Star Wars: Ahsoka

[ScoutingForToys]

Mixed thoughts on this one. Liked seeing Thrawn. The arrival of the Chimera was cool. Ray Stevenson continues to be great. Enjoyed the villains overall.
I've posted before that I'm struggling to care about the leads. Sabine was particularly unlikeable in this episode. Her search for Ezra was difficult to get through.
Her reunion with Ezra felt so flat. I felt nothing and didn't care that they were reunited.
Agree with others, Ezra's eyes look weird. Everyone with contacts do.
Something else weird, just an observation, doesn't particularly bother me, but Thrawn looks very puffy and doughy. It's odd because Lars is a pretty thin guy. The costume and face paint must be making him look chubby.
I imagine this episode would be more enjoyable for those that like Sabine and Ezra and care about them meeting each other again.
The guy they got to play Ezra seems like a good choice though.
So Baylan is looking for something on this planet. They better wrap that story up quickly, they only have 2 episodes left and with Ray sadly passing away, what are they going to do? Recast? I'm not interested in seeing another actor play the role.

 

[Raleig.h]

They’re really awful.

I do cut them some slack, as I know it must be a bit difficult bringing these animated only characters to life in live-action, but they coulda toned it down lol, they look so out of place in their own universe.

 

[Bo Shrek]

I don't watch previews so I had no idea of how Thrawn would look in live action. I have seen all four seasons of Rebels twice and read the Thrawn trilogy of books when they were first published many moon ago. That said, what a disappointment.

 

[Sassafras]

View attachment 663878

*Sigh*

I'm a sucker for vaguely Medieval/Arabic lots of layers and wraps grungy costumes, guess I had better go PO Sabine if I'm gonna get Ezra, tho who knows what HT will do. He's even vaguely Jedi-ish.

Although:

Spoiler

Is it just me or was the big reunion kind of lackluster? Didn't seem to be the script, more like just didn't have energy. Or something. Is this Filoni managing to flatten his actors every time in live action? Because Ahsoka was flat in Mando too.
IMO Eman Esfandi clearly had studied Ezra tho, he had the mannerisms and expressions. Hopefully he put the light saber work in too.
I know the witches are more or less accurate but I kept thinking of the Coneheads from SNL. Dunno if I buy drifting into Thrawn using dark magic but whatever.

So the turtle people are the Ewoks, complete with a baby turtle?
Baylan remains - too cool. He's like the Luthen Rael of the series. Shin is interesting.

I'm enjoying this, it's like a Rebels sequel, without having to freak (no pun intended) over it.

 

[Sassafras]

I don't watch previews so I had no idea of how Thrawn would look in live action. I have seen all four seasons of Rebels twice and read the Thrawn trilogy of books when they were first published many moon ago. That said, what a disappointment.

Yeah. I guess they went for the natural look. But it sort of diminishes the character, visually.

 

[Sassafras]

Mixed thoughts on this one. Liked seeing Thrawn. The arrival of the Chimera was cool. Ray Stevenson continues to be great. Enjoyed the villains overall.
I've posted before that I'm struggling to care about the leads. Sabine was particularly unlikeable in this episode. Her search for Ezra was difficult to get through.
Her reunion with Ezra felt so flat. I felt nothing and didn't care that they were reunited.
Agree with others, Ezra's eyes look weird. Everyone with contacts do.
Something else weird, just an observation, doesn't particularly bother me, but Thrawn looks very puffy and doughy. It's odd because Lars is a pretty thin guy. The costume and face paint must be making him look chubby.
I imagine this episode would be more enjoyable for those that like Sabine and Ezra and care about them meeting each other again.
The guy they got to play Ezra seems like a good choice though.;m
So Baylan is looking for something on this planet. They better wrap that story up quickly, they only have 2 episodes left and with Ray sadly passing away, what are they going to do? Recast? I'm not interested in seeing another actor play the role.

Ray's passing is a tragedy.
But the show has an easy out, with all this dark magic stuff and wanting to go to "the source" e.g.
"I'm not going to stop the wheel. I'm going to break the wheel."

Just have him fall into a hairy pit like Rey only it's some witch thing and he's consumed; maybe even sacrifices himself for Shin. If some stuntman is filmed from the back, and they pull some other tricks, Baylan can have a heroic ending as he deserves.

 

[xipotec]

Unless these last episodes are over an hour each, I cannot see this ending all the stories inva justifed way.

I smell a cliff hanger.

 

[xipotec]

No human is gonna look this way without CGI.

I would rather have a good actir in a role rather than a cartoon duplicate that looks bad and has no ability .

 

[Darthrazz]

They better wrap that story up quickly, they only have 2 episodes left and with Ray sadly passing away, what are they going to do? Recast? I'm not interested in seeing another actor play the role.

I agree, Ray has owned this role and is probably one of the better new characters we've seen in a while in Star Wars. Wonder if they had to alter the story or reshoot some scenes since he passed?

 

[ScoutingForToys]

Ray's passing is a tragedy.
But the show has an easy out, with all this dark magic stuff and wanting to go to "the source" e.g.
"I'm not going to stop the wheel. I'm going to break the wheel."

Just have him fall into a hairy pit like Rey only it's some witch thing and he's consumed; maybe even sacrifices himself for Shin. If some stuntman is filmed from the back, and they pull some other tricks, Baylan can have a heroic ending as he deserves.

Difficult position for them. Assuming Baylan's story was meant to continue into a 2nd season, after Ray's passing, they now have to recast him, kill him off screen or do as you suggest, film a death scene with a stunt man.

 

[ScoutingForToys]

I agree, Ray has owned this role and is probably one of the better new characters we've seen in a while in Star Wars. Wonder if they had to alter the story or reshoot some scenes since he passed?

Ray is the best part of the show and unless his character dies in the show because it was always planned, they're probably going to have to recast. Or do so by rewrites for season 2.
If they havd had to do some sort of emergency fiming to kill him off onscreen, hope its respectful.

 

[Ramatuelle]

I thought Thrawn was supposed to be younger and hotter than this? What do I know.

I think the SW version of the Bene Gesserit actually look pretty cool, idk.

I also dont know why Bridger has the Eyes of Ibad.

 

[loki2371]

Ray is the best part of the show and unless his character dies in the show because it was always planned, they're probably going to have to recast. Or do so by rewrites for season 2.
If they havd had to do some sort of emergency fiming to kill him off onscreen, hope its respectful.

They don't have to kill him if that wasn't the plan. Have him get shot in the face or something and then redesign his look to start wearing some helmet or mask. I'm sure they can then use whomever for the acting and find a voice actor that sounds like him.

That would be easier and a better plan than just offing him or rewriting the story. But, alas, no creativity in Disney Star Wars. Everything is repurposed or very generic looking. For me at least, we've gotten nothing new and exciting in Disney Star Wars other than the new Troopers & K-2SO in Rogue One along with the U-Wing, and the Razorcrest in Mando that they then almost immediately destroyed. Everything else design wise is very forgettable. The ST and Solo have absolutely nothing new and memorable in them.

Sad really, but has saved me lots and lots of money....

 

[chrisstbh]

Unless these last episodes are over an hour each, I cannot see this ending all the stories inva justifed way.

I smell a cliff hanger.

Did you miss the part where this is leading into a movie?

 

[Dave_W]

...and a possible Season 2.

 

[chrisstbh]

God the amount of people on Facebook and Reddit that though Ezra and Thrawn had blue hair in Rebels is driving me mad. Have these people never seen an old comic or cartoon? Blue was commonly used in place of black or as highlights on black .

 

[ironwez20]

I thought he had blue hair to lol

 

[MeatHookGekko]

Curious as to what the witches are up to, they're definitely trying to play Thrawn but I don't think it's going to work out for them.

Ser Davos is right. Power needs more than magic and clever tricks. You need boots on the ground. Thrawn has an army. Both sides are using each other, while it's necessary and convenient. The witches need boots on the ground to enforce their will and attain resources they can't get otherwise. Also it allows them to hide, and let Thrawn be the "face" of whatever is going on. Thrawn knows he needs some black magic. The remaining Jedi and the damage done to Vader and the Emperor ( Let's stick to the Holy Trilogy on that one) are proof that you need more than Star Destroyers and Death Stars.

Find the people you can't criticize in public, that's real power. The witches will try to get that by hiding in the shadows. Thrawn will try to get that by creating some kind of indisputable leverage. ( Food, fuel, oxygen, water, etc, etc)

I have a working theory that most Hollywood writers, when they need an overarching villain, just create some offshoot of current Oprah Winfrey. People do criticize her in public, but they don't last long. Usually they get hit hard in some fashion or another. Most won't even try. If she invites people to things or to participate, they say "Yes", some for the clear benefits of the platform, some out of fear of saying no. Writers are locked into a bubble in the industry, many lose touch with the real world, so their "world" gets smaller and smaller. Over time, you start to figure out one of "biggest bads" in Tinsel Town is Oprah. Thrawn is really just some sliver of the worst parts of Winfrey.

Palpatine was pretty one dimensional as a villain. He wasn't particularly clever nor strategic, the rest of everyone around him was written to be incompetent or soaked in hazy cognitive dissonance. Thrawn was constructed to be thoughtful, brooding, calculated, even at time reasonable. Palpatine would just kill worlds. Thrawn will take your children hostage but spend the time to try to convince you on why that's a good thing.

The tone of current Hollywood trends towards "pro authoritarian" as a value system. It seeps into all the writing, all the plots and all the narratives. It's why the New Republic is shown, again and again, in current times, as misguided and incompetent. The theme that modern Star Wars wants to push is that Palpatine was simply the wrong choice for a tyrant, not that tyranny is bad. ( Which is why so many of the current stories struggle, it's a sharp hard turn away from what resonates from the Holy Trilogy) A core trait of this Thrawn is a seething contempt for the average person in the SW galaxy. They can't lead themselves, they can't save themselves, so he has to do it for them. It's condescending, but it's how Hollywood, across the top, see it's overall audience. Thrawn silently mocks everyone in front of him, then reminds them they should take a business course or two before marrying his niece.

I know Filoni gets crap sometimes for how his shows turn out, but it's not like he has pure creative freedom. ( This is why Guillermo del Toro will never get his Star Wars scripts made, he would want to do it his way, has the clout to do it his way, and it won't be the way Disney wants it made) The Big Mouse holds the strings. They also have to answer to their major investors.

Thrawn has the raw potential to be interesting. But the Big Mouse will do it's damn best to try to convert him into another energy drink. If Ashoka ends up a critical success, it's because Filoni navigated a way to make most of the show he wanted to make, under the guise of a show that's meant to be about someone and something else.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

-Is freaking Ezra Bridger worth all this angst? Is he really?! I say leave him over in the other galaxy and enjoy the peace.

Sabine is in love. Love creates the conditions where logic just sort of falls apart. She would rather be stranded and alone with Ezra, in the middle of nowhere, facing almost constant certain death, than be anywhere else where she would have status, power, legacy and constant external validation. ( I have nothing against Liu Bordizzo, but she was cast for being young and hot and for hitting a specific checklist, a better actress could probably sell the nuance overall a bit better)

There's an old Russian saying - "Women try to break all men to find the one man who can't be broken"

A Ezra/Sabine relationship works as pure fan service on one level. It engages the desired core female viewership that Filoni will need to help the show survive ( Grogu tests off the charts with merchandising and kids, but Baby Yoda a "hook" for adult female viewers too) And it's a very economical way to develop the characters for non Clone Wars/Rebels casual viewers when you don't have the advantage of true long form storytelling. Ezra is the one person that Sabine can't really break.

Sabine's motives make no sense to anyone else except Thrawn ( i.e. "You wouldn't understand...") because the Grand Admiral is built upon logic, logistics, pragmatism and process. None of that computes with the fundamentals of two people in love. Thrawn understands that Sabine is in love, but doesn't understand the mechanics of it. He only can assess how to use it as leverage.

Someone will ask - How can you be sure Sabine is in love with Ezra?

Because she compromised. For someone like that, with that character, compromise is the same thing as having a piece of yourself die inside.

 

[Otomofan]

Can anyone tell me in a sentence or two just WHY Thrawn is considered to be sooooo cool and the ultimate SW villain?

I remember my friends losing their **** over the guy back in 1991 when the novels came out and I just didn't understand it. What's the big deal? What makes him any different than Admiral Piett painted blue?