapping up one of the most beloved series of all time. Moving at a break-neck speed the film seems to jump from concept to concept with reckless abandon and, while always visually stunning, this tempo tends to prevent any impactful emotional resonance (again, having only seen it once). In this conversation, we try to avoid specifics and speak to the movie as a self-contained story, while also commenting on the saga at large. With the various rumours, press-releases, leaks, etc. coming from the set, the conversation naturally veers towards the Director’s seat and the impact of what feels like diametrically opposed visions for the project leading to a sort of dissonance between episodes IIX and IX specifically.
That being said its always fun to talk Star Wars and this episode is no different. The series is something we’re all passionate about and although the Skywalker saga has reached it’s conclusion, the door is wide open for new and innovative exploration within the galaxy far, far away.
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The Mandalorian S1E6 "The Prisoner"
The Mandalorian took a turn after episode 3 (err… chapter 3?), it went from the serialized storytelling that we’ve become accustomed to in modern television, and became much more “monster of the week” for lack of a better term. This is a change that some fans have appreciated, enjoying the shows willingness to subvert the expectations that it had setup at the beginning and take us on fun new adventures every week. Others, who hoped for a tight, concise, 8 episode story feel that the show has lost it's through-line and therefore feels directionless. All opinions are valid, however, I think most fans of this show will agree that Chapter 6 “The Prisoner”, regardless of it’s lack of connective tissue to the larger narrative, is nothing less than absolutely entertaining. This week’s installment is a mashup of part heist film, horror film and adventure film, and filled with great performances and juicy character moments. This week, The Mandalorian shows us that it’s capable of make exciting choices that go well beyond fan-service (but still willing of giving us some).
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