Maul Shadow Lord

My chains are broken, the Force has freed me.

I'll level with you, I kinda forgot this show was a thing until we got a trailer for it about 2 or 3 months ago. Now of course me being the dark sider that I am and somehow as each year passes more and more a formerly Darth now just Maul fan, I knew my ass was gonna sit down week after week for this show. I was justly rewarded, taking on more of a noir style lens before shifting into the action style animation we have been watching for almost two decades we pick up kind of in a grey area with Maul's timelime sometime after Son Of Dathomir but years before Rebels as he is slowly but surely reinstating himself in the criminal underwolrd and is seeking a pupil, an acolyte if you will, where we meet a tight knit of supporting characters including two jedi knights and a police captain who gets swept up in the mix. The first thing I gotta get out of the way is the animation, holy bawls this animation! Combining classic Clone Wars style with an added dimension of brushstroke visuals straight out of Visions, I'm not only proud of the animators for doing something this different but am here to say this is a resounding superior style to an already excellent basis we've seen in recent years of Star Wars animation. It's no secret the voice cast top to bottom is great, I'd be here all goddamn day talking about how, I still don't know how, Sam has just kept climbing the Everest of voice acting for Maul with quite possibly the most flowery dare I even say Shakespearian dialogue yet in this universe. It's unreal. Gideon Adlon as our prized apprentice Devon is great, we've seen fugitive Jedi before but she brings a new element and stance that is highly welcome and the fact we're getting season 2 of this has me glued for upcoming news regarding her character. Dennis Haysbert as her master Daki gets to ride that line between sagely Jedi Master and something unknown not only conflicting with his student but also working side by side with Maul for their survival which is shall we say unique. Further compounding that we are introduced to Lawson played to silky smooth effect by Wagner Moura, a lawman firmly planting his pole on the wrong damn hill not only contending with Maul and his mandalorians but also trying to stave off the Empire which he has no love for, we spend a good amount of time with him seeing his home life, character, and resilience even in the most dire straits which makes him a fine addition to our Star Wars family. For a 10 episode season (bit by bit we'll get back to 20 episode seasons one way or another) it's paced damn near perfect, hooks you in almost immediately, builds more and more with stakes and developments with each episode, and caps off simultaneously in a mental finale and yet a more subdued conclusion. Or at least a season conclusion not a series conclusion obviously. I will admit I think episode 5 was a lull but I will never say it was bad, it just seemed like they pumped the brakes when everything before and after keeps revving up to more awesome moments. I need not tell you any and I do mean ANY duel with Maul is glorious, it really puts it all into perspective how much progress we have made since season 1 of The Clone Wars back in frick-frakking 2008. I just loved it to bits, I think this really was the Lucasfilm project I was anticipating most since The Acolyte, and if Shadow Lord can get another season why not The Acolyte? I require more dark side media in my life gawd dyammit! But oh how the party is not over yet in a galaxy far far away, but until that special moment I give this 4 stars, 9/10, and I got a new release for you coming up this Friday.

Tales Of The Underworld

Tis' a good day.

Tales Of The Underworld is I feel a story of two halves, one being a more light story that gives a bit of character depth for Ventress and the other being a pretty rock solid heavy drama story about the evolution of for my money the best bounty hunter in the galaxy Cad Bane. Although I will come out front and say the Ventress story really has two things to do with the seedy criminal underworld of Star Wars, jack and shit and jack left town. However an enjoyable and decent story it still was with her taking on a protector role for a young Jedi in hiding and trying to locate the Hidden Path, with fantastic chemistry and banter between her and young Lyco with plenty of lightsaber action to assuage nerds like me. Oh but Star Wars never change, it shows how long I've been doing this when we see a new Imperial Inquisitor and I'm calling that he's dead in two minutes and not even a name will be put to him until a book comes out, which spoilers I'm right again as always! But duuuuuuude WOW this Cad Bane story justifies the whole flip flapping series for my money, taking an evolutionary look from rapscallion youth, to henchmen young adult, to fastest gun this side of the Hydian Way mature badass. And this is a short story, keeping in the style of the Tales series where each arc is pretty much forty minutes without credits so you can knock this sucker out in the course of a meal, but how much emotion and dramatic storytelling they can squeeze in without it ever feeling forced or too densely packed is really damn impressive! It takes the western archetype of main character has someone close to him die by gunslinger who he swears revenge on, tweaks it just a notch, and it becomes a new and interesting story proving Star Wars will never get old. Vocal performances are still top notch, obviously all the love goes to Nika and Corey who have brought these fan favorite characters to life, but even the new talent like Lane Factor as this bit of a smart aleck Jedi or Artt Butler as Cad's oldest friend turned lawman with such short appearance runtimes craft something uniquely theirs. Do I even have to mention the animation? It's pretty clear we're only climbing higher and higher with the attention to detail, movement, and atmosphere with each subsequent series since technically Rebels before even last season of Clone Wars, and this is no exception. Of course I'm an easy sell on this universe, but I will admit I don't always need something groundbreaking as the next big project for Star Wars. I love the side stories, the brief snippets of character development, the connecting threads in this ever expanding tapestry, cause I just find it interesting and really cool. Even if some of the newer stuff doesn't grab your attention trust in me when I say there's been something you haven't experienced in the past almost 50 years of this franchise that will. Considering the grossly uneven (yet still good) caliber of the stories within, I'll give this 3.5 stars, 8.5/10! And truth be told, I honestly think Andor will be next cause new movie wise consider May a graveyard for reviews so we'll see how it goes.

Tales Of The Empire

Not what I expected!

I like not being right all the time and upon seeing the trailer for Tales Of The Empire it seemed simple enough, chronicling events of imperial engineer and former nightsister Morgan Elsbeth along with inquisitor in the making Barriss Offee. Now with Morgan it basically was what I was thinking, seeing her get from the massacre on Dathomir to being the magistrate on Corvus while tying in some elements from the Ahsoka series, but it was really nice to get some more backstory on her and any additional Diana in my Star Wars is highly welcome! From the small pool of other Star Wars fans I know, apparently I was the select few who just called Barriss turning into an inquisitor which I felt was obvious due to galactic history and her story thus far but I certainly didn't call anything after that event. There is more to her story than just hunt jedi and it kept me guessing where it was going to leave off. For a series clocking in less than 90 minutes it sure as hell made me want more but I was also satisfied with it, I liked gleaning more details from this galaxy and they were solid stories. Animators show offs as they are, give us another spectacular range of scenery and detail, first friggin' shot of the first friggin' episode made me huff in joyful disbelief it looked dat gud! Seeing familiar and new locales as well as characters in the Clone Wars style was great and I have no doubt this animation style will be with us for years yet. Performances while undoubtedly brief due to the structure of the show were regardless quite good, to get Meredith back for this and seeing her encapsulate the character of Barriss so well was lovely, of course some love must also be shared with Jason Isaacs and Lars Mikkelsen I mean those are my guys through and through and I adore them endlessly. I know these Tales series are just bite sized stories to tide us over for the next big project in the pipeline but the versatile range and freedom within can mean anything is next both for the next series focus and also individual stories for each season, I am once again asking Lucasfilm for a Tales Of The Sith series and I know I'm being greedy with The Acolyte mere weeks away but a boy can dream! Speaking of which, that's the next big series and the one I've been looking forward to most since the announcement. Hopefully I can catch up on the High Republic books more beforehand. As for this series big time 4 stars, 8/10!

Next week will be the slowest week so far of the year but I got some work to do so I can give you not one but two television series' reviews so hang tight and may the Force serve you well.

The Bad Batch (Season 3)

Okay, I can roll with this.

Final season but likely not the end of the batch, how is it? Way way more story focused for all the people who harrumphed about the second season, centered squarely on two things: finding Mount Tantiss and rescuing Omega. Told over the course of 15 episodes I feel it did tell it's story super well, I still absolutely hold that standard that I did with Clone Wars in it's final season that you got one chance so you better make it as good as you can. Bad Batch season 3 does this far better. Obviously there is a lot I can't say but let's discuss some details. Animation style and quality is gorgeous, I'm not sure if it's gotten better since last time but ooh those backgrounds have never looked more picturesque and the detail on the character models and environments they interact with is clean! Like maaaaan these Star Wars kids got it so good today, I seriously can't even imagine how good life would be if the slate of new Star Wars stuff today came out when I was like 7 or 8. It would be like walking through the pearly gates of heaven itself, it almost brings a tear to my eye thinking about it. Characters are just as we like them, with Hunter and Wrecker giving Din Djarin a run for his money in the best dad in the galaxy category, they truly want to finally put the soldier mantle behind them and just be there for Omega. Hell you could easily argue more than ever this is Omega's season, she is the center in which the galaxy turns for this show and seeing them dig more into why the Empire hunts her and how she's kinda becoming the soldier her brothers have made is a good arc. Crosshair turns babyface and while not much is truly said you can read so much into his past decisions and how he's progressing now, it's proper good stuff truthfully. We get guest cast galore in these episodes, I almost want to say every major player we have seen in episodes past are here once again save for Cid but we make up for that with a new addition to The Bad Batch show of a force sensitive variety. It's pretty great if you ask me. The stakes do feel pretty definitive and high, each episode builds so well upon the last all the way to the finale. Now I do find it a shame we don't really get to peek into every nook and cranny of Mount Tantiss but it further sets the stage for Project Necromancer, as say it with me everybody, "All roads lead to Exegol". This is the way. I very much liked this season, it has plenty for Star Wars fans novice and experienced to enjoy, it caps off the series in a super nice way, and now that I've finally seen it all for myself I can't wait to hear what others have to say. But I don't think it's the last we'll see of Clone Force 99, and there are pockets of info that need to be filled from the flowing mind of Dave and Lucasfilm. This song is ending but the story never ends. 3.5 stars, 8/10, we'll take a quick break but get right back on that hyperspace lane so I'll see you soon.

In Retrospect: The Bad Batch (Season 2)

The end is almost upon us.

Absolutely wild to think The Bad Batch is wrapping up, granted I didn't think the show was going to go on for seasons upon seasons but it sure as hell hits different when it actually occurs. But has the opinion changed much since the initial review of this season? Not terribly I'll admit but a rewatch always helps consolidate your opinion and I enjoyed it just as much. I do say the second season is better but...more as a whole rather than a singular season, if you follow me. It is good but it's elevated because it builds upon the foundation of the first season, you get a continuation, you get to see events progress and characters have more time and material. Honestly I consider the first and second seasons to pretty much be equal in quality, not one having higher footing (Or should that be ground?) than the other. Still entirely steadfast in my opinions of best episodes, and while I am very excited for Tales Of The Empire I did want it more to be like The Solitary Clone episode, a more anthology take on different sections of the Empire but fuck it, I'm ready for those new stories all the way! And now with the grace of the passage of time we can talk spoilers at last. I'm not usually one to throw out predictions or theories for upcoming projects but seeing how Crosshair's story has evolved thus far I'm either thinking death by helping the squad or getting zombified into a Death Trooper shell, but regardless it is a very very good and compelling storyline for Star Wars. Admiral Rampart is a massive dick and his comeuppance along with hopefully his execution couldn't have come swifter, he is that microcosm of clone distrust and hate yet even though I am a supporter of clone troopers I also absolutely understand why they are getting phased out. One, to sever any last remaining ties of the clone war and the Republic. Two, you don't want to keep the guys around who killed their last generals I mean there are commands and orders to execute the Chancellor or now the Emperor. But it is pretty fucking sweet to see that initial Ralph McQuarrie concept art of stormtrooper armor be prevalent on screen, I'm just hoping we somehow see it go all the way and see stromtroopers wielding white lightsabers in some visual medium. I don't think it's any secret Hemlock is tinkering with cloning tech for our beloved Emperor Palpatine, I fully expect to see that come season 3 and have one more glorious excuse to extend my middle finger to all those sequel haters. There are better people out there fighting the good fight for that trilogy, and I'm just not taking the high road like them. The light was never my path. Speaking of tech, boy should have fully seen that coming! I knew something was up because Tech got a big upgrade in screen presence, one on one time, motivation and perspective, dude almost got a girlfriend for crying out loud, he got a tremendous push! Even with his last talk with Phee it felt more like a goodbye than anything, so seeing him take that dive for the team while not out of left field still had a punch to it. But until I see a body, I'm not saying he's gone. You cheeky buggers pulled that Darth Maul card once on me, a broken pair of goggles ain't cutting it. And by the way, I also ain't believing that horseshit about Omega having a sister, yeah she kinda has the New Zealand accent but what friggin' ever man, I'm betting she said it just to have a manipulation hold on poor Omega. Not buying it. Will season 3 remedy such reservations on my part and also subsequently be seen as an improvement by the fandom in terms of overarching story? I'll admit I would laugh my ass off if the majority of the last season was just Hunter and Wrecker fucking about on unrelated deadend jobs and only sometimes trying to find Mount Tantiss. I'm just giving you good grief Lucasfilm, I know you'll perform admirably. So tune in Wednesday for the whole last season review!

Ahsoka

Holy shit. Holy shhhhit!

I am so sorry this was as late as it was and I'm desperately gonna attempt to keep this coherent, but there is so much to talk about and not tread into spoiling everything so with that let us begin. We knew this show was coming, we knew it would be all about finding Ezra and Grand Admiral Thrawn, and still and STILL it gave us fans so much to be entertained by and love! Son of a krayt dragon, where do I even start? Literally before act one scene one I was a happy boy seeing a red Lucasfilm logo and red text crawl. We are quickly introduced to our principal protagonists and antagonists, Ahsoka and Sabine after a falling out in jedi training reconvene with hopes of finding Ezra Bridger and stopping Thrawn's return after retrieval of an ancient map, while Morgan Elsbeth hires two...I have no damn clue what to call them cause they're not mercenaries and they're not sith and I dare not even call them dark jedi, Lord Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati who are looking to traverse to a galaxy far far away to retrieve the Chimaera and it's captain as heir to the Empire. Now I actually only have one singular qualm with this show and even then it really isn't all that much but I wonder how does Ahsoka know the map she finds leads to the precise location of Thrawn? I know it's a simple Macguffin and there is indeed a time gap between when Din met Ahsoka and now so whatever, just a nitpicky thing. And for a show that's only 8 episodes long with varying runtimes for each episode, what it juggles and how the story progresses ain't half bad. It's quite tentative how each link gets Ahsoka and Sabine closer to Ezra but far from plot breaking, and I can see that some might claim the show to be slow and it is indeed far from action packed but I feel that's necessary for the story that needs to be told. There's a lot of character backstory and baggage that gets sorted, and yeah it's damn near pivotal to see Star Wars Rebels to fully get the picture. You can still watch this show uninitiated but I don't feel like it would have as much of a draw or impact, it's essentially a fifth season of a television show just swapping from animation to live action. I mean they do a competent job getting across what each character is like and their history with one another but it's one thing to infer from it and another to experience it. Now that being said they got some fuggin' GOOD actors to play these roles, and I'll tell you something right now I can't imagine being the casting director for this because not only do you have to pick the best candidate but you also got to get the right looking person to be this animated character come to life. That is unbelievably difficult but they pulled it off in spades for my money's worth. Rosario gets to finally spread her wings and explores the boundaries of this fan loved character and delves into her psyche a bit, you see an arc with Ahsoka as she gets some very much needed closure and acceptance of her past. Natasha couldn't be more of a dead ringer for Sabine Wren if she tried and effortlessy captures the still rebellious sassy attitude that masks some grief and pain, she was an easy sell for me. Mary Elizabeth Winstead did take a hot second for me to get as Hera but once we were there all was well, she takes way more of a mom stance and while she does have her son Jacen around you can tell she wants to get Ezra back after so long too, and she ain't taking no nonsense from certain republic senators, so I say rock on. Okay this is gonna go on for a minute but fuck it, Ray Stevenson...good God. This is a greater tragedy than Darth Plagueis, the fact he never got to see the fans adore his character and even greater the fact we won't see him again continuing the quest of Baylan Skoll, it just hurts man. Del Rey books, Pablo Hidalgo, whoever I need to make a case to, please for the love of all things grand and amazing make a book on Baylan Skoll, either his break off from the Order and how he found Shin or a continuation of where we see him last or friggin' both! Baylan Skoll jumped up to my second favorite Star Wars character of all time in just 8 episodes (sorry Kylo I still love you) and I'm pretty sure I could write an entire character study on him but to keep it brief, he is a strong enigma but the best way I can describe him is he seems to put the emphasis on knight in former jedi knight, we really don't know what his endgame is though we get hints and breadcrumbs but he was perfect from beginning to end. I fell so head over heels for this character I fashioned my Halloween costume after him. Just wow, 12/10, 200/100, goddamn it I miss you Ray. Ivanna Sakhno though we don't get a firm grasp on her character's standing in the larger scale of the story, was an effective villain and my lord the eye acting of this woman was nothing short of phenomenal and pants wettingly terrifying. And I know a good sect of the internet who wants Shin and Sabine to be an item, I hold no grudge against that so I'm rooting for your dreams over there you romantic oddballs. Big time plot twist with Morgan Elsbeth played by Diana Lee Inosanto, turns out she got some Nightsister blood in her even though we had no inkling to believe so beforehand, but they fiddle and change stuff all the time in Star Wars you get used to it. But it's really damn cool to see her have such a prominent role from basically a cameo in The Mandalorian, she even gets to flex her sword fighting skills and I'm just happy to see her back in this role. Now if you go back and read my Mando season 2 reviews there was a little breakdown moment over the mention of a Chiss strategist by the name of mothertrucking Grand Admiral Thrawn so you would think I'd practically launch myself from my chair into the stratosphere upon his arrival but I kept quite a icy cool demeanor like the man himself, mainly because it was just a given. Of course we're gonna see Thrawn, of course we're going to see the star destroyer Chimaera, everything is proceeding as I have forseen, so it wasn't a matter of if we're going to see Thrawn but rather when are we going to see Thrawn. I mean can you believe it took over 30 years for this character to make the jump to live action? Heir To The Empire came out in 1991, we've had Thrawn in games, in comics, in animation, damn near every medium except live action until this year. Of course I'm utterly thrilled they got Lars Mikkelsen to do the performance rather than just dub his voice, and you can indeed see he is having the time of his life playing this role to the max in person and it's everything you both expected and wanted from it. I barely have to talk about him because you know it's great, I know it's great, the New Republic is gonna get wrecked and that's great! I genuinely do hope we get a second season of Ahsoka, I know Dave is gearing up for a film and that's wonderful but there clearly is some things to resolve by the end of this season, so please and thank you Lucasfilm. It's kinda mental how good the production is here, it really does seem like each show just keeps getting better in quality of effects to where you kinda forget it's supposed to be a TV show, the costumes are beautifully realized, the sets go from intricate to sprawling and look grand, the fight choreography feels in touch with each character and has some directorial flourishes which I love, we get a lot of emphasis on ships and space so obviously they excel at that over at ILM, it's just proper good production. Plus there's just a lot of new ground that was broken that I never thought Star Wars would do, I mean they have the balls to push the setting to a galaxy even farther away and yet it still feels appropriately Star Wars. If I had to pick favorite episodes, there's no bad episode for sure, they space each one out to where nothing ever feels like filler, that's a tough decision because there are solid candidates and I'm split on episode five and the finale for two very different reasons but I will go with the finale because they throw a lot of cool stuff at you and you want to see how it all ends and it leaves you with ample questions for next time. Regardless you're in for a treat with this show, I have no friggin' clue what the next Star Wars show will be, my want for The Acolyte is unrivalled so fingers crossed for that! Final scores I give it 4 stars, 8.5/10! And I shall return next week for a historical drama so stay tuned. Long live the Empire.

The Bad Batch: Season 2

Yet another show with a very split audience, my lord hopefully that won't be a trend.

In terms of overall story Bad Batch seems lacking, but maybe this is showing my immense age but I've seen far far more shows that don't have even an inch of overarching storylines in my time. And let's just call it what it is, The Bad Batch is an animated show intended for kids and teens though adults can enjoy it immensely, so I'm scratching my head at that particular criticism toward this season. Because the stories we do get I still find memorable, enjoyable, and progress the characters which I feel is more important than some major plot development. True, story and characters are two integral parts that cannot exist without the other, but who we follow along with interests me more. So our renegade squad of clones are keeping up with the status quo of last season for the most part, doing odd jobs for payment but that quickly shifts as they start questioning the future for Omega. They take the matter of this child very seriously and we see her skills develop more and more as the season progresses and more importantly what effect she has on the squad. And knowing the 3rd season will also be the last honestly makes me nervous about the future of these characters due to the finale. No details shall pass my lips while alive, loose lips demolish starships, but I will admit the final episode while good did feel...not rushed but that there was more to be said, more to be done. It kinda hits like a ton of bricks and you're sitting there like, well shit! What now? But a bad season this is not. Even if an episode was not one of my favorites there sure was an aspect that made my day! For instance, the season opener is a two parter about the batch looting the castle of Count Dooku and apparently his treasures are cursed, like what the fuck that is insanely cool! That's an idea that makes my imagination run rampant! But let's discuss favorites here. Best episode, hands down, no competition, The Solitary Clone. Why in the high holy hell do I not have a show about either Imperial clones or just straight up Imperials going on missions??? That episode had me hook, line, and sinker from the word go and I will forever petition such a series to be made. 10/10, 100/100! Tribe was something I could easily see in past series, video games, or even the books with the batch encountering wookie Jedi Knight Gungi and helping him back to Kashyyyk to confront raiders, a brilliant episode concept and had so many different moments to make it feel complete and quite I don't know, heartwarming and beautiful for lack of better words. Truth And Consequences gets a shoutout purely and unequivocally for seeing pure galactic history take place from the Senate himself Sheev Palpatine, though that two parter is still very good, and the buildup to seeing the friggin' Emperor was both terrifying and just raw fangirl energy rolled up in one! And I would be remiss not to acknowledge The Outpost, a pivotal episode for Crosshair and how the story unfolds is almost harrowing with a wild ending. Also that lieutenant is everything wrong with the Empire personified in one individual, just because I support the Galactic Empire to the end does not mean I blindly follow it or claim it to be perfect. But eat shit and die rebel scum, your victory and "era of peace" is shortlived. Peace is a lie. But before I continue speaking absolute truth, onto the production details. You absolute showboating beautiful bastards, I mean it's just an ongoing parade of marvellous animation! The vistas, the environments, the tiny details of blaster scores and bioluminescent waters are close to being illegal for looking too goddamn good. Voice acting, still bringing that heat Dee Bradley my dude well done, applause for you on so many years of hard work voice acting! Michelle Ang I think you're practically Star Wars royalty at this point cause Omega just keeps getting better each season and she gets major time to shine here alllll the way through. Wanda Sykes as Phee, a welcome addition to the Star Wars galaxy with a very Indiana Jones treasure hunter vibe about her, awesome! Our more or less main antagonist Dr. Hemlock played by Jimmi Simpson, I can't get a handle on this guy he seems to be this creepily calm and collected top secret scientist at Mount Tantis but we don't know his full endgame so we'll have to bide our time to find out more. Now to briefly expand on characters for a moment, Wrecker is still my favorite of the group hardcore, Omega is adorable and more capable than last time and I sense her story is far from over even when the show is, Tech got a massive upgrade with so many character moments and has a larger part in the action which I loved immensely. Just as a sidebar, seeing that neurodivergent/autism side of his personality get some real screen time and reflection was just incredibly nice to see from my viewpoint. Crosshair was going through hell and I'm not sure if there is true redemption or victory for him but needless to say I am interested. And wisely in my humble opinion they dump Echo, he was barely a presence in the first season so they wrote him out with a more fulfilling purpose here, so good move writers. And I just hope to Christ the final season will be a full 16 episodes, shit go all out and have an hour opener and an hour finale, don't Gotham this for me. And no, I am still not over that! Fox you son of a bitch!! Yeah, just don't...don't do that to us Filoni. So the question now stands, is it better than the first season? I feel it depends on if you want a more involved plot heavy season or just am there for the ride with these characters. Cause truth be told, did the first season have an emphasis on plot? Besides the Empire hunting the batch and them doing odd jobs around the galaxy before Kamino gets blasted, not really. So hey, it follows the same style. I'm in the middle of those sides but overall I'd give it 3 stars, 8/10! Who knows what the outcome will be when the series finale airs? Always in motion is the future. But I know what comes next on one of the most special of days every year, with Visions from the world between worlds of what was, what is, and what could be.

The Mandalorian: Season 3

One more week.

I am prefacing this now. I don't wanna hear it, this was a good season, take your tribalism us and them, flawless or shit, all or nothing attitude and bugger off. Kay? Kay. Mando, new season, huzzah! No spoilers this time around, we'll save that for a later time, but I feel this kinda had to go the way it went. This is kind of an odd comparison but roll with me it involves a bit of Star Wars. Once Star Wars was released in 1977 space movies got big again, coming out of the woodwork in fact, and EON Productions saw this and set their next James Bond film in space titled Moonraker with space stations, lazer guns, and earth destroying globes of a different size, but after that they knew they had to bring Bond (pardon the partial pun) back down to Earth with a more serious and very unflashy follow up with For Your Eyes Only. The exact same thing happened for The Mandalorian. It got too big for it's britches last season, so much happened, so many big names entered the chat to where it got a bit crazy! And the writers and creators knew they couldn't keep that same level so they brought it back down a notch. We still have a fairly important story with Din and Grogu setting out to essentially reclaim Mandalore, and as the show progresses we get more and more mandalorians to assist in the cause. That's pretty much the overarching plot, but the individual episodes feel slightly akin to season 1's episodes where each new episode is a new adventure. There's quite a few standalone episodes that still have some expansive information and events occuring but they're more in the background. I equate this season to a very Arthurian source, the mandos feel a lot like knights, ownership over the Excalibur style Darksaber is brought into question, a quest to reclaim a kingdom, it really fits that style while of course being the glorious space fantasy opera it always has been. Just to highlight some of my favorite episodes for you without divulging every episode's plot, episode 3 The Convert. Kind of a no brainer coming from me and my Imperial ties, even if I did have to watch turncoat traitors support the quite frankly inept New Republic. Like seriously I could bitch about the New Republic all day and compare it to Fritz Lang's Metropolis and George Lucas' THX 1138 in just how dystopian it functions especially with former Imperial officers, but we don't got time for that today. Seeing Doctor Pershing and Elia Kane (Hello there new crush.) again was really cool and the progression of that story just wowed me! Episode 6 Guns For Hire I actually really liked, kind of a side mission with Din and Bo but the fact I get Jack Black in Star Wars is completely mental and stunning and I love everything about it, didn't strike me until later but we got some Blade Runner influence in that episode so that bumped the score up a good fair bit, and I know...I know. The Darksaber thing. I know. Deep breath. Din is not a ruler, he is not a leader type. I viewed that situation as him willingly giving up the Darksaber to have a better future for his people and to reclaim Mandalore, a selfless and optimistic act so that his people can band together once more. I knew certain folk were gonna jump at the jugular over that dispute in episode 2, but it's fine trust me. It's okay, we're okay. And of course the essentially two part finale, wow. They still know how to deliver and wrap things up pretty nicely. Too much to talk about, too much to spoil, all I'm saying is I very much enjoyed this season. And from the ending it feels like, to use another analogy, like a bell curve. You start with season one and it slowly starts ascending up the curve, then season two goes even higher and hits the peak undoubtedly, then season 3 starts climbing down and by the end settles down again, so naturally season 4 I feel wholeheartedly is gonna be street level Star Wars again, a return to form. You know it's like poetry they rhyme, each stanza rhymes with the last. Now onto production technicals! Cast still brings their A-game, lot of love given to Katee Sackhoff this season and I am all there for it! Pedro Pascal still being the best poppa in the galaxy and there is a sure fire character progression for him from season to season, he is truly an honorable man. All our supporting cast including our celebrity cameos were wonderful of course, Carl Weathers, Emily Swallow, Katy O'Brian, Omid Abtahi, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Giancarlo Esposito, Jack Black, Lizzo, Christopher Lloyd, and of course Ahmed Best, absolutely fucking marvellous work and thank you for being part of my favorite galaxy. Stellar visuals as always from planet surfaces, to jetpack flying, to starships, to creature effects, it's all 100% pure, top shelf, chef's kiss, certified gold production and effects work. With so many new details and beautiful nods, it's a feast for hardcore Star Wars fans and still just as accesible and fun for newcomers. Another fine addition to our collection. And oh my God, there's so much Star Wars to talk about both this week and in the months to come. Lucasfilm pulled the crank and dropped a metric ton of new material on us April, and all I can say for the future is more! MORE!! Throw me in a Snoke tank and hook it up to my veins, I live for this shit. 4 stars, 8.5/10, and tomorrow we jump back into the FiloniVerse proper.

Tales Of The Jedi

Season two, please and thank you.




I do actually hate how short it is, that's my only complaint. When I heard we were getting a 6 episode mini-series, I was hoping in vain that they would be like, okay guys brand new animated Star Wars show, 6 episodes, 30 to 45 minutes a piece, get in! Nope. Whole damn thing is barely more than 90 minutes with credits. But like I said it's just criminally short like with Visions, you want more because there is always more to tell. Make season two take place in The High Republic era, we got Old Republic/early Empire days with this focusing on brief stories around fallen Jedi Count Dooku and rising padawan Ahsoka Tano. What's interesting though is every episode time jumps ahead, we see little baby Ahsoka OH MY GOD I would steal that child hard f***ing core, we see a really expertly designed episode where we see her evolution from newly appointed padawan of Anakin's to competent warrior straight to the goddamn Venator crash, and then we literally pick up after series finale of Clone Wars and partially see her life after the war but before she started aiding rebel scum. But my favorite parts were the Dooku parts, I had to pick up Dooku Jedi Lost and read that as homework before this show came out and it helped a lot filling in a few more gaps, as we see how increasingly disillusioned he becomes of the Senate and his constant pushing to becoming Darth Tyranus. I would watch an entire series dedicated to a mostly still unknown Sith Lord that's been around for 20 years since Attack Of The Clones came out, there ain't much Dooku media and this could be the start of rectifying that situation. I'm not one for blue lightsabers but I'd take his! It still has that distinct Clone Wars animation style yet it looks more glossy and clean, almost like a perpetual soft focus is employed. Now I have a wee theory for that, since more than half the show takes place before the Jedi are even aware the Sith have returned, it's a period of peace and prosperity for the Republic so it has a unique style to the look of everything. There's no rough scarred detail to ships and armor, you see a lot of nature shots that are akin to paintings, even when conflict arises and lightsabers are drawn it seems more mythical like seeing knights with swords right wrongs to help people, until Dooku turns heel at least. So obviously it's a Dave Filoni show with Clone Wars animation so we get our regular voice cast back, and it's always grand to hear Ashley, and Corey, and Matt, but special love for Bryce Dallas Howard voicing Yaddle and Liam Neeson's son Michael Richardson voicing Qui-Gon Jinn, that was so rad man! Lucasfilm needs to stop giving me animation blue balls though, I mean really think about this. Clone Wars started back in 2008 and was cancelled in 2014, Rebels picked up the slack the same year, had 4 seasons and ended in 2018, two years later Clone Wars comes back has 12 episodes and ended in 2020, one year later Bad Batch comes out and actually gives us a proper season, then later in 2021 Visions comes out with 9 short ass episodes, and now one year later we're still in that same boat with Tales Of The Jedi. I know Bad Batch season 2 is coming soon so we're kinda getting back on track, and I know Lucasfilm is pushing for more TV instead of films for the moment in time, I love the live action stuff but the animated fans are kinda starving for a full fledged show here. But screw it, Star Wars is Star Wars and I'm happy. 4 stars, 8/10, and we got one more before the end of it all.

In Retrospect: The Bad Batch

Has it already been a year?

Strange to think but yeah, The Bad Batch came out just last year and after hearing news and seeing the trailer for season 2 it was time to discuss more. I think I appreciated and got more out of it the second time, if on nothing else but the story. I'm almost positive this story at least for this season actually has little to do with the Batch themselves, throughout all 16 episodes it's hammering the fact that the Republic is no more. You start seeing how the Empire formed, exchange for new currency, identification for all citizens on record, tagging ships, the complete deconstruction of the cloning facilities and slow phasing out of the clones. It's almost like a backdoor series just to see this birth of a new era, while of course still centered on our group of protagonists. Most of them, I think the more I see of Hunter, Omega, Wrecker, and Tech the better I like them. But Echo, man he always feels like the odd one out with little stuff for him to even do. It's like they needed a replacement cause they knew they were going to make Crosshair a baddie, which cheapens and lessens Echo's survival even more for me in The Clone Wars. Perfect example to summarize, Cid's got nicknames for all of the group, Hunter is Bandana, Omega is Tiny, Wrecker is Muscles, Tech is Goggles, and Echo.......ah. I mean I know we got a good fair bit of him and his story of course in Clone Wars, but jeez I just hope they give him more material in the next season. Props on making Crosshair a bastard just because he's an evil son of a mother, no inhibitor chip nonsense though again not that big of a shock when the guy who sounds like he assassinates babies in their cots and bombs hospitals turns out to be a villain. But it's still a good solid dynamic to work off of with these two opposing factions. I know I said the animation quality was lagging a bit behind the final season of Clone Wars, and I do stand mostly by that, but the backgrounds and environments are out of this world. I mean seriously, dat look gud!! I do feel like a major ass for having doubts about Omega, because at first I had nothing but intrigue. A female clone, what does that mean? What's her purpose? How did she come to be a pure genetic replication? And then the worry began and I was like, shit she might be this annoying dumb kid who I can't stand. But as the episodes went on, I liked her a good deal and now I'd guard her forever. Someone brought up a point I never considered with this show, in the case of Omega she is a great new set of eyes that vicariously reflects new viewers, because she's seeing everything for the first time and experiencing the galaxy while older more hardcore fans take the perspective of the clones who's seen The Clone Wars and knows all the little details. I think Lucasfilm has done a sterling job with these shows as introductions to Star Wars, while still giving fans plenty of new stuff to sink their teeth into. Now let's talk favorite moments and characters, the biggest one that sticks in my head is the reintroduction of Cad Bane I mean sweet lord. Star Wars never forgets it's roots in film serials, westerns, and samurai cinema. Like that is a Star Wars scene even my Papa could get into who was brought up on westerns in the 40s and 50s, the spaghetti stinger music, the standoff, Bane's new look, molto bene! The small bit right before the Star Destroyers obliterate the cloning facility, just that eerie quiet emptiness with that music playing, the shots are art and puts that final nail in the coffin of the prequel era. Any moment between Omega and Wrecker was a d'awwww moment, they are precious. Seeing frick fraking Republic Commandos en masse, hell yeah! The ruins of the Venators on Bracca in all their derelict beauty and deep sadness, mmm that's good Star Wars. Aftermath I still say is the best episode but that finale is mighty strong as well no doubt. It maybe wasn't the show I wanted which was essentially full on clone troopers transitioning to stormtroopers and serving the Empire, but heaven forbid they actually make a show of a positive light about albeit space natzis despite selling such iconography on literally everything. I know that was the imagery inspiration, I know, but the Empire is cooler and less horrifically evil and not a bunch of punk ass dissidents and terrorists intent on throwing the galaxy into chaos. This is the way. 4 stars, 8.5/10, Boba Fett joins us next time!

The Book Of Boba Fett: Season 1

Here at last.

I actually have a fair bit to unpack here and not all of it is friendly but I do bring tidings of good news along with it. The Book Of Boba Fett is a solid series, when I saw the first bits of footage of it I immediately thought, crime drama in space, it had a sort of Godfather-esque tinge to it's Star Wars goodness so it had my attention. I really like how the story unfolds picking up not long after the stinger from season 2 of The Mandalorian with Boba and Fennec Shand slowly setting up their criminal empire from Jabba's stronghold, mixed with a compelling and awesome story of how Boba escaped the Sarlaac and gained the trust of a Tusken tribe. That is really damn good stuff, just seeing him learn their traditions and aiding them to where he's kind of a merit adoptive to their people could be a series all of it's own. And when we get to seeing him build his operations, recruit muscle and followers, even though it's more talky than actiony it never got boring because I was interested where the story was going and how it would end. And all the additions both new and recurring to give us fans that wow factor certainly don't hurt the score by any stretch and it was a marvel to behold at times. It's a show made with the same level of love and appreciation as The Mandalorian, and one I will patiently wait for a continuation. Now here's where I start burning bridges. I knew, for a fact beyond any unreasonable doubt, that people were going to shit on this show. I saw it in my mind's eye so clearly that even Master Yoda would commend my vision. Because it's not as amazing or jaw dropping as The Mandalorian even though they are two seperate shows with two seperate agendas, I knew reviewers were going to flood the YouTubes with titles such as, "Was The Book Of Boba Fett A FAILURE??" and I'm already seeing it saying the show is broken, bland, and boring. Get f***ed and f*** off my lawn. Because if it's not great, amazing, spectacular, showstopping, that means it's garbage right? That's how it goes these days and I am officially tired of it. And I will go one step even further beyond and say I have a bone to pick with The Mandalorian, now don't get me wrong my reviews and ratings still stand as the truth. I love that show, however I do not like how it kinda went back on it's sort of main story point. When The Mandalorian was gearing up the creators stated that it would be a Star Wars story from the street level, no galactic politics, no Jedi, no giant space battles, just a story about a simple man making his way through the galaxy. Which is what it did....at first. When we see Moff Gideon with the Darksaber that was the beginning of the end, and now it's gotten too big. Now do I have faith in Jon and Dave as to why they are introducing these big names for hardcore Star Wars fans? Yes I do. Do I understand The Mandalorian is the flagship show that opens the doors to all other shows in it's wake? Absolutely. But people are getting the wrong impression and standard with Boba Fett, they expect it to be a larger scale show with just as much Star Wars fan highlights as Mando's show, when in actuality it gets back to street level Star Wars but still dips it's toes into the large scale stuff. But I feel it's more reserved here and is more or less for the purposes of setting up season 3 of Mando, and I even understand why they wrote it the way they did. I do not have a problem with it. I do still however have problems with the fan community, and I will fully voice my thoughts on that at another point in time. Bottom line, it's a fine show. The story works and is interesting to watch, the effects are still on top form, the cast is excellent with love abound for the king Temuera and Ming-Na Wen the stunning queen, the fanservice is appreciated and gets me excited for future projects, and I do strongly recommend this show. I give it 3 stars, 8/10, and May needs to hurry the hell up.

The Bad Batch

Where the hell was this crew the while time??

Seriously I went from Jesus H. Christ I can't stand these people to, wow this isn't complete bollocks I quite like them! Oh thank the maker the bad batch was not grating on my nerves. So how was the semi-continuation of The Clone Wars? Pretty good I'd say, it perfectly hits that itch for a new Star Wars show, and while it severely has it's fan moments the story is pretty grounded and doesn't get very big or bombastic until pretty much the end. Now I will fully go on the record and say the premiere episode is easily the best, expertly setting the stage for events as we see order 66 once again and the clones are trying to find their way in the newly formed Empire, but since our group of unorthodox clones are titled degenerate they are found to be superfluous and try to lay low while just attempting to figure out what to do next. I mean this premise alone of seeing the beginning of the Galactic Empire through the eyes of a clone trooper is great stuff. Granted the show very much follows it's formula to a T until the end, a lot of rescue missions, a lot of ultra brief defeats, but it doesn't become boring because of what you get in those missions. You see a lot of familiar faces throughout (for both awesome and I f***ing hate you effects), you get some bonding between the squad and a young girl clone who wants to travel with them. And let's talk about Omega, when I first saw this character I was worried. I knew damn well Dave was working on this but I knew there was a fine line to walk between interesting character and face peelingly awful trope of the lovable rapscallion who always gets in trouble, but with great joy I report that is not the case. I very much like Omega, she is inquisitive, thoughtful, and never comes across as whiny or a tacky sidekick. Excellent work here in that character, and the rest of the main cast is very well done. The animation style I feel is not quite as top notch as the final season of Clone Wars but let that not fool you, some of these shots are like art come to life it is so well done and the detail is still just as great. I like how the plot goes about, it has it's recurring plot points but to go from the first episode to the last gels nicely, but strangely the finale didn't give me a lot of punching power. Now I'm not at 100% while writing this physically so I blame that more than anything, but while big important stuff happened in the finale it certainly relies on continuation. Like all this stuff happened but there's more to be told, more to experience, higher stakes, all that to occur as well. I think it's a solid show, there is more of clone force 99's story to tell in the what some would call dark times but I call the best times, and I did enjoy it. I give it 3.5 stars, 8/10, in the echelon of current Star Wars series it's mid tier and I feel it's more there to tide you over for the next season of Mando or the Kenobi series. Visions was definitely the high water mark of this week, and I'm just happy to talk Star Wars some more. It never gets old for me, and I held off on these shows for the right time and it paid off. Next week we'll shift gears to more classic and recognized cinema from the master of suspense himself.

In Retrospect: The Clone Wars (Season 7)

On this hallowed day, I wish to look back on an item that must be revisited.

Now I will say this now, so let it be written so let it be done, my overall stance on the final season of Clone Wars has not changed. I still feel as a culmination, a finale, a true and final goodbye to an excellent piece of television that through years of good storytelling and fan ressurection was able to conclude, it did fall flat. Mostly. I voiced my opinion on several platforms and was met with harsh critique with scoffs and guffaws aplenty, but I defended and discussed my views on the matter because it is how I genuinely feel. I wanted to take the time to see it again if only wondering if I was a bit harsh on it. Not so much on production in terms of animation, voice acting, and direction but the actual storylines presented. I was so not there for the Bad Batch storyline but on rewatch there were good elements, with Rex wanting beyond hope that Echo could still be alive, and the Bad Batch though ridiculously simple in terms of character traits and inspiration from 80s actionsploitation did have humorous moments and didn't feel shoved in the story unnecessarily, plus the scene with Anakin and Padme was incredibly endearing. I now see it as an okay arc but still not a story that was dying to be told in the final season. Now on the flipside, the Ahsoka arc with the Martez sisters is still absolute shite, completely wasting the reintroduction of a character that people have wanted to see again since Rebels ended, the plot is the definition of padding and roundabout accomplishing nothing besides the most basic yet most interesting part of the story which is nothing but setup for the final arc. The Martez sisters I almost say are the most hated Star Wars characters of all, and the only reason I can't say that is because I have not read all the books and comics to undisputedly confirm that. I have never witnessed in all my years of television viewing a more skippable slate of episodes that I feel is an inexcusable waste of time not just for the viewer but the overall story. Final arc, 12/10. Absolute god tier Star Wars to this day, spending every second creating an atmosphere of dread, uncertainty, and the loss of all hope. To see Ahsoka be pushed to an unparalleled point, to see Maul cement his final stake as one of the best characters in this universe, I cannot stress how perfectly they crafted this final story. I would pay theater prices to see it, I would buy those last 4 episodes alone on video, I will sit on this hill to my dying day that the siege of Mandalore arc is the best finale to any show ever. It pays it all off in nothing short of aces. Yet I still shout from the highest mountaintops to the lowest depths of the valleys, why oh why was that all there was of such a remarkable and brilliant story? I feel it is such a monumental missed opportunity and I genuinely hope The Bad Batch does not suffer a similar fate. I'll get that review out when all the episodes are present. I bump my score up to a 7/10, and I'll be back with some Mando goodness next time.

The Clone Wars: Season 7

I'm a bit disappointed guys.

Really? R-really?? This is the last season of Clone Wars, you ended it the way that you did, the show can never come back, and this is how you handle it? Don't get me wrong the last 4 episodes are spectacular, gorgeous, outstanding, amazing, some of the best Star Wars media I have ever seen in my days. But the other 2/3 of the series? Jesus. I don't know what to say. Okay, so we pick up after season 6 with three story arcs, one focusing on a group of clones called The Bad Batch as they work with Rex and Anakin on just a standard mission with the possibility of rescuing a familiar face, one where we see what Ahsoka has been doing in the most mind numbingly worthless arc I have ever witnessed in The Clone Wars, and the final arc where events are interwoven with Revenge Of The Sith as Ahsoka faces off against Maul and fights for her survival. I'm absolutely dumbfounded at the choices presented. Granted the animation is breathtaking at times like we're talking better than Pixar level quality and you just think about that for a second! I thought the animation was pretty great from the last two seasons but this is just through the stratosphere in terms of quality. I could not dream of better animation with slight but still logical design changes to the characters. The voice acting is still excellent with all the regulars returning, with huge love to Ashley Eckstein and Dee Bradley Baker this time around. But the stories are what murders this season before my very eyes. I just....this should not be how it ends. I feel like I jumped dimensions where this is the reality where the last season of Clone Wars was just an underwhelming and mostly disappointing finale to a beloved and frankly amazing show. You know, all seasons of Clone Wars have dud episodes that you can skip, that is just the world of TV series. But I just feel like we wasted more than half of this final season on superflous stuff. I could have never watched this show weekly because I think I would have quit real early on. In fact it took me considerable time to actually get into the Bad Batch arc, for the first time ever I was actively rooting for the clones to die, they were such annoying dipshits with way too much of a 80s action hero vibe to them to the point where I was facepalming regularly. Do not lie to me or to yourself, he was Rambo. I will say I was in love with their armor, and I liked seeing Anakin and Rex one last time, and even the ending was strong. But after the second arc I was seriously becoming more appreciative of the first arc. So we get an arc with Ahsoka (Hurrah!) where we see what she's been up to since leaving the Order which consists of helping two completely f***ing useless characters from getting killed after they get roped into dealing with gangsters. Seriously, I was fuming mad at these sisters and their uncanny quality of being absolute dipshits with no substance of character or even enjoyment. It is without a shadow of a doubt the most worthless episodes I have ever seen in this show. They did nothing! All it was was to set up the vastly superior next group of episodes. We don't get hardly any interesting character development, or fun action and banter, or compelling stories! You get nothing!! You lose! Well at least we don't get some forced romance bullf***ery. But then comes the last four episodes, exceeding every expectation and reality in crafting one of the best stories in Star Wars history, with lots of character moments, compelling action, well written dialogue, and truly engrossing storytelling. So riddle me this, why was this all that we got? I really would not have much to complain about if either A.) We got more Clone Wars episodes so we can get more stories like that, or B.) If this wasn't the last season, which to be perfectly frank I was gonna call quadruple bullshit on because I had a suspicion they were going to give us one more season after this, but the story elements and how the show truly ends quickly put that theory into it's grave. This is it. This is the end. It's never coming back. I hope you enjoy that Disney+ subscription because I can gurantee you that if this was the only reason you got it, then you have mostly wasted your money. I understand that these stories were created before the show got cancelled on Cartoon Network, I understand that the 6th season was finished but premiered on Netflix and was released on video, I understand why they chose these stories. We get a focus on the clones, and the survival of a character. We get an Ahsoka arc where she's still dealing with leaving the Jedi, meets other people who kind of prove why she left, and we get some cool Jedi Fallen Order stuff with her trying to hide what she is. We have a story that caps off not only the event of the clone wars but also the show with every ounce of drama, action, and character you could squeeze out of it delivering a truly unforgettable story. But were the first two stories the best that could be told? You get to wrap up your show that you have been creating for years, you get one shot to make the biggest and best season of this show ever, and this is what you do with it? Because when you boil it down to each little story goes as follows, a no stakes, average at best, somewhat retconning arc. A worthless, almost devoid of character, complete roundabout that accomplishes nothing or says anything (seriously take a shot everytime one of these people get caught). And a spectacular weaving of both film and show, with strong characters, excellent action, and enough intrigue and excitement that does not disappoint, culminating in a final end to the series. This pains me to say but the final season of Clone Wars is average. Because what happens if you add a great and bad arc? It equals an average, and what happens when you add average with average? You get middle of the road. I can scarcely believe it. Is this how people felt with the final season of Game Of Thrones or how people felt with The Rise Of Skywalker? My love has not waned for Rise Of Skywalker but this could be the hardest slap in the face I have endured as a fan since the word "midi-chlorians", in fact I sensed something was going to be off just based on the episode count. When I heard there was only going to be 12 episodes I was nervous, how do you wrap up a show in 12 episodes? You better have crafted one of the most tightly written stories, dialogue, and action ever, akin to more like a mini-series style of writing, which they did....only in the last 1/3 of the season. How could it be that hard? You've had 4 to 5 years, 5 years since the last episode aired on Cartoon Network, 4 years since season 6 hit video, and this is all there is?? Oh my God! I know Dave Filoni was busy with Rebels but if anything that should have given him even more ideas to connect back to Clone Wars that we could see and admire, maybe not a lot but just a few bits. To be honest by my count, Filoni only wrote the last 4 episodes which shock of all shocks were the best ones but he didn't write the others. Dave Filoni gets Star Wars, the man can create brilliant stories with everything great about Star Wars incorporated into it. So I am not hating on Dave. It just feels underwhelming when it's supposed to be a climactic end to an event that literally shaped the galaxy. Now what would I have done personally? Pretty much keep the mini-series aspect of it, kind of half and half with the second half focusing on Episode 3 with the battle over Coruscant and Order 66 happening across the galaxy and the drama coinciding with that, still keeping the Ahsoka and Maul plot of course, and the first half would be focusing on Anakin and the clones showing him and the 501st in action alongside Obi-Wan as we see the toll of the war on Anakin and how he is getting a bit more violent and dark on the battlefield as an ominous mood hangs over our heroes that we have been watching for years. Really pull on the heartstrings and infuse drama as we witness the climax and fallout of the end of the clone wars. Now I will say with nothing but sincerity and love, the actual ending was perfect, I could not have dreamed of a better ending in a 1,000 years. No dialogue, just scenery, music, and emotion. It was ridiculously good and the perfect way to showcase the end of an era. But even that cannot save this mixed bag. 2.5 stars, 6.5/10. I still very much urge people to watch it and come to your opinions because I know a lot of people really enjoyed this season, and while my feelings were in a practically nonexistent niche you just gotta do you. Next time, we revisit the rise of Palpatine, uh I mean Skywalker.

The Clone Wars: Season 6

The end, for now.

It's always a sad day when you finish a show you greatly love. Season 6 or The Lost Missions are the closing episodes of the series, or so we thought. It already begins with an excellent four part story dealing with one of our oldest clone allies Fives who after a clone trooper kills a Jedi is researching the clone development process and comes across a crucial part of the soon to be Emperor's plan. It's rough to watch at the end. It has so much weight to it because you've known this soldier for 6 seasons and his story comes to an end, and you don't want it to. Pull a Force Unleashed, take the canon and shoot it out of a cannon into the next galaxy. But sadly it does not come to pass. Then we get a really good story with Padme and Anakin's relationship coming to a breaking point, and actually gives some great substance to the relationship and tests their love. It makes the gag inducing romance subplot of Attack Of The Clones somewhat tolerable. And right before the end we have a true tribute to the fantasy movies of the 80s, seriously if you recount the plot it screams movies like Beastmaster, Ladyhawk, and so on. A brave warrior, Mace Windu teams up with his bumbling sidekick, Jar Jar to save a queen from an evil witch. That's fantasy story 101 and if you're a fan of that kind of stuff like I am it's a fun adventure before the finale. The last story arc deals with the Jedi finally looking into the Jedi Master who created the clone army and coming to a few discoveries and Master Yoda hears from an old friend beyond the grave setting him out on a quest to know the secret of life after death. Not only do we get some good old fashion trials, more Force entities, and getting more and more hints of things that have not yet come to pass but you get to finally have a story dedicated to Yoda. How interesting that the first episode and the last episode center around Yoda. And it ends pretty definitively, I could pop in Revenge Of The Sith right now and feel a complete story was told. It even plays that heart aching music when Ahsoka left, so the finale is a very nice but somber ending which makes sense when you reach the events of Episode 3. It was great going back and watching the whole series one last time before it left Netflix, and regardless of ending I am excited and interested to see what they will do next with this series. Thank you all for joining me, I felt it was time to talk about a great show based off my favorite thing in the world, maybe I got you interested to try it out or just pitched in with the discussion of the show between fans. There's so much to talk about that I couldn't cover everything but if you want to ask a question about this or that or start a discussion I certainly can't say no to you. Thank you very much, see you next time, and as always may the force be with you.

The Clone Wars: Season 5

Well unfortunately this season suffers much like the last but Jesus does it end in an unforgettable way.

It starts out really blah, with young Saw Gerrera leading a rebellion, and like the water war of last season it goes on and on, but then it perks up a bit with Ahsoka leading young Jedi to find their lightsaber crystals and it's a good episode. Then it just keeps going. And going. And going like the damn Energizer bunny! It's worse than Saw's rebellion, at least that had content to span out over a few episodes, the young Jedi arc should have stopped after the first part. Then we get a adventure story with R2 and a handful of other drouds going on a mission which is all fine and good, yes it drags but we get to see a Republic Commando in action and for hardcore fans it makes up for the okay story. It's kinda sad how the "last" season of Clone Wars is padded out so much, literally half of the season is padding! But if you make it past that, Maul goes on a tour de force amassing a criminal empire and exacting a bit of revenge on Obi-Wan which some could argue is the best part of the season, not only does it show off Maul's combat prowess against Pre Visla the head of Death Watch, in a fight so excellent it has gained over 10 million views on YouTube, but also the most dark side fueled duel in history. Mother of mercy this is f***ing hardcore man! But in my humble opinion, the last story arc is the best. Ahsoka Tano, a beloved character we have seen grow and develop into a true Jedi is framed for a bombing on the Jedi Temple itself, leading both her and Anakin to try and find the true culprit. And it's a giant pushing force for Anakin to do what he does in Episode 3, but causes waves of events to happen and some we have not seen yet. It's hard not to get choked up at the end. Imagine if you watched that when it was on TV, imagine if this was the last Clone Wars episode ever. No season 6 on Netflix, no continuation of the series five years after it ended, nope it just ends. That is a downer ending! I'm almost afraid to watch future Clone Wars episodes because it can seriously damage the emotional reputation of this episode. It's why the season two finale of Rebels was a big deal! I know we will talk about the 6th season tomorrow, but for me this is how The Clone Wars ended. Not with an exciting bang, but an emotionally charged finale.

The Clone Wars: Season 4

Well I wish I could say it started off strong.

Now don't get me wrong, this is not a Gotham situation where every season until the 4th has been great, it's still pretty damn good with a lot of great stories and character moments but jeez is there some padding before the good stuff. We start off with an underwater invasion on Mon Cala, which is okay....if it didn't go on for 4 damn episodes. It gets old. Fast. Why couldn't we have this for the invasion of Kamino? There's nothing fundamentally wrong with it, it's a welcome change of pace in terms of the battlefield, it's interesting seeing a young Admiral Ackbar, but it just goes on, and on, and on. How can a season begin and already pull the drag chute? But wait there's more! Then we go on to R2 and 3PO meandering about for 2 episodes and it is not an improvement on the first four episodes. You can immediately skip 6 episodes in this 22 episode long season already. But thankfully after that it's hit after hit until the end and I can safely say the Umbara four parter is excellent, dealing with Captain Rex under the command of a brutish and unsympathetic general, and honestly I was getting 'Nam flashbacks like crazy. Soldiers brought into a battlefield where the enemy is hardly ever seen and completely decimates ground forces to the point they need to call in air strikes, and a leader who will not pull the troops out of a hopeless situation. Yeah. It's grim. And as each episode goes on the tension mounts until shit goes down. I mean Jesus! That is how you should start this season! We move along to a decent three parter with Anakin and friends dealing with slavers, which hits home for our Chosen One but also Ahsoka who's people are captured and used as slave labor. Good story, good character development, solid B+. I will admit I like the premise of Ahsoka teaming up with a past Separatist who battles bounty hunters from Mandalore, but the only problem is I hate this kid. Yeah there's a lot of hate for kids in this show for me, he's an unlikable whiny jerk who tries to martyr himself and the only thing I can say is, I do NOT ship it! But don't worry, we get more bounty hunter adventures with Obi-Wan faking his death and going undercover, so we get awesome angry Anakin moments, a fantastic entertaining episode called The Box, and of course Cad Bane. Woop woop! And then we end on a high note. Darth f***ing Maul is back. And it is every bit of awesome as you think! That is how you end a season. You gurantee a surplus of viewers for the next season to see the best part of Phantom Menace back and kicking ass more than ever! Beautiful, perfect, 10/10! Yeah I'm biased towards the Sith, but only the wisest are. I will say the animation got better and for good reason, the creators wanted to get Maul to look impressive and real so they upgraded the quality of the graphics and it does look excellent, not to mention Starkiller voice actor himself Sam Witwer who is the biggest pimp in Star Wars next to James Earl Jones of course, dude deserves awards and more fans, that's all I'm saying! I am stoked for next season so I can gush relentlessly over Maul so stick around!

The Clone Wars: Season 3

*WARNING what follows is the geekiest review you have ever read. You will witness the true scope of my lifelong love for Star Wars. Be advised!*

Another fine addition to this collection, and the best season yet all around. We begin very much how we ended last with further situations arrising on Mandalore before we are whisked away to bounty hunting with Cad Bane, an invasion of the clone world of Kamino, more backstory into Asajj Ventress and the introduction of an old Sith's brother, the introduction of Captain Tarkin, and quite possibly the best story arc in the entire series. So yeah, lots to talk about! Mandalore is an interesting planet and the stage for even more future events, and always seeing Satine is a pleasure. She's such a well rounded character, and we see a friendship begin with Padme which is a lot of fun and starts the season off well. Then we jump straight into Cad Bane further proving why he is the best at what he does as he accepts a job from the Hutt's to hunt down a member of their family, and yeah it hardly feels like Star Wars and more an episode of In The Heat Of The Night but hey, any episode with Cad Bane brings the entertainment factor to the max for me! Then we move along to a massive invasion of battle droids at the very heart of the Republic's army and you know what, this episode bugs the shit out of me! Why? One simple answer, it isn't long enough. You'd think with such a pivotal battle with a lot on the line, they would take multiple episodes to show off this siege but it's wrapped up in one episode. Granted, they utilize every single last second and make it absolutely amazing but it just made me really want to see more. We get some decent episodes of Ahsoka, who's developed a lot more in terms of power and character and is forced to acknowledge the fact that war is far from simple, and it's great to see her grow up a bit and to become her own Jedi, though of course still taking after Anakin. And we'll get back to him in a moment. Then we get some much needed Ventress screen time, her episodes are excellent, not only showing off a new world and culture of literal witches, magic and all no powers drawn from the Force, that delve into her history and how she came to be the way she is. That was incredibly interesting, and leads to the best lightsaber duel yet with Count Dooku that wows me everytime I see it. Even if you don't watch the show, watch the duel. It really does show off how much better the combat, animations, and graphics have gotten, and they only get better from here which says a lot! And last but certainly not least we have the Mortis story arc. Oh my gawd! This does everything right. We get new character insights, a return to the mystical Force and not just scientific betrayals, literal personifications of Light Side, Dark Side, and Grey Side of the Force with so much allegory and parallels to the Star Wars...everything that it would take me weeks to fully talk about it. I really don't think future episodes surpass this, until perhaps the end of the 6th season and even then I'd have to think about it. I mean wow, they really did some inventive, great, and entertaining things with this season. But you can't have your resounding successes without your crippling failures which aren't that many, hardly at all but it has it's fair share of skippable episodes. About 5 in my count, most of them don't matter in the grand scheme of things whether in plot or character, including a murder mystery so uninteresting I planned better ways to eliminate my enemies, Ahsoka dealing with a bunch of f***ing kids who go full Scooby-Doo mystery solving that made me do other things besides watch it, and this weird like, Star Wars meets The Most Dangerous Game where Ahsoka and a bunch of other kids get hunted down by Trandoshans and Chewbacca is there and I really, really could not care less. Also what the hell is with the voice acting this season? Nothing horribly wrong with our leads but I caught at least 3 major WTF accents, one of the Hutts Ziro and his girlfriend sound like there from the bayou boy, it's like whaaaat?? And this guy, this like warden of this super duper impossible to escape super prison tower....I have no idea what he sounds like. Other than an asshole. The best I came up with is if you took Willem DaFoe and Christopher Walken with a splash of Jersey dickhead, I have no idea what this guy is on. Well, at least they got a good actor for Tarkin. So yeah, it has problems but few and far between with such excellent stories. And Season 4 is right around the corner.

The Clone Wars: Season 2

WARNING: what follows is the geekiest review you have ever read. You will witness the true scope of my lifelong love for Star Wars. Be advised!*

More interesting tales to see. Yet another fine season, surpassing the last in terms of stories and new characters. We already start off strong with an interesting three part story showing the debut of the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, Cad Bane. Yes, I will argue this with you. Cad Bane is a better bounty hunter than Boba Fett! I mean what's not to love? Cool design based heavily on westerns, badass voice, cool demeanor, excellent array of skills, the dude is one of the best mainstays of the whole series. Hell the first 3 part storyline and the last of the season are some of the best episodes of the whole season. The last three part story arc revolves around Mandalore and an old flame of Obi-Wan which is greatly fascinating and leads to a lot of good banter between him and the Duchess Satine. And to see Obi-Wan in such a position with such a remarkable lady it's hard not to ship it you know? It gives us a lot more info about Kenobi before Episode 1. It's a pivotal story arc which will be revisited in the future. Throw in a good tribute to Akira Kurosawa, a mish-mash of Aliens, The Blob, and Invasion Of The Body Snatchers with a zombie twist, and a really good episode that focuses solely on Ahsoka, and you got a really really good second season. Granted there are about 6 episodes that you can skip but by no means are they bad, if you want to see a young Boba Fett try to exact revenge on Mace Windu, or a King Kong style story set in the Star Wars universe, then be my guest and have fun. There just wasn't much there for me to really praise. But come on, you have a complete Seven Samurai tribute with pirate Ohnaka and some really badass looking bounty hunters duking it out for some villagers. Then you get a disturbing deeper look into Genosis which takes a lot of good inspiration and uses it well with very moody lighting, genuinely creepy monsters, and caps off with Ahsoka against an entire ship full of zombified clone troopers. What's not to love? Speaking of her, an entire episode dedicated to Ahsoka retrieving her lost lightsaber sounds like a filler episode if you ever heard one but it tells us a lot about her character and even stirs up some controversy of her training. What will happen after the war is over? How do you go from warrior commander to peacekeeper pacifist? That's a really good part of the show that they keep referring back to, solidifying why this show continues to have such a dedicated and loving fanbase. It truly does rise above just another cartoon show. Through every episode the animation is better, the voice acting is excellent, the stories offer tons of variety and intrigue, and you get to know more about new and old characters. It's hard to go wrong with that! There's so much to talk about in the coming seasons and I greatly look forward to it. So until tomorrow my friends!

The Clone Wars: Season 1

*WARNING: What follows is the geekiest review you have ever read. You will witness the true scope of my lifelong love for Star Wars. Be advised!*

Now we're doing Clone Wars. Yeah I know, it took me awhile but it's high time we talk about this series and if you know one thing about me, it's that Star Wars is life. Now I will freely admit I was so against this show when it was on the air you thought I was on a boycott, I refused to watch this show. Cause what was the point? We already have a Clone Wars series from back in 2004, hand drawn animation, created by the same guy who did Samurai Jack Genndy Tartakovsky, fits between Episodes 2 and 3, perfection! Why do we need a damn 3D animated Clone Wars series?? Well after a long time, we're talking like two maybe even three years after the show was cancelled, I finally caved in and watched it on Netflix. In short, I was wrong. This is a brilliant series, it takes everything not so very good about the prequels in every way and improves it to where you love it. And what I kinda like about it is how not only can you pretty much watch whatever episodes you want in any order you want because the show was told through little chunks of story from all over the place in terms of time and space, and to fully understand it just Google "clone wars chronological order" and you will see what I mean. But not only that, the creators were pretty much given free reign to do whatever they wanted with the lore accumulated up until that point and could invent new things. When I heard Anakin had an apprentice, I practically howled betrayal but you know what, I think Ahsoka Tano is one of the best Star Wars characters ever. At first you think she's essentially the Scrappy-Doo of the series but through time you see her grow, develop, and become a great character. You grow to love and care about her very quickly! I feel I need to issue a personal apology to Lucasfilm and Dave Filoni, because I was closed minded and refused to see new Star Wars content. THAT is the true betrayal! They bring a lot of character to new faces and old favorites and that's really what the show is about, the old Clone Wars show was about showing the vast battles and more the spectacle and visuals than story and character. This show is all about the characters. Anakin is not a creepy, violent, utter piece of shit, he's a headstrong, capable, adventurous young Jedi who can leap into action, make a witty retort, and proves to be a great master to Ashoka. Obi-Wan is everything you love about Obi-Wan on steroids, he can make really bad jokes but you laugh regardless, he can be diplomatic, is very strong in the Force, and is a deadly combatant, it really would make Ewan McGregor proud. We get to know more Jedi that we see in the films briefly, and they have more prominent roles each with their own personality, style, and views on the war and the future, I swear you meet a Jedi Master for a grand total of about 4 minutes before he gets killed and you genuinely feel heartbroken. Even Jar Jar Binks has one episode where he isn't completely useless and stupid! Yeah who would have thunk right? And you actually give a damn about the clone troopers, they are not just cgi video game characters used for blaster fodder, they are their own people. If you watch season 1 episode 1, there's a scene where Yoda talks to them and gives them advice and tells them they are not things but living people and how important they are. Stuff like this happens all the time in this show, we meet tons of clones who all have identity and likeability. There was one mission where there was a squadron of clones in Y-Wings, and one got scratched on one of the wings and I legitimately flinched. I did not want to see any of them die, and these were clones you meet for the first time with no past experience. That's some mighty fine writing and characterization. But even the technicals are done well, the lighting, use of color, and each planet and ship having their own unique art design is something to be admired. I have no idea how people do 2D animation, hand drawn or not because that takes time, patience, and understanding of the craft but I am beyond words how you make a complete 3D animated show. The animation quality gets better and better through each season but even the first one has really good animation. I will say there are some episodes you can honestly skip, you can drop about 4 or 5 episodes if you so wish. But that's the beauty of the show, you can watch it anyway you want, I mean sure there is continuity but you still have that freedom to watch any episode arc of your choosing. I can say the best episodes of season 1 are, the Malevolence trilogy, Dooku Captured, the Ryloth trilogy, Clone Cadets and Ambush. So out of 22 episodes, I only dropped 5 episodes so that's not bad. And there's plenty to watch and experience so I'll be back tomorrow for season 2.