The Return to the Good Star Wars

[Richard Bong]

I think people’s perceptions are being colored by perverting influences and primarily, what you want the outcome to be.

The observations of those who love the series are completely at odds with the complaints here. So what gives?

I think if what you really want is to whine and complain, and pretend you have valid criticisms, you’re gonna do that. (We Christians are stuck here since we’re commanded to do all things without whining and complaining. This changes your character. ) If OTOH you want to see the franchise restored to its glory, you can probably find a lot in these 8 episodes to support that.

I’ll watch it when I can but probably won’t post about that here. Pearls before swine and all that. Just saying though, certainly the critics are saying the whole series is good. It’s as good as Clone Wars and Rebels and IMHO, Rebels is easily some of the best SW ever. Looks like Filoni pulled it off and makes me wonder what the upcoming film has to offer. I’m thrilled Filoni wrote Ahsoka’s story arc the way he did. Great to see her heal like that and answers all the complaints about her laconic attitude. It was all according to design.

Great writing

I think you have no idea what good (much less great) writing is.

The only way the IP gets "restored to its glory" is if Disney sells it off and someone with a good writing staff, that actually understands Star Wars, starts over. Disney has killed Star Wars. No matter what you think of the series, having never watched it, that doesn't change the major problem, which is that the fan base is gone.

I've watched the series. Dave Filoni produced the worst Star Wars written to date. I believe we were unfair to the Holiday Special in comparison.

Clone Wars was OK, Rebels was mediocre. This was worse than both.

Yes, there were plenty of memberberries, that doesn't make for good writing.

 

[Lorddarthvik]

What does time have to do with it? They're using the plotline of Heir to the Empire, why care about the timeline unless it's specific to Disney's work on the IP. What small differences in the story based on those two comparing timelines is of no consequence.

Yes he is dangerous, he's got a strategic mind that very few have beaten. You may not see that as dangerous, but I do, knowing someone has a tactical advantage over me means I have to deal with the idea that they already see what I'm doing on a chessboard and can either attack me directly or lure me into a trap. If I am standing in front of a man with a lightsaber and anger issues. I already know I'm not likely to win. The former can easily lull me into a false sense of security.

I seriously doubt you have any idea what Heir is about as you keep saying that this is Heirs storyline while it has absolutely nothing in common with it.
Show me what is in this that is even remotely connected to Heir. Anything apart from the one single thing that is the character of Thrawn (in name only cos he is nothing like this in the books).

I don't care about the timeline difference, that is exactly what I said too...

I see Book Thrawn as even more dangerous than the Emperor was because he is not an egotistical powercrazed maniac. He is very level headed, calm, calculating, and actually very smart about it. That's why he is such a great villain. BOOK Thrawn that is. I could even argue that he isn't really a villain, because from his actually totally valid point of view he is fighting a group of armed terrorists (which the rebels actually are) to protect his people and unify the empire once again against a much bigger foe. That is also part of the books storyline, btw...

Not this sleepy fat blue grandpa on the screen, no, I can't see him as a threat because I'm given every reason not to! The biggest danger this impostor poses is to his own laundry droid, cos he might end up getting some mud on his ill fitting white pajamas...
I am told repeatedly that he is dangerous, but I'm not shown any evidence that he is! There is no reason for me the viewer (especially without prior knowledge of him) to believe that he can pose a threat with his broken ship and a dozen zombies against the full might of the New Republic!
Every decision he makes ends up with him loosing, every single one. For some reason the writers thought that him saying "this is a win" when he actually lost all control over his foes and the situation as whole somehow makes this smart. It just doesn't work like that!
All of his decisions are utterly stupid in order support this weak plotline of basically nothing of consequence happening.
The whole 8 episodes should have been a 20 minute pilot, not a full season.

I don't care what happens to this zebra striped socks for hair sidecharacter from a cartoon. I could care even less about what happens to her companions, like the pink hair chick who is basically just the embodiment of everything a bad person is, or the incompetent "General" who has zero authority, brings a child into an active warzone and all she manages to achieve in 8 episodes is getting 2 of her pilots killed.

The only reason I care is Heir and Thrawn. But now that I've seen how they absolutely ignored the books and utterly ruined his character too, I think I'm gonna leave this piece of garbage where it belongs, on the trash heap along with the rest of Disney's garbage.

Enjoy your slop guys, Ima gonna head out...

 

[KuruptU4Fun]

I see Book Thrawn as even more dangerous than the Emperor was because he is not an egotistical powercrazed maniac. He is very level headed, calm, calculating, and actually very smart about it. That's why he is such a great villain. BOOK Thrawn that is. I could even argue that he isn't really a villain, because from his actually totally valid point of view he is fighting a group of armed terrorists (which the rebels actually are) to protect his people and unify the empire once again against a much bigger foe. That is also part of the books storyline, btw...

I would agree with you for the most part Lord save this, because this has nothing to do with the books.

There were 12 Grand Admirals in the Empire. If you were one of those Grand Admirals how many people have you killed by your command in order to achieve that rank? How many battles have you been in and won? Grand Admirals in the Empire don't achieve that rank by petting puppies, they achieve that rank by fighting battles where thousands die.

 

[Richard Bong]

The Nielsen numbers continue to fall.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

Good breakdown for those not up to current events and so didn’t understand what they watched:

View: https://youtu.be/sEFFpZwUF4g?si=ftGJ78R6CUQ9C-uO

 

[Shadow Reaper]

It wouldn’t be fair were I to fail to note there are people who do not like this series, including one of my favorite critics, Critical Drinker. I have noted those who like it tend to be those immersed in the bigger story, who know what the Mortis gods are all about, already fear the Aboleth, watched Clone Wars and Rebels, etc.

Maybe Filoni pandered too much to those who have stuck it out the last 15 years and the plot was not truly apprehensible to the lesser devout fans. This is what it appears at present. To this all I can say is, the more you know about a fictional cosmology, the more you ought to be rewarded by viewing any installment that honors the source material. So maybe there’s no way around this issue.

What I’m not seeing in the negative reviews is anything like the complaints here. Pacing, poor character development, patronizing moralizing—none of that here. No one complaining about what should have been our greatest fear, the continuation of the radical feminazis world view of Kathleen Kennedy. That’s utterly missing and all by itself I call that a win.

We’ll see what we see. I personally found it gratifying that Star Wars Theory (the most franchise informed reviewer I’ve found) thinks Ahsoka is the imbodiment of the Mortis Daughter. That’s what I was going for when I first said she is the hero the franchise needs to revive it. We’ll have to wait and see but certainly, the character arc Ahsoka went through does indeed place her ideally to such a task.

People here complained Ahsoka was too laconic, cold and reserved; and then we found out why and had it fixed. That’s good writing.

That’s gratifying

 

[Richard Bong]

Good breakdown for those not up to current events and so didn’t understand what they watched:

View: https://youtu.be/sEFFpZwUF4g?si=ftGJ78R6CUQ9C-uO

If it has to be explained, it's poorly written.
Most of the other "explanations" proved to be wrong anyway.

 

[Richard Bong]

It wouldn’t be fair were I to fail to note there are people who do not like this series, including one of my favorite critics, Critical Drinker. I have noted those who like it tend to be those immersed in the bigger story, who know what the Mortis gods are all about, already fear the Aboleth, watched Clone Wars and Rebels, etc.

Maybe Filoni pandered too much to those who have stuck it out the last 15 years and the plot was not truly apprehensible to the lesser devout fans. This is what it appears at present. To this all I can say is, the more you know about a fictional cosmology, the more you ought to be rewarded by viewing any installment that honors the source material. So maybe there’s no way around this issue.

What I’m not seeing in the negative reviews is anything like the complaints here. Pacing, poor character development, patronizing moralizing—none of that here. No one complaining about what should have been our greatest fear, the continuation of the radical feminazis world view of Kathleen Kennedy. That’s utterly missing and all by itself I call that a win.

We’ll see what we see. I personally found it gratifying that Star Wars Theory (the most franchise informed reviewer I’ve found) thinks Ahsoka is the imbodiment of the Mortis Daughter. That’s what I was going for when I first said she is the hero the franchise needs to revive it. We’ll have to wait and see but certainly, the character arc Ahsoka went through does indeed place her ideally to such a task.

People here complained Ahsoka was too laconic, cold and reserved; and then we found out why and had it fixed. That’s good writing.

That’s gratifying

No, if you have to rely on outside sources to guess at what the writer intended, that is poor writing.

And since you haven't seen it, you are in no position to judge.

Let me give you one more place to look to show how bad Disney and Hasbro thinks this is. Hasbro was given a pass on toys for the series.

https://shop.hasbro.com/en-us/search?search=Ezra

https://shop.hasbro.com/en-us/search?search=Sabine

https://shop.hasbro.com/en-us/search?search=Thrawn

And the "hero" doesn't have anything from her own show.

https://shop.hasbro.com/en-us/search?search=Ahsoka

 

[Cyberwolf]

I watched it and I LOVED IT, Fight Choreography was off the HOOk and I just had a great time watching.

 

[Cyberwolf]

No, if you have to rely on outside sources to guess at what the writer intended, that is poor writing.

And since you haven't seen it, you are in no position to judge.

Let me give you one more place to look to show how bad Disney and Hasbro thinks this is. Hasbro was given a pass on toys for the series.

https://shop.hasbro.com/en-us/search?search=Ezra

https://shop.hasbro.com/en-us/search?search=Sabine

https://shop.hasbro.com/en-us/search?search=Thrawn

And the "hero" doesn't have anything from her own show.

https://shop.hasbro.com/en-us/search?search=Ahsoka

It's really because this is a Clone Wars/Rebel's love letter, if you saw CW and Rebel's you understood otherwise you were Out of luck which is bad in the sense of bringing in your audience along with you. Still loved the show warts and all. Even my Die Hard I hate all new SW friend Loved the show so to ea their own.

 

[Richard Bong]

It's really because this is a Clone Wars/Rebel's love letter, if you saw CW and Rebel's you understood otherwise you were Out of luck which is bad in the sense of bringing in your audience along with you. Still loved the show warts and all. Even my Die Hard I hate all new SW friend Loved the show so to ea their own.

I watched Clone Wars. II've also seen a handful of episodes of Rebels. It's not that I didn't watch them, I didn't think much of them. The target audience and plots made them for kids. As a kids show they were OK.

In which episode of either of those does Sabine show any indication of force ability? I can't find it, but I did find her learning to use a saber along with her Mandalorian gear to defeat force users. A skill she forgot she learned in this show.

The "Mortis Gods" died, in "The Ghosts of Mortis." The son killed the daughter, the father killed himself and Anakin killed the son. Ray Stevens is also dead. That storyline doesn't lead anywhere, though it is memberberries.

That masked Inquisitor was who? According to the experts, he was supposed to be Ezra, or Starkiller. Yet he was an empty suit full of gas and since Morgan wasn't a fully fledged witch, where did that witch magic come from? A story line that doesn't go anywhere.

Thrawn is said to be some kind of genius but he is made to look like an idiot in every appearance. He doesn't inspire his troops, who have no esprit de corps and can't shoot straight. He can't even remember to close the doors after his suicide squad goes downstairs to confront the Jedi.

The important things about the show, whether you love it or hate it:

• It doesn't save Star Wars.
• It doesn't retcon the sequel trilogy, as many fans hoped (Though it does retcon lots of Lucas' stuff).
• It doesn't make Disney+ profitable or gain a meaningful number of subscribers.
• It certainly didn't make its money back, by any measure.
• It isn't being watched by the majority of Star Wars fans.
• It isn't even bringing in money from merch, because there isn't any.

Based on the business side alone, it demonstrates Dave Filoni shouldn't be given another series, or even another season of this, and certainly not a movie.

 

[Han Burgundy]

To each their own, but it seems like folks are starting to watch shows like a network executive and not like a person who wants to suspend their disbelief and enjoy some sci-fi fantasy stories. Disney has done a lot to damage my own nostalgia, but that damage was done via hamfistedness with story elements and a general unfamiliarization with the existing work. Ashoka was the opposite of that trend.

In which episode of either of those does Sabine show any indication of force ability? I can't find it, but I did find her learning to use a saber along with her Mandalorian gear to defeat force users. A skill she forgot she learned in this show.

This can be explained by the time that Sabine and Ashoka spent together off-screen after Rebels ended. There is a big difference between using a lightsaber as a Mandolorian and learning to wield one as a force user. And as for force use, ever since "broom boy", this has been Disney's plan to un-fuck the mediclorians situation. The magic of star Wars for kids in the seventies was the thought that they TOO could move things with their mind if they tried hard enough. Kinda returning the force to its roots in eastern spiritualism, if you will. An idea that gravitates around the general principle that connection with the universe can be deepened with practiced focus. Jedi are warrior Monks, not genetic lottery winners. Call mediclorians a byproduct of the body after using the force (Like how lactic acid builds up in muscles after exercise). You naturally pass them at a given rate, so the concentration in your blood determines how often your body is relying on the force to operate. That could also be a handy explainer for why darksiders start to look a little stale. Midiclorian poisoning.

The "Mortis Gods" died, in "The Ghosts of Mortis." The son killed the daughter, the father killed himself and Anakin killed the son. Ray Stevens is also dead. That storyline doesn't lead anywhere, though it is memberberries.

Indeed, that was the story within the cannon of Clone Wars. Enjoyers of fine nineties literature, however, will remember that the father and his children were served by a mortal woman. A mortal woman who grew to love the children and began to fear what her eventual death would do to them. In an effort to rise herself to immortality, she bathed in a force nexus and essentially became the antithisis of Anakin Skywalker. Where he represented balance, she took the form of chaos incarnate. As a mortal, seeing the entirety of time and space within the pool drove her mad. The father, noticing her transgression, locked her away and kept her fate a secret from his children. So there she awaits in her banishment, reaching out across space and time to tickle the dreams of force users in an effort to find an avenue for escape. And I think someone heard her call...

That masked Inquisitor was who? According to the experts, he was supposed to be Ezra, or Starkiller. Yet he was an empty suit full of gas and since Morgan wasn't a fully fledged witch, where did that witch magic come from? A story line that doesn't go anywhere.

A classic fan-hype overreach for sure, but I imagine the writers were trying to introduce an element of the nightsister's magic to screen so you would recognize its "brand" when you saw it later. Just because Morgan wasn't a full-fledged black-eyed-pea yet doesn't necissarily mean she couldn't have used her magics to enhance an existing force user. (Ala Savage Opress)

Thrawn is said to be some kind of genius but he is made to look like an idiot in every appearance. He doesn't inspire his troops, who have no esprit de corps and can't shoot straight. He can't even remember to close the doors after his suicide squad goes downstairs to confront the Jedi.

The show made several attempts to showcase his tactical prowess, like his foresight with the deployment of the mine field and the general restrained use of his assets. An easy thing to miss with that is the fact that Thrawn does this because a force user was the only person to ever beat him. They posess abilities outside his perception that he cannot predict with an accuracy he is accustomed to. In short; The force scares the hell out of him.
As for his troops, he inspires them not through speeches or grand gestures, but by the simple fact that he values their lives. That was almost unheard of from upper echolon Imperial Officers and it endeared his crew to him greatly. As for them shooting straight, I have two answers of varying satisfaction; A: The will of the force works in subtle yet impactful ways. A twitch here, a nudge there. An unfocused mind or even a simple sudden headache. OR B: The Plot needed to happen and Ezra getting domecapped because he didn't properly pie a corner makes for unfulfilling storytelling. Not everything has to be a Werner Herzog film. The people want some Swashbuckling, and swashbuckling requires SOMEONE to make the mistake of leaving a swingable rope dangling around for the hero to use.




All in all: Like what you like, watch what you like, and let the executive ghouls worry about the numbers. Ghouls, I might add, that would not have given Filoni the yoke without a good argument and a great plan for things to come. The fact that they are finally listening to someone who gives a crap bodes well for at least a cohesive storyline moving forward. All we can do is keep watching and voting with our views.

 

[Richard Bong]

To each their own, but it seems like folks are starting to watch shows like a network executive and not like a person who wants to suspend their disbelief and enjoy some sci-fi fantasy stories. Disney has done a lot to damage my own nostalgia, but that damage was done via hamfistedness with story elements and a general unfamiliarization with the existing work. Ashoka was the opposite of that trend.


This can be explained by the time that Sabine and Ashoka spent together off-screen after Rebels ended. There is a big difference between using a lightsaber as a Mandolorian and learning to wield one as a force user. And as for force use, ever since "broom boy", this has been Disney's plan to un-fuck the mediclorians situation. The magic of star Wars for kids in the seventies was the thought that they TOO could move things with their mind if they tried hard enough. Kinda returning the force to its roots in eastern spiritualism, if you will. An idea that gravitates around the general principle that connection with the universe can be deepened with practiced focus. Jedi are warrior Monks, not genetic lottery winners. Call mediclorians a byproduct of the body after using the force (Like how lactic acid builds up in muscles after exercise). You naturally pass them at a given rate, so the concentration in your blood determines how often your body is relying on the force to operate. That could also be a handy explainer for why darksiders start to look a little stale. Midiclorian poisoning.


Indeed, that was the story within the cannon of Clone Wars. Enjoyers of fine nineties literature, however, will remember that the father and his children were served by a mortal woman. A mortal woman who grew to love the children and began to fear what her eventual death would do to them. In an effort to rise herself to immortality, she bathed in a force nexus and essentially became the antithisis of Anakin Skywalker. Where he represented balance, she took the form of chaos incarnate. As a mortal, seeing the entirety of time and space within the pool drove her mad. The father, noticing her transgression, locked her away and kept her fate a secret from his children. So there she awaits in her banishment, reaching out across space and time to tickle the dreams of force users in an effort to find an avenue for escape. And I think someone heard her call...


A classic fan-hype overreach for sure, but I imagine the writers were trying to introduce an element of the nightsister's magic to screen so you would recognize its "brand" when you saw it later. Just because Morgan wasn't a full-fledged black-eyed-pea yet doesn't necissarily mean she couldn't have used her magics to enhance an existing force user. (Ala Savage Opress)


The show made several attempts to showcase his tactical prowess, like his foresight with the deployment of the mine field and the general restrained use of his assets. An easy thing to miss with that is the fact that Thrawn does this because a force user was the only person to ever beat him. They posess abilities outside his perception that he cannot predict with an accuracy he is accustomed to. In short; The force scares the hell out of him.
As for his troops, he inspires them not through speeches or grand gestures, but by the simple fact that he values their lives. That was almost unheard of from upper echolon Imperial Officers and it endeared his crew to him greatly. As for them shooting straight, I have two answers of varying satisfaction; A: The will of the force works in subtle yet impactful ways. A twitch here, a nudge there. An unfocused mind or even a simple sudden headache. OR B: The Plot needed to happen and Ezra getting domecapped because he didn't properly pie a corner makes for unfulfilling storytelling. Not everything has to be a Werner Herzog film. The people want some Swashbuckling, and swashbuckling requires SOMEONE to make the mistake of leaving a swingable rope dangling around for the hero to use.




All in all: Like what you like, watch what you like, and let the executive ghouls worry about the numbers. Ghouls, I might add, that would not have given Filoni the yoke without a good argument and a great plan for things to come. The fact that they are finally listening to someone who gives a crap bodes well for at least a cohesive storyline moving forward. All we can do is keep watching and voting with our views.

So Sabine is never shown as a force user or a Padawan. Watching Rebels doesn't change that. Sabine is said to have no Force ability in this show. Kids also want to use magic after watching Harry Potter, that doesn't mean muggles can use magic. It is canon breaking. Further going from barely being able to move a lightsaber to moving a person, an ability that even Yoda wasn't shown to have at that scale, in the same sequence, seemed a bit Mary Sue.

So the Mortis Gods are dead, and the fans claiming Aberroth, with no implication that is what Baylen is looking for, is, like Merrok, fan overreach.

Morgan showed no sign of ability to that level of power.

Thrawn's troops showing up to formation in dirty uniforms demonstrates they neither have esprit de corps nor respect for him. Cracked? They have logistic issues, but dirty? That demonstrates poor leadership.
They also spend no time on the range. Their shooting is worse than typical Storm Trooper level.
Proper leadership inspires making sure troops do the things that should be done and have what they need to get the job done.
Thrawn's troops not using gunships and fighters for Close Air Support, demonstrates poor tactics and training. Thrawn not specifying gunships and fighters to be used as close air support shows lack of tactical thinking.
Thrawn pulling back the troops while Ahsoka still had a functional ship, demonstrates poor tactics if the goal was to actually have Ahsoka out of time. In fact if Ahsoka hadn't decided Thrawn was no longer the priority but the snails were, she would have arrived before the ship was fully loaded. His little attack didn't even slow her down.
Thrawn not having the doors closed behind his delaying ground force was just silly.
Not having the Star Destroyer take off as soon as it was loaded so the ring and the ship could dock in space or even upper atmosphere needlessly wasted troops and Morgan. It also allowed his ship to be boarded.
If a force user was the only thing to ever beat you, and you're a tactical genius, you send overwhelming force, not minimal force.

Thrawn was shown as an idiot and a very poor leader.

 

[Han Burgundy]

So Sabine is never shown as a force user or a Padawan. Watching Rebels doesn't change that. Sabine is said to have no Force ability in this show. Kids also want to use magic after watching Harry Potter, that doesn't mean muggles can use magic. It is canon breaking. Further going from barely being able to move a lightsaber to moving a person, an ability that even Yoda wasn't shown to have at that scale, in the same sequence, seemed a bit Mary Sue.

So the Mortis Gods are dead, and the fans claiming Aberroth, with no implication that is what Baylen is looking for, is, like Merrok, fan overreach.

Morgan showed no sign of ability to that level of power.

Thrawn's troops showing up to formation in dirty uniforms demonstrates they neither have esprit de corps nor respect for him. Cracked? They have logistic issues, but dirty? That demonstrates poor leadership.
They also spend no time on the range. Their shooting is worse than typical Storm Trooper level.
Proper leadership inspires making sure troops do the things that should be done and have what they need to get the job done.
Thrawn's troops not using gunships and fighters for Close Air Support, demonstrates poor tactics and training. Thrawn not specifying gunships and fighters to be used as close air support shows lack of tactical thinking.
Thrawn pulling back the troops while Ahsoka still had a functional ship, demonstrates poor tactics if the goal was to actually have Ahsoka out of time. In fact if Ahsoka hadn't decided Thrawn was no longer the priority but the snails were, she would have arrived before the ship was fully loaded. His little attack didn't even slow her down.
Thrawn not having the doors closed behind his delaying ground force was just silly.
Not having the Star Destroyer take off as soon as it was loaded so the ring and the ship could dock in space or even upper atmosphere needlessly wasted troops and Morgan. It also allowed his ship to be boarded.
If a force user was the only thing to ever beat you, and you're a tactical genius, you send overwhelming force, not minimal force.

Thrawn was shown as an idiot and a very poor leader.

Haha dude, you do realize that this is a fantasy show about space magic, right? Just because something wasn't pre-established in the holy cannon doesn't mean that new things cant be introduced. furthermore, your points don't really hold much water if you think about them.

-Like whistling with your fingers, using the force seems impossible until you manage to do it. Knowledge that it is possible makes repeat performances a lot easier.

- What is "death" to an eternal being? Why show the statues of the Father, Son, and Daughter if you don't intend to continue their story in some way? Abeloth is the Mother. That's what they call her

-What would have counted as an onscreen example of Morgan's unnatural power? Could it possibly be a display of martial prowess using a beskar spear against a trained Jedi Ronin? (Or maybe the writers wanted to expand her role and cooked up further details for a backstory. That's how fiction works.)

-Thrawn's troops donned uniforms bearing kintsugi lines, which are symbolic of rebirth following disaster. The point of the art is to repair the item without hiding its imperfections so that it may tell a story of its own journey. If anything, the "dirty" uniforms were akin to how military units might decorate their kit in the field (Remember, they've been deployed since the imperial days)

-You know what would greatly hamper your range time? Finite assets while stranded in an unreachable galaxy. Blasters aren't magic, they need gas to operate. Gas that probably can't just be harvested and processed anywhere. You might imagine that one would get a bit rusty behind that Ol' E-11.

-Close air support might work differently in this universe. They may have tactics and traditions that led them to other solutions. Humans continued standing in neat rows for war even when guns came around. Sometimes obvious solutions can take a while to find. (Also they may have had a limited flight time due to fuel restrictions)

-Ashoka's ship wasn't Thrawn's main threat. Jedi in general are, and he knows that if he destroys her ship he will lose out on a chance to locate the OTHER jedi responsible for his banishment. Let her live, track the ship, find your quarry in one convenient place. And he knew that Ashoka's priority would be the Jedi Ezra because he knew through Sabine their plan to rescue him. Jedi always have the weakness of tending to their friends when the mission hangs in the balance

-The doors and loading sequence generally boil down to "The plot needed to happen", but there are explanations if you need them. Perhaps while fully laden with its cargo, the Chimera was no longer able to break orbit and needed the added push of the ring's drives to escape the planet. Would that have been meaningful dialog to add? Given that you only have 40 minutes of screentime, is taking the time to overtly explain ANY of these things a worthy use of the audience's attention? I'd argue that it is not. Fiction isn't designed to answer your every question. It is intended to suspend your disbelief and take you on a journey for a little while. Not every little thing needs a Band-Of-Brothers level of beleivability and realism. Sometimes we just want to watch some folks swing glowy bobs at eachother with impressive choriography. #LetPeopleLikeThings

/$0.02

 

[Richard Bong]

Haha dude, you do realize that this is a fantasy show about space magic, right? Just because something wasn't pre-established in the holy cannon doesn't mean that new things cant be introduced. furthermore, your points don't really hold much water if you think about them.

-Like whistling with your fingers, using the force seems impossible until you manage to do it. Knowledge that it is possible makes repeat performances a lot easier.

- What is "death" to an eternal being? Why show the statues of the Father, Son, and Daughter if you don't intend to continue their story in some way? Abeloth is the Mother. That's what they call her

-What would have counted as an onscreen example of Morgan's unnatural power? Could it possibly be a display of martial prowess using a beskar spear against a trained Jedi Ronin? (Or maybe the writers wanted to expand her role and cooked up further details for a backstory. That's how fiction works.)

-Thrawn's troops donned uniforms bearing kintsugi lines, which are symbolic of rebirth following disaster. The point of the art is to repair the item without hiding its imperfections so that it may tell a story of its own journey. If anything, the "dirty" uniforms were akin to how military units might decorate their kit in the field (Remember, they've been deployed since the imperial days)

-You know what would greatly hamper your range time? Finite assets while stranded in an unreachable galaxy. Blasters aren't magic, they need gas to operate. Gas that probably can't just be harvested and processed anywhere. You might imagine that one would get a bit rusty behind that Ol' E-11.

-Close air support might work differently in this universe. They may have tactics and traditions that led them to other solutions. Humans continued standing in neat rows for war even when guns came around. Sometimes obvious solutions can take a while to find. (Also they may have had a limited flight time due to fuel restrictions)

-Ashoka's ship wasn't Thrawn's main threat. Jedi in general are, and he knows that if he destroys her ship he will lose out on a chance to locate the OTHER jedi responsible for his banishment. Let her live, track the ship, find your quarry in one convenient place. And he knew that Ashoka's priority would be the Jedi Ezra because he knew through Sabine their plan to rescue him. Jedi always have the weakness of tending to their friends when the mission hangs in the balance

-The doors and loading sequence generally boil down to "The plot needed to happen", but there are explanations if you need them. Perhaps while fully laden with its cargo, the Chimera was no longer able to break orbit and needed the added push of the ring's drives to escape the planet. Would that have been meaningful dialog to add? Given that you only have 40 minutes of screentime, is taking the time to overtly explain ANY of these things a worthy use of the audience's attention? I'd argue that it is not. Fiction isn't designed to answer your every question. It is intended to suspend your disbelief and take you on a journey for a little while. Not every little thing needs a Band-Of-Brothers level of beleivability and realism. Sometimes we just want to watch some folks swing glowy bobs at eachother with impressive choriography. #LetPeopleLikeThings

/$0.02

Franchises have to maintain continuity. I am a fan of the franchise.
The "anyone can use the force" makes all 3 trilogies nonsense.

There is no need for Jedi or Sith if anyone can use the force. There is no need to worry about age if anyone can use the force. Those Rebels and Clone Wars stories where the Empire/Sith are kidnapping force sensitive children make no sense, and neither does Order 66.

Fiction isn't supposed to answer my every question, but it should answer the majority of questions it poses. This doesn't answer any questions it poses.

A bad plot device is a bad plot device. Dues Ex Machina is not a good way to deal with a corner you wrote yourself into.

There is suspending disbelief and there is insulting your audience. This does the latter.

A Jedi is the threat, disabling the Jedi's means to get to you should then be a priority. Thrawn claimed Ahsoka ran out of time, yet that clearly wasn't even close to true.
The tactics employed certainly weren't effective, nor were they good.

The Jedi were a threat to Thrawn's objectives. So he deploys an insufficeint force, not once but four times, and has them use ineffective tactics before withdrawing them, or writing them off.

Are you seriously trying to claim that the Chimera had insufficeint power to increase altitude? Was it hovering there or was it physically impaled on the temple? Let me give you a hint, it was just another bad plot device.

Why show the world between worlds and the Clone Wars, since they were just a hallucination and meant nothing to the story line? Memberberries.
Why bring 3PO into the Council chamber? Memberberries.
Yet you ask why show the statues? Memberberries.

 

[Han Burgundy]

Franchises have to maintain continuity. I am a fan of the franchise.
The "anyone can use the force" makes all 3 trilogies nonsense.

There is no need for Jedi or Sith if anyone can use the force. There is no need to worry about age if anyone can use the force. Those Rebels and Clone Wars stories where the Empire/Sith are kidnapping force sensitive children make no sense, and neither does Order 66.

Fiction isn't supposed to answer my every question, but it should answer the majority of questions it poses. This doesn't answer any questions it poses.

A bad plot device is a bad plot device. Dues Ex Machina is not a good way to deal with a corner you wrote yourself into.

There is suspending disbelief and there is insulting your audience. This does the latter.

A Jedi is the threat, disabling the Jedi's means to get to you should then be a priority. Thrawn claimed Ahsoka ran out of time, yet that clearly wasn't even close to true.
The tactics employed certainly weren't effective, nor were they good.

The Jedi were a threat to Thrawn's objectives. So he deploys an insufficeint force, not once but four times, and has them use ineffective tactics before withdrawing them, or writing them off.

Are you seriously trying to claim that the Chimera had insufficeint power to increase altitude? Was it hovering there or was it physically impaled on the temple? Let me give you a hint, it was just another bad plot device.

Why show the world between worlds and the Clone Wars, since they were just a hallucination and meant nothing to the story line? Memberberries.
Why bring 3PO into the Council chamber? Memberberries.
Yet you ask why show the statues? Memberberries.

-Give the people something new = Feminazi mary sue bullshit (Good with the bad, we all hate Kathleen Kennedy. Bo Katan, however, deserves her crown of badassary)

-Tie new media in with old = Memberberies. No such thing as a reference or tie in. Any nod to the original trilogy, which this show takes place in technically, is somehow "cheap"

-Letting the good guys survive in a space opera = Unrealistic

You do realize that Dave Filoni is basically the reincarnation of the still living George Lucas, right? If Dave creates a show that explains someone using the force all of a sudden, then his explanation for that occurrence IS cannon. Do you have any on screen or otherwise examples where Sabine's blood was tested for midichlorians? Without that scene, your assumptions hold no water. Maybe she's lousy with them. You don't know. And as for your other points: Just because the characters didn't make the choices you'd make doesn't mean it is bad writing. I would love to hear your synopsis of a superior show that uses none of the tropes of standard storytelling. Make your badguys too all-seeing and all you get are dead protagonists. That's boring because that's what tends to happen in real life. Fiction > Reality (Especially for space operas about magic green puppet men)

At the end of the day: Like what you like, but try not to let your personal expectations get to the point that you can't enjoy anything anymore. That's the kind of habit that is hard to kick.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

Cool stuff from the season closing that you may have missed:

View: https://youtu.be/70Ra21aSoS0?si=KLjPdZZk6OHtSSOj

 

[Richard Bong]

-Give the people something new = Feminazi mary sue bullshit (Good with the bad, we all hate Kathleen Kennedy. Bo Katan, however, deserves her crown of badassary)

-Tie new media in with old = Memberberies. No such thing as a reference or tie in. Any nod to the original trilogy, which this show takes place in technically, is somehow "cheap"

-Letting the good guys survive in a space opera = Unrealistic

You do realize that Dave Filoni is basically the reincarnation of the still living George Lucas, right? If Dave creates a show that explains someone using the force all of a sudden, then his explanation for that occurrence IS cannon. Do you have any on screen or otherwise examples where Sabine's blood was tested for midichlorians? Without that scene, your assumptions hold no water. Maybe she's lousy with them. You don't know. And as for your other points: Just because the characters didn't make the choices you'd make doesn't mean it is bad writing. I would love to hear your synopsis of a superior show that uses none of the tropes of standard storytelling. Make your badguys too all-seeing and all you get are dead protagonists. That's boring because that's what tends to happen in real life. Fiction > Reality (Especially for space operas about magic green puppet men)

At the end of the day: Like what you like, but try not to let your personal expectations get to the point that you can't enjoy anything anymore. That's the kind of habit that is hard to kick.

So how did the cameos by Hayden Christianson impact the plot? (What little plot there was.) What did it change?

 

[Han Burgundy]

So how did the cameos by Hayden Christianson impact the plot? (What little plot there was.) What did it change?

See there's your problem right there. That wasn't some guy named Hayden. That was Anakin, my dude. Take your brain out of Access Hollywood for a moment and suspend some of that disbelief. Why show force ghosts at all? Its not like the audience would have a vested interest in understanding that Vader returning to the light at death allowed Anakin to enter the nether with balance on his soul. He carries with him both darkness and light; An example of a whole, balanced, being. The one. The Father. Not all plot points need to be Ham-Fisted. There exists an element to art called subtlety. I honestly think you just don't like Star Wars, the mystical side of things anyways. You strike me as an Expanse sort of feller. And hey, to each their own my friend.

 

[Richard Bong]

See there's your problem right there. That wasn't some guy named Hayden. That was Anakin, my dude. Take your brain out of Access Hollywood for a moment and suspend some of that disbelief. Why show force ghosts at all? Its not like the audience would have a vested interest in understanding that Vader returning to the light at death allowed Anakin to enter the nether with balance on his soul. He carries with him both darkness and light; An example of a whole, balanced, being. The one. The Father. Not all plot points need to be Ham-Fisted. There exists an element to art called subtlety. I honestly think you just don't like Star Wars, the mystical side of things anyways. You strike me as an Expanse sort of feller. And hey, to each their own my friend.

The actor is Hayden. Cameos are by actors not characters.
So no plot advancement from the appearance that you saw either.

I honestly believe you don't even understand what Star Wars is.

Let me help you out here.
Anakin Skywalker's story began in the Force Awakens where he went from ignorant child through padawan to Jedi Knight to Sith Apprentice to being redeemed just before death, to dying to force ghost in Return of the Jedi. His story arc ended.

Spoiler

In Episode 4 and 5 he wasn't a Force Ghost, he lacked the effects of a ghost but was a hallucination as Ahsoka was drowing. The whole sequence played out in Ahsoka's head. In episode 6 he was a hologram. He appeared to be a Force Ghost in the end of Episode 8, meaning the effects normally associated with a ghost, are still to be associated as such.

Also the claim that Anakin always had Ahsoka's back ignores the episode in Rebels where he tries to kill her.