Once again, the animators taking Every. Single. Live-action. Producer. To. School.
Real blackout darkness without making the show difficult to watch. Every light source and shadow in this episode was premeditated. Even when characters were completely hidden by shadows, I could still see what was going on on a nine-year-old LCD. The entire episode took place on an island experiencing total overcast and yet everything still looked beautiful and colorful.
If a genie suddenly told me I had three wishes, my first wish might actually be that every human values and respects the ability to competently frame and light a scene!
As for the actual story... Asajj Ventress, Kraken Whisperer.
The way Ventress was so casually (re)introduced, and the way she relates to the Batchers was a real left-field play and I really liked it. And they finally said "Midi-chlorians" after being so cheeky for so long with M-count this, M-count that. Just say the word. It's not cursed or anything.
Another thing I really liked is how Crosshair gave Ventress his hand. Good Crosshair, you're LEARNING!
Omega's journey is about to get very heavy, and we are now at the half-way point for the final season. This whole series has been one bar higher than the animated Star Wars that came before, and this season has been so focused and devoid of any distractions. I'm so conflicted that this is the end, but I'm so pleased that this isn't the end for Filoni's animated Star Wars.
(I'm still holding my breath for a complete remaster of the original Clone Wars series using the current version of their animation engine.)
This one gets the first 10 of the season. Not because it's one of the best episodes overall, but because the plot is so perfectly honed and has almost no fat on it.
From the start to the finish, this episode is one, long run and gun. First it's the Imperial company against Rex's crew, then it turns into a squadron against the Batchers, then it turns into the Operative against Crosshair. Which leads to a very serious fight to the death that lingers on Crosshair beneath the water just long enough to make me genuinely worried that he was about to be Battlestar'd right then and there. You can see the fear of death on his face when he gets rescued. More trauma to add to the pile.
And the standoff at the end is a painting that Kubrick could be proud of. Even though it seems unusual that an Imperial Commando would just let them all go, they were clones that long stopped being mind-controlled by the inhibiter chip and are now just following orders - another clone's orders. Brothers recognizing brothers.
No wasted time, no wasted words. Everything that was done and was said is peak Filoni and peak Star Wars. This whole season has been almost completely free of filler thus far, but this episode in particular - the second half of a two-parter - is a shining example of why The Clone Wars and everything that spun off of it has tremendously raised the bar for what I expect from Star Wars and animation in general.
"I'm going to make him watch all the Star Trek, all three series." - Danielle Poole, 2003~4
If you count The Animated Series, that means this timeline did not get Deep Space Nine or Voyager (or Enterprise). I can imagine this has something to do with the falling out Ronald D. Moore had with Star Trek's Executive Producer at the time Rick Berman, who gave him hell on DS9 and led him to leave Voyager very early on. I wonder how many TNG movies there are in this timeline. This episode is set about around when the last TNG movie, Nemesis, was released in our timeline.
Edit: Someone else pointed out that FAM's timeline might have gotten Star Trek Phase II. Which would mean no Next Generation either. And because The Motion Picture was created from the ashes of the cancellation of Phase II, probably no Star Trek films at all! Imagine a few years of 60s Trek, a couple years of 60s cartoon Trek, then maybe a few more years of 70s Trek, all influenced by a young Roddenberry. And then the franchise peters out and gets shelved alongside shows like Battlestar Galactica and Space 1999 because people are much more interested in actual space travel than imagined space travel.
So good to have decent hard science fiction back on the air. Technology on the show has progressed to the point where I can start to see and feel parallels with The Expanse and Mass Effect (minus the aliens... ...so far). The visuals have also really gone up another level. The wide shots of them towing the asteroid are incredible!
I also missed the Soviet political intrigue. Now that The Americans is finished, it's a good way to keep myself from making the mistake of rewatching all of that again. Not because it's bad, but because I won't be able to stop. My backlog of stuff I haven't watched would put a curse on me.
Strong start, no time wasted. A much better start than teen angst and love triangles in the space hotel. This show really has become the heir apparent to classic Star Trek. Instead of a humanity that drives itself to the brink of extinction and has aliens hold their hands as they learn to travel the stars, humanity saves humanity. A humanity that prevents itself from becoming complacent and keeps feeding the hunger to go further. And we get to watch how, instead of making a perfect utopia, it simply makes the world better one little bit at a time. This is the show that will make future generations look upward and get inspired to be their best selves. And hopefully some of that positive change will affect this version of humanity.
(I always smile when I see the Okudas in the credits. They are good stewards of this show the way they were good stewards of Star Trek. Their respect for the story helps set For All Mankind shoulders above the rest.)
We spend entire series watching and waiting for the one episode or moment that just wows us, and it sneaks up behind you without being noticed and suddenly there it is. I was steeling myself for one hell of a deus ex machina, a typical Marvel gotcha, and instead I got to watch Mr. Anderson become Neo. ...and I think it really works and has some amazing potential for the MCU going forward.
The storytelling (the writing, the dialog), the music being creepy and glorious at the same time, this is the finest episode of Loki thus far and it lives up to its namesake by setting a new bar for the genre within Marvel.
It took me a moment to get it, but the reason Sylvie remembered Loki is because she ported out of the control room before the shockwave hit. Watch her panic as the McDonald's branch timeline unraveled in front of her, then suddenly go into cold, in-control mode and just leave it all behind like it was nothing (because now it literally is nothing). I wonder if that exception is going to play into future events, even after Loki "corrects" the way things play out at the TVA.
In the time between episode 7 and episode 8 I learned a few things. I learned that there were only eight episodes, instead of nine. I also learned that this wasn't the end of the story. There's a full-blown movie planned involving Thrawn, and the Ahsoka series might also get a second season. So my mind immediately jumped to "what if Thrawn wins?"
That was the missing piece of the puzzle. How could they possibly wrap everything up in a satisfying way if there's only one episode left? They weren't planning to. They weren't setting everything up for the finale, they were setting everything up for the next part of the larger story.
This would have been a disappointing finale. Instead it was a great cliffhanger (apologies to Ezra).
Absolutely no time was wasted in this episode, but nothing was rushed either. Right down to Lars taking three-second breaths between sentences. Every story beat got to take its time while still going from one, click, to, click, another without a pause or slump anywhere in the episode.
I was so happy to watch Ezra build a new lightsaber. And one that pays homage to his late Master. I was listening to someone theorize that Ezra was secretly possessed by an evil that also wanted to leave the planet, or that his dark side inclinations seen in Rebels would resurface, but no. The blue blade of justice it is. Seeing Ezra, Sabine, and Ahsoka all lined up with their sabers out felt a bit like a return to form for Star Wars as a franchise. Ahsoka duel-weilding, Sabine switching between saber and blasters, and Ezra assisting with Force pulls and pushes made them an excellent team. I just hope we get to see them fighting together again.
"Jedi. Together. Strong."
Because once they get separated, everything starts to fall apart. Ahsoka was able to beat Morgan through sheer (little f) force of will. By the time Sabine and Ezra take out those... WTF are those things?? The Night Troopers were apparently still alive, until the Nightsisters revived them, but the Deathtroopers were... dead already. After they kill the DoubleDeathTroopers:tm: the only way to follow Thrawn is for them to split up as well. Leaving Sabine and Ahsoka trapped on Peridea, while Ezra returned to the known galaxy for a super brief, bittersweet reunion with Hera and Chopper. Thrawn has returned. I hope Mon Mothma took Hera seriously when she said to prepare for the worst.
The fight with Morgan was excellent. She was genuinely dangerous even before her baptism by dark magic and evil sword (ACTUAL SWORDPLAY IN STAR WARS!!). I REALLY hope Ahsoka keeps that Dathomirian blade to make up for losing one of her beautiful, white lightsabers. Alternatively, the fight with all the Night Troopers, especially after they got reincarnated, was Rebels-style comical. Both very different fights, both very enjoyable. Both emblematic of Star Wars.
I really respect how capable Thrawn is. He was always very smart about things, but this time we actually get to see those smarts pay off. 'The chances of the Jedi stopping us now are almost impossible... we should prepare for a ground assault immediately.' Yep. And you were still a hair away from losing everything despite that preparedness. Good thing Thrawn is so smart, because his troopers are so fucking stupid. Staring at things for several seconds before firing like it's the first time they've ever seen a starship or a Jedi. Okay, maybe that one is actually true. But still! I'm glad Enoch is still around, because I want to see more of him... and I want to see him fight. It should have been Enoch instead those Deathtroopers against Sabine and Ezra. But have the fight end in a stalemate so we could have at least gotten a taste of what's to come.
All in all, this was not the episode I thought it would be and I'm glad it wasn't. Because there is so much more to do with this storyline. We didn't see Baylan or Shin until the very end. Neither of them said a word, but their current positions are very clear. Shin rallied the renegades in the wastelands behind her and her good boy, and Baylan found male statues on the Nightsister planet that point to a beacon on a far-off mountaintop. It's a shame about Ray Stevenson, but I really hope they recast Baylan anyways - the clues surrounding his solo journey suggest a story that Filoni has been building up for decades. I needs it!
Ahsoka brought back the mysticism of Star Wars that the franchise has been sorely missing for some time now. The original hook that drew people to Star Wars in the first place, that made it famous in the first place. The light versus the dark - the importance of the Force (to all beings). And using all the lore that has been built up since then to express it. Here's to much, MUCH more of this kind of storytelling in Star Wars.
May the Force be with you, Ray.
Getting Part Three vibes again. A sense of "That's it?" when the episode closes coupled with the realization that pieces have been moved into position and the plot has been set up for some bigger thing that's about to happen.
I was confused and then delighted by Ezra's whole attitude. He's doing a kind of "Jesus in the wilderness" thing and seems to have a very different connection to the Force than he did when we last saw him. The way he moved when he fought looked like something was moving him. Lightsabers? Ain't nobody got time for that.
As short as this episode was, we got see a lot of different class pair-ups at the end. Baylan vs Ahsoka was power vs power; This time their dual ended in a stalemate. Sabine vs Shin was cunning vs fury; This time Shin didn't underestimate Sabine, but Sabine still held her ground. Ezra vs Shin was wisdom vs fury; The first time Ezra had to fight in a long time, and it showed. "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is bruised and spongy." And Ahsoka vs Shin was balance vs fury; The thing that shook Shin the most was that Ahsoka wasn't angry at her. Shin comes from a time after the fall of the Jedi Order and I don't think she's ever had to face someone properly trained in the Jedi arts before.
The time spent with everyone else was pithy and just served to put them in their place for the finale. The scene on Coruscant was almost useless (of course Hera would be excused and protected for abusing her powers as a General), but Filoni does know how to force a grin out of me with a very unexpected C-3PO cameo. Apparently 3PO was having a spinal malfunction that day. I did appreciate the Gideon past-tense name drop which cements exactly when Ahsoka takes place against the third season of The Mandalorian (release order = chronological order).
Again, solid content, but nothing special... not yet at least. There's no question that Filoni is just putting runners on the bases to tee things up for a grand slam (baseball metaphor). It's what he always does. By now, even the lay viewer should understand that. Maybe it won't be exactly what I personally dream it could be, but good money says it'll be worthwhile. If you're still not sold on this series, or harboring discontent just because Disney's name is attached to Star Wars now, take advice from the wise, old star whales and fuck off to somewhere else.
It would be foolish to think that this episode would even begin to compete with the theatrical experience of last week's. Thankfully this is still a solid and meaningful episode that keeps a good pace.
Hilariously, after finally focusing on Ahsoka, she introduces the episode and then bows out for another chapter of Star Wars: Sabine Wren. Truthfully, it means so much more for a member of Phoenix Squadron to be there when Thrawn is introduced instead of Ahsoka. Sabine has a much stronger connection to him because of their history from Rebels. Infinitely more so for Ezra Bridger. And live-action Sabine is growing on me. I wonder how much of it is because of the hair.
I expected Thrawn, I did not expect Ezra. Getting both introduced in the same episode, the first act of the second half of this potentially-limited series, signals the speed at which the plot is going to move from now on. Ezra's introduction was quiet and emotional. Thrawn's introduction was Star Wars: Fury Road. Lars' scene chewing coupled with Thrawn's "haunted organ" theme song from Rebels is just... perfect. After this episode, every doubt I had about Thrawn have vanished.
Both live-action actors were the voices of the animated character in Star Wars: Rebels. Both fell right back into their respective roles with ease. Live-action Ezra (Eman Esfandi) It is not the same person as the voice of Ezra from Rebels (Taylor Gray). Completely fooled me by how perfectly Esfandi captured Ezra's inflections and cadence when talking.
The reunions were the focus of the episode, but there was a lot of nice details scattered throughout. There was so much more information about Baylan and Shin than I expected. And it felt like Shin was starting to experience disillusion with her Master's wisdom. She's becoming uneasy by everything that's happening and seems to be really bothered by the idea of witches. The purrgil only travel to Dathomir to die - the ring around the planet is a giant boneyard - so how would a purrgil take anyone back? And most importantly, there are good dogs in every galaxy.
Fun fact: Enoch, the Captain of the Guard, is Amos from The Expanse. I don't think it's stunt-casting, we're gonna see him do something interesting before this is over. Also, one of the Nightsisters is Claudia Black. Counting Dawson and Tennent, this episode has an oddly-large amount of established star power.
It feels like episodes 6 & 7 are the build up for the finale of episodes 8 & 9. Best to just be like Ahsoka during this whole episode and sit back and enjoy the ride there. Filoni is not the kind of person to let the mid-season overshadow the finale... it's potentinally going to be batshit crazy.
"I'm teaching you how to lead, how to survive. And to do that, you're going to have to fight." - Anakin Skywalker
And I was seriously thinking that episode 4 would likely be best episode of the series, save (maybe) for the finale. Now I just don't know what to think. If this is what we get mid-season...
Not only is this episode the aftermath of the very satisfying events from last week, but it sets up what is going to come next, the whole second act of the series.
We are missing Morgan, Baylan, Shin, Sabine, still haven't seen hide nor hair of Ezra or Thrawn, AND just about everyone else is effectively sidelined on a manhunt so we could follow Ahsoka, just Ahsoka, and get the reunion of a lifetime.
The visuals, the dialog, the music, the staging, everything is all so finely-honed and balanced into an episode that is Ahsoka's final lesson from her former Master, Anakin Skywalker.
The Lesson:
"Live, or die."
Ahsoka doesn't even understand why Anakin is saying that to her, or why she has to fight him now. She just keeps defending herself, lamenting the loss she had to endure, the weight of the shame and guilt of feeling responsible for that loss, regretting the path her life took (away from Anakin) and resenting him for turning into a hate-fueled monster. Even though she knows he turned back to the Light in the end, she probably never completely believed or understood it until "Sky Guy" was standing right in front of her again.
She eventually lands hits on her old Master and thinks that he has nothing to teach her. In response, Anakin upheaves the entire World Between Worlds and she falls into the smoke, back in time to the beginning of the Clone Wars, back in time to when she was just a little girl. And her new training begins at the very beginning.
Now Ahsoka is afraid. She reverts to the inexperienced Padawan she was way back then. She doesn't want to follow Anakin towards explosions and battle droids. She doesn't want to watch all those young Clone Troopers die all over again. She doesn't want to be taught on a battlefield. She doesn't want to be a soldier.
"What if I want to stop fighting?" - Ahsoka
"Then you'll die." - Anakin, who Ahsoka watches briefly turn into Darth Vader as he marches into the smoke with the rest of the 501st Battalion.
Now Ahsoka is angry. Angry because of all the loss of life and destruction, and angry because she gave in and became party to it. While she is leading the 332nd Company on Mandalore and killing Death Watch soldiers with ease at the tail end of the Clone War, Anakin seems bemused and slightly impressed, this is his first time witnessing these events. But because she regrets everything that happened, and resents following in Anakin's footsteps as his path grew darker and darker, he scoffs and says she learned nothing.
"Back to the beginning...Live, or die." - Anakin, as he ignites a red lightsaber.
Now Ahsoka is filled with hatred. The saber strikes become more fierce and unrefined. Anakin is now no longer her beloved Master of the Force. Now, he is Darth Vader before the transformation. His eyes are yellow and his face is gaunt. Ahsoka is no longer a match for his raw power and anger and she is thrown back to the present in the World Between Worlds - back to her present self. As Vader approaches, she hears and sees flashes of the monster he would become. Now she is fighting for her life. Even though he is more powerful, she feints and disarms Vader - holding his own lightsaber against his neck. For a split second, Ahsoka's eyes seem yellow from the glow of the blade. Then she steps back, switches the blade off, and tosses the hilt into the abyss.
"I choose to live." - Ahsoka
Darth Vader concedes defeat, backs away, and becomes Anakin Skywalker again.
"There's hope for you yet." - Anakin, with a wry smile.
And with that, Anakin Skywalker disappears and the World Between Worlds melts into water. Ahsoka holds her breath as the water rises over her head and she finds herself floating in the sea below the henge where she is rescued by Carson's pilots and brought aboard the Ghost.
The Visuals:
Everything is so visually perfect and meaningful in this episode. Especially the time jumps. I noticed little things like The Ghost's ramp being uneven with the ground at the henge, Jacen's mock rank insignia along with his father's shoulderpad, how beautiful the lighting is inside Ahsoka's ship when they're in the atmosphere of a planet (and how real the whole ship feels when it's brightly-lit like that), the Purrgil having plates instead of teeth like humpbacked whales. A lot of the detail and finish to this episode are not needed but they are there anyways.
Most of all, the accuracy of everything during the time skips. Especially the costuming for each given time period. It filled me with joy to see Clone Wars-era Anakin in live action. ...With the glaring exception of Padawan Ahsoka deliberately wearing something more modest than she had in the Clone Wars cartoon. But that's an understandable change that can be forgiven. Ariana Greenblatt is 15 years old.
The time skips themselves were portrayed so otherworldly and disconcerting. Almost everything in the foreground was practical (not the TRON walkways, I wish), unlike the cartoon. But at the same time it was all... off, like a bad dream. The fog made it feel like the moment something or someone disappeared from view, that's where the whole universe ended and there's nothing but nothingness beyond it. A rare moment where the faux reality of The Volume turned into a storytelling strength.
Lastly, Ahsoka's outfit at the end of the episode made me chuckle knowingly. Up until now, many have been saying that the reason that one scene with Ahsoka and Sabine at the end of Rebels and the beginning of Ahsoka look different is because time changed the details of the scene and Filoni had to slightly retcon it. Now it seems like the show is actually building to that exact moment just as it was depicted all those years ago. And if it really is... Rebels might actually have already spoiled the end of Ahsoka (season 1)! If you know, you know. Not going to put it past Filoni to carefully massage the plot details to make it happen.
Ahsoka the White has come to us at the turn of the tide.
The Music:
Everything from the Williams cues as Jacen reaches out into the Force to the cyberpunkish percussion swells during the Siege of Mandalore that were heard just moments before the fall of the Galactic Republic is just beautiful and emotionally-charged.
Having Kevin and Deana Kiner do the music for this series has really set a new high bar for live-action Star Wars music. For me, it's even more effective than Ludwig Göransson's work on The Mandalorian.
Music effects what you watch far more than most people realize. While the music for previous live-action Star Wars shows has been good for me all across the board, and while nothing will ever compare to the godlike work of John Williams for the principle films, the Kiners have been doing nothing but minting gold this entire series so far. Far better than what was to be expected for this one series. I really hope Lucasfilm gives them many more projects in the future.
The Rest:
- One of the two X-Wing pilots, besides Carson, that survived the Eye of Scion's jump to hyperspace (the man who had no dialog in the previous episode and the woman) is named Lander.
- Apparently "take evasive action" means "plow straight through them" in the Star Wars galaxy.
- Also apparently "the fleet" means "three ships", none of which were Home One.
- Anakin & Ahsoka saying "What would you prefer?" "I don't know" then immediately saying "Do you want me to be more serious?" "I'd prefer it." really sounded weird. If there was anything wrong about this episode it was clumsy and inaccurate dialog here and there.
- Ahsoka really likes walking on the outside of her ship. I'm pretty sure she'll do it again.
- I know the Purrgil are benevolent and majestic creatures, but seeing all of them in the sky just made me think of the Battle for Zion in The Matrix Revolutions. Hard not to feel a little uneasy at the sight of it all.
- "Jacen's too young to travel between galaxies." - For a brief moment I thought the big Purrgil was going to accidentally drag the Ghost along with it.
- "May the Force be with you." - It's such a simple line, but it doesn't get said enough. And it's way better than saying "Godspeed."
- Another seemingly small gesture that means a lot is spinning the starfield after a jump to hyperspace. One thing David Filoni gets that almost no one else producing Star Wars gets is how to respect the source material. Just like respecting the need for animatronics over CG aliens, it all matters and it all adds up.
This is the second time Filoni has made me sit down and rewatch the same episode of something on the same day because I could not completely process it the first time around. He does not have to try this hard, but he does because he cares about these stories and loves these characters that much. This isn't Star Trek, there doesn't have to be a deep message and a lesson attached to every episode to make it worth watching. It just has to be fun. It just has to be Star Wars. I'm extremely happy (and a little sad) that I live in a time where currently-airing Star Wars is more Trek-like than currently-airing Star Trek. No, I'm grateful - As a fan of Science Fiction who simply wants to be entertained and as someone who was spoiled by an era where Science Fiction was coupled with masterful lessons in the Humanities by a visionary who would have been so disappointed by where the world stands today if he were still alive. Those lessons helped shape me into a much better version of myself as I grew into an adult. I'm grateful I can still get that entertainment and that wisdom combined together from somewhere, and I sincerely hope that the Filoni Era of Star Wars just keeps going for as long as it possibly can.
We lose more Alphas that way...
There is a lot of charm and fun in this movie, it's good to see everybody again (which few they could sign on). A lot of attention was given to recreating the original vibe of the 1993 series. The camera angles, the music, the corny one-liners. ...so many corny one-liners...
And that's where the goodness comes to an end.
This movie is short, less than an hour long. It is painfully obvious that David Yost and Walter Jones were the only two original Rangers they could get. The others are in full costume and say nothing outside of grunting noises (except for a single word from Thui that is probably lifted from an old episode), then are taken off the board very early in the film. Replacing them is a hodgepodge of whichever Rangers from subsequent series they could get - Walter Jones being the only person who doesn't look and sound past his prime.
The evil plot has a lot of potential, especially when you think about how it could open the door for so many different cameos and so much more nostalgia... and then it get's clipped and the finale turns into a bog standard monster fight. There are a number of fun cameos and callbacks, but not as many as you would think. All of that said, the final battle is satisfying. The classic locations and vehicles, which are just as much characters themselves, also get their chance to shine one more time.
This is more of a special extended episode to cap off the original series. Viewed that way, it's nice enough. But the more you think about it, the more missed opportunity you start to notice and lament about. It's obvious that they wanted this to be a send off for Thui Trang more than a cast reunion. I understand her real-life daughter was the best choice to honor Thui as a person, but she was not the best choice to make for the character of Trini's in-universe daughter. In a universe of intentionally-campy acting and stilted writing, she still made certain scenes difficult to watch.
The final bit at the end did make me misty eyed. As much for Thui Trang as for Jason David Frank (who doesn't factor into the plot AT ALL) ...and for seeing all the other missing Rangers who are still alive but couldn't be arsed to be there for whatever reason.
If you grew up watching the American Power Rangers, this is an adequate coda that could have... should have been more. Otherwise, you are probably going to be extremely turned off (or possibly even offended) by all the hokeyness that people like me forgive with the tremendous power of nostalgia.
Soundly the best episode of the season, and one of the best of the series.
This is what this season has been building to, and it's satisfying seeing threads finally connecting in a way that doesn't feel contrived. IG-12 (I'm calling it Grogu-1, and you can't stop me) finally coming back around, Moff Gideon finally emerging from the shadows, the Beskar Troopers and Gideon revealing himself to be Mandalorian after all. And setting up the future of this series and other series. The father (?) of General Hux being part of the secret cabal of remanent Imperials, mentioning Grand Admiral Thrawn still being unaccounted for but promised to return, locating the Great Forge and finding a secret Imperial base right next to it. And this is just part 1 of 2 for the season finale. Please let the last episode also be 50 minutes long.
How I LOVED the opening sequence. Pretty much Rick Deckard roaming the streets of Los Angeles sniffing out a lead. I enjoy all the love Coruscant is getting now. It should have factored into the Sequels because it is such a rich storytelling landscape. In this season alone we've gotten to see Prequel-era Coruscant and Sequel-era Coruscant. And again in animated form in The Bad Batch. I'll take it all.
There is so much to this episode, but the only other thing I can think about right now is Paz Vizsla. What a fucking tank. I knew the moment Bo cut the hole in the blast door that he wasn't going to make it because it would have been hard for him to even fit through it. How badass you have to be to have an energy staff through your gut and still be trying to choke out someone wearing full armor with your bare hands. We lost a real one. His son Ragnar is the last remaining Vizsla that we know about.
Complain all you want, getting a fun, action-filled adventure of good versus evil with plenty of nods to the fans and unexpected cameos is Star Wars at its finest.
What's this? A Marvel cartoon series that is actually GOOD? A Marvel cartoon that's actually pretty damn awesome? What bizarro universe did I just fall into?
I went into this completely blind and came out very surprised and very satisfied. I LOVE the style of everything. I love the attitude of everything. It's like they bugged the Williams Street offices for writing prompts and then hired artists who really liked playing Jet Set Radio as kids. The absolute best part of the animation is how much emotion and information is conveyed by the way Moon Girl's goggles change their shape and flash various symbols - comic book symbology which extends into the world itself that helps the audience keep pace with the raw speed at which the show moves. And the way the episodes are formatted feels like these were originally conceived as bumpers or after credit bonuses for another series. The first episode is made up of several shorts that complete an entire arc for the origin of Moon Girl as a local hero.
This is a WEIRD show, even compared to other Disney Marvel series. But that weirdness is its strength, this show knows what it is and it isn't sorry about it. I'm definitely going to keep watching this. And I really hope this signals an end to the Marvel Animation curse.
(Oh, look. Alfre Woodard found her way back into the MCU... again!)
(No spoilers)
I should have known MacFarlane would do something like this. No cliffhanger, nay, rather an anti-cliffhanger. Last week was the season finale, this was a tribute to the series thus far. And it was earned.
Instead of going into specifics for the episode, I'll just summarize how I feel about The Orville as a whole. This show started in 2017, almost at the exact same time as Star Trek Discovery. I was eagerly awaiting both for what I thought were similar reasons. To say that these two shows are the exact opposite of one another is an insultingly tremendous disregard to the scope of the reality that surrounds the existence of both series.
Both The Orville and Discovery shamelessly lied to its viewers. Discovery was suppose to bring the ideals of Star Trek back in the first of many new series, and The Orville was suppose to be Family Guy in space. Here we are, five years later, and I don't think anyone correctly predicted what either of those properties would actually end up being.
For all the terrible things that have happened in the world (most notably during these last five years) and for all the personal hardships I've endured during that timeframe, The Orville has defied everything (including Star Trek itself) and chosen to believe better of humanity. Much the same way a chintzy, low-budget sci-fi show did back in the 1960s, when many were convinced the world was going to burn in nuclear holocaust. And even though that little sci-fi is now a cultural giant with the power to be whatever it wants, it wants to be something else for now. Like we needed that campy, optimistic, character-driven show then, we need shows like The Orville now.
We'll always have classic Star Trek, we'll always have three seasons of the best send-up to Star Trek ever created, but we need more. We need a continuous drip of positivity and introspection this concentrated because things really have gotten that bad again and it feels like no one else is willing to try - not even those best positioned to do so.
Disney would be brainless not to renew this show for multiple additional seasons. Even from a purely self-serving position, it would be stupid to not use The Orville to their advantage. Yeah, they already own Star Wars, but the Venn diagram of the Star Wars and the Star Trek fanbases looks kinda like the Mastercard logo. Now Disney owns the only real contender to Star Trek. Just keeping this show going as is would bring in droves of Trek fans old and new.
Rest in peace, Norm Macdonald.
#RenewTheOrville
On any other series, that would have been the season finale. Ten years ago, it would have been considered a TV movie.
Not just on terms of length, because it wasn't even the longest episode of the season thus far, but on terms of stakes and delivery. They pulled out all the stops, showed us all the things, culminated everything that the season has been building up to... save for one small child.
Where all the other episodes (except for one unfortunate bummer) pulled at the heart strings and brought progressive thought and understanding in the way Trek fans had enjoyed for years, this episode was one bombastic, cinematic moment after another. And I can appreciate that, when employed correctly. So many TV shows (and movies) don't, and all the explosions and dying and interstellar war fail to mean anything. Despite this, there was a single thought-provoking plot thread that came to a close...
Ensign Charly Burke.
I understand, and sympathize, with a lot of the hate surrounding the character. Though, I'm glad that the vast majority of that hate was aimed at the character and not the actor. Orville fans setting the bar for more established fandoms. And I personally wish they could have fleshed her out more than they did. But in the end... they did a good job with her arc. She was ripped out of her happy little life, forced to work alongside the person who inadvertently caused the person she loved to die for no reason, forced to tow the line on a ship that wouldn't tolerate racism towards the enemy the way the rest of the Union might have (wrongly) put up with. And she grew. Against her desire to grow, she grew. She grew more than she was aware of. When she had no time to think, she reactively defended Issac and ultimately the Kaylon as a people. So, I don't hate Charly as a character - especially not now. I think it was a competent execution of a trope that is used far too often and falls flat almost all of the time. Hell, even the funeral felt earned.
The rest of the episode is so dense, and doesn't ever slow down. But it's also a very visual. surface-level affair compared to the rest, so I'll just say that it was general sci-fi excellence. A great dessert after an even greater meal. I was genuinely shocked by Admiral Perry, especially his awareness of his decisions (Somewhere between Lawful Neutral and True Neutral). It's a shame he's gone now, but I'm more surprised we got Ted Danson in a recurring role for two seasons. I knew that a major shift in power was coming because of the last episode, but I was not expecting the team-ups we are left with. After all the griping about the shorten ed episode list, the length of those episodes and how tight the narrative has been leaves me stunned there's still a whole other episode to go after all of this. See you on the other side.
10 minutes into the episode
"Oh, I guess this is just going to be a standard, easy-to-digest bottle episode that shows Topa becoming more interested in joining the Planetary Union with a B-plot about her awkwardly crushing on Gordon."
45 minutes into the episode
"Fuuuuuck meeeee..."
More blatant retreading of past episodes and, again, despite that, a brilliant continuation of those plot threads. For an episode that was willing to depict child torture, it sure did end on a high note. And it threw quite a few curve balls in the process.
I ignored the throwaway line during the Haveena dinner, and the unusual meetup in the Lounge, because I absolutely did not expect to see a real spark between Bortus and Kelly. I equally did not expect to see Klyden come back and make a complete about-face from his previous position. There are going to be a lot of viewers that won't take Klyden back, but I am genuinely relieved that the family is whole again. So... (pregnant pause) ...what does that mean for Kelly? The dinner they all had on the ship felt straight-forward, but still gave me a twinge of impending trouble.
I don't quite get Gordon's involvement with Topa yet. I mean, I understand the general sentiment, but not how he suddenly took a frontline position about it. Did I tune out at the wrong time, or was the Engineering scene really meant to be all the backstory? Are they going to continue this in another episode? We don't even know the repercussions of his outburst in front of the Admirals.
Finally, DOLLY PARTON! Her appearance embiggened my heart. And her music was perfect. The celebrity cameos never dissapoint, even if it's just for a few moments. Though it is interesting that she referred to herself as a program, she knew she wasn't the real person. That would be a serious problem in a different altruistic universe.
This is it! These last two episodes are not a two-parter, but they are no doubt going to segue from one to the other as the finale of the season. If an underdog deserves to get renewed, it's The Orville. Seth is no stranger to having his shows canceled (sometimes over and over again). So even if it isn't renewed right away, I trust him of all people to find a way to make it come back somehow.
This movie is good, but not as good as it should have been. Not because of the casting, not because of all the political checkboxes, and certainly not because a bunch adult babies got scarred over a plot-relevant and completely believable relationship.
This movie is not as good because it's the first time Pixar has spent the time and resources making a complete cash grab instead of bringing an original idea to life. Even against the endless Toy Story sequels, which are at least continuing to tell a story that means something to the original movie, Lightyear feels uninspired.
The visuals are outstanding, the humor reminded me of the slapstick from WALL-E, Chris Evens did a very believable job as Buzz Lightyear and I might not have known it wasn't Tim Allen if I hadn't already found out. But there's so much everymovie genericness to Lightyear that it makes The Good Dinosaur feel more original and Pixar-like. As disregarded as THAT movie is, at least it has the honor of being one of the original ideas invented when Pixar was founded.
Instead, with Lightyear, we're watching a movie about a movie within the universe of another movie (that is the official claim made at the start of the film). Maybe if they had made something that resembled what would have actually been released when Andy was a child (a mid 1990s American action movie set in space), it would have passed on account of its period charm.
The animated Buzz Lightyear of Star Command movie and TV series that Disney made ages ago are much better stories about a real Buzz Lightyear. Those works are already classics as far as many people are concerned. This movie will probably just be in every completionist's library for completion's sake.
shamelessly puts Lightyear in his complete library of everything Pixar has ever released
I guess I can forgive the showrunners for going back to the well of seasons 1 & 2 for... almost every episode so far. We still aren't sure if this is all we get out of The Orville. In any other situation, I would be worried about the apparent pattern of there being only one completely original episode, and how it was very weak compared to everything else this season. Some people are going to dismiss it as lazy writing, but as long connections are this meaningful and the writing this powerful I don't want to mess with a good thing.
We already knew that The Orville branches away from our timeline much further into the future than, say, Star Trek. But now we know that the timelines are pretty much identical through the early 2020s. I wonder if we'll ever get to see the defining moment that alters the course of human history from one of certain doom (that's us) to one of harmony and forward-thinking (that's not us).
Overall, this was another rock-solid mini-movie. Another well-accepted apology for being off the air for so long. Not Hollywood good, but the Best of Lifetime Television good. The kind of movie you know you're going to hate when you read about it and then you watch it and actually really enjoyed it. I especially loved the forced cooperation between Issac and Burke. Watching Sheldon roll that biker was obvious and rote, but still gave me some good chuckles. Even if she didn't sway from her opinion of Issac in the end, he put a few well-placed cracks in her wall. You know there's going to be a Burke Finally Grows Up episode in the future.
This episode was recently discovered after being lost for decades. It is a very special episode because it features an ultra-rare guest star; Margret Hamilton reprising her role as the Wicked Witch of the West.
Detailed information of the episode's content can be found here: https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Episode_0847
How did the Wicked Witch come across Sesame Street of all places? Who knows. But she spends the entire time complaining about it and how she will never return to such a retched place. The hitch is she needs to recover her broom... from residents who first want to teach her a lesson in politeness and respect. It's a pretty well-written story, because the solution is a compromise between everyone involved. The bumpers and shorts are not that special, they are mostly repeats (and a couple of them repeat within the same episode). But ever since I was a little kid, I always loved watching the Alphabet Soup skit featuring Grover. One of the best the series ever produced, IMO. There's also good moments with Bert & Ernie as well as Cookie Monster being the classic cookie thief he was created to be.
At the time of airing, this episode was met with a surprisingly negative response from parents claiming their children were too scared to watch it, despite the Wizard of Oz being a household name and premiering almost 40 years prior. Therefore, CTW erred on the side of caution and it was never aired again. It was thought to be lost to time until an archive copy was found in the Library of Congress just over a month before my writing this review, stored away in the film vaults with no fanfare or realization to how it had not been preserved otherwise. Once it was re-discovered, it was quickly copied and uploaded online. If you can't find it on YouTube, someone there will probably point you in the right direction. I hope that whomever currently owns the rights to the classic episodes makes a professional remaster and puts it somewhere for all Sesame Street fans to enjoy. It is a very important part of television history.
50-year-old opinions be damned, I watched the whole thing today with my 5-month-old son. He was transfixed. He did get wide-eyed with surprise in a couple of scenes where Margret did her trademark cackling laughter, but he was not scared in the slightest. I highly recommend this episode if you get the chance to see it. Especially if your family is Wizard of Oz fans.
Dammit, I just wanted to watch some science fiction. I didn't want to have to clean myself up off the floor with a mop... for 75 minutes!
(I now have more to say...)
Everyone else is going on about the child actor who plays Topa and Palicki playing Grayson. They made this episode, without a doubt.
But I want to draw more attention to Peter Macon's Bortus. The character's best episode and Macon's best acting ever in my opinion. Klyden finally shows up in season 3 only to fuck off in the very same episode! Hilarious. He wasn't badly acted, but he was more of a caricature than anything else. I get it, the episode needed him to be that way. But Bortus shows so many layers and emotional combinations. Multiple times throughout the episode I stopped sitting and watching and found myself standing and watching, and once holding my hand over my mouth and fighting back my own tears as a father. It hit so hard and so soundly, no once feeling forced or cringy or convenient to the plot. He was behaving like a real dad who had real desires and fears for his child. It's in this acting and getting to see these scenes play out on their own time that the show is partially forgiven for shamelessly running so gosh darn long!
Though I did get to the point where I was asking myself how many MORE addendums was this episode going to get? But, in the end, I'm glad that it went out the way it did. With a lot levity and positivity instead of that safe, diplomatic conclusion the Union brass felt tied to - which would have echoed the failure from the first season during the trial on Moclas. I'm also glad that Mercer and Grayson got chewed out for it. It would have felt fake if there was no repercussions. But because the fleet is at war, The Union can't afford to jail any command officers, and Moclas can't afford to lash out the way they'd like to either. That's definitely the only reason that Admiral was satisfied with her mere pound of flesh from each of them. And also why she was willing to admit that she was unofficially happy everything worked out in their favor.
Secondly, I want to draw attention to the actual footage from "About a Girl" from the first season used in the simulator. I don't know how they pulled this off, but the perfect editing required to make the new footage of Topa and Grayson blend in with something that was shot five years ago and not even look slightly uncanny is probably owed to the COVID downtime. Seth MacFarlane said that since they couldn't do any shooting or practical work, they kept refining the post-production of the episodes they were already working on while they waited for the all clear to go back to work. This has to be one of those episodes because I was looking for blurry lines and cuts in the footage or other strange artifacts that HAD to exist and it just looks like it was all shot at the same time in the same physical space. Bravo to the editing team, this is clearly your best work.
The previous episodes do have much better pacing (even Electric Sheep), no argument there. But this episode is of the storytelling caliber that Tom Hanks uses when he needs a few more Oscars to decorate his tenth mansion. The Orville set a new bar for themselves and for all modern science fiction with this story. Both in-universe and out-of-universe, this was a comeback victory several years in the making. It still blows me away that The Orville is both generously pulling from its own past to create new and continued stories while also being mature and reserved enough to not overdo it or wear out the gimmick. They (again) covered a topic of white-hot contention at one of the worst moments in American history to do so, and they did it with respect for themselves and for their viewers. And without a doubt the beaming approval of a particular Great Bird. Maybe Umbrella Academy (they kind of already are) or Doom Patrol could pull it off. I honestly don't know what else is on TV right now that could even reach such heights without a massive overhaul to their writing team.
(Obligatory remark about people who are repulsed (Klyden'd, if you will) by the topic of this episode needing to grow up and realize that they've only got so much time on this Earth to enjoy life and how they're currently, objectively failing to do so. And also morbidly curious as to why they're watching this show knowing full well what it is and then acting surprised that such topics are broached. And reminding them that if they hate this episode it's probably only going to get worse from their point of view - especially if this show is renewed for a fourth season.)
"To the Undiscovered Country - The future."
I lost track of how much talent is in this episode. I kept getting distracted by Bruce Boxleitner reprising his role as the President of Earth. What a lore-rich and beautiful episode this is. I think there is something for everybody. From the classic humor in the simulator, to getting deeper into Krill lore, to seeing multiple space battles.
To the above quote, this is The Orville's version of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Right down to the Abrahamic leader figure. And this time the subversion is that peace goes to shit and all anyone can do is simply prevent going to open war on multiple fronts. The wildcard, that I'm mad I didn't see coming, is that Ed got Teleya pregnant and she now has a Krill-Human daughter that could upset galactic politics and cause an uprising on Krill. Ed is now sitting on an H-bomb, and he might have to press the trigger.
Overall this episode has such a warmth to it, even on Planet Ibiza. All the vistas we get to see, all the held shots and silent moments. Seth said that every episode would feel like a movie, and so far that holds true. This is best one so far, and also one of the best of the entire series.
I cannot stress how meaningful it is to me that the camera is allowed to be in a fixed position for several seconds at a time! After finishing Obi-wan, I am so tired of free-roaming cameras and additional shaking being purposefully added in post when the scene is just someone talking.
I'm just going to keep saying it until it stops being true. Right now, there are exactly two scifi shows airing that are telling stories of this caliber. Neither of them are called Star Trek, but both of them are being worked on by Star Trek alumni. I'm at least grateful that science fiction that prioritizes smart storytelling is still an option. Gene would be proud of both of them. And I'd like to think he prefers this one. :)
The Orville is finally established enough to start referencing lore created by previous episodes. This episode is an unexpected followup to another very good story from the first season. And in typical Orville fashion, it takes a very old and weathered collection of story tropes and gives them a fresh spin with a unique resolution. A reveal that threw me completely off the scent right up until they out and said what was actually happening and why. I got conned just as hard as everyone else, and it was very satisfying. I'm very interested to see the impact the Valdonis have on the Orville Universe. They seem like a much less antagonistic Q-like race that still might cause trouble with their indifference to less-evolved species.
Bortus' blank stare at the kid talking about TikTok and Instagram was the funniest part of this episode. Kelly clocking a flight attendant being a close second.
I loved the irony of Ed being told he was being deceived... by a fake version of Issac as part of an even larger deception.
The shot of the Kaylon drone staring into the bridge was amazing. I briefly thought it was intentional, very Cylon-like behavior.
The only thing I didn't like about this episode is that it didn't push the overarching story forward, even Shadow Realms involved the growing alliance with the Krill. There are only 10 precious episodes in this season. I'm perfectly fine with episodic content as long as the world of The Orville grows as much as possible... just in case.
