[7.4/10] The timing of this episode is a little weird, since this one feels oddly like a direct prequel to Solo: A Star Wars Story, but also like a prequel to The Freemaker Adventures.
I am assuming that Lena, with her fast-talking con-artist skills, and Pace, with his Mr. Fixit attitude, will turn out to be the parents of Kordi, Zander, and Rowan. I could be wrong there, but I’m doubtful!
So we introduce Pace as an old buddy of Han’s on Corellia. Pace getting wrapped up in one of Han’s street races, and running afoul of local toughs, Proxima’s goons, and bounty hunters is a little convenient. But the action on Corelia is decent enough and gives Pace an excuse to be in Grabala’s(!) crosshairs. This version of Han is more annoying than roguish (it doesn't help when he’s putting a seemingly decent guy at risk), and the episode is, again, a little too convenient a lead up to the first act of Solo.
The Lena part of the episode fares a little better. I like her as a proto-Aladdin scamming folks in some outer rim bazar (paging Ezra Bridger), and her having the heart to help Chewey escape from the Empire is a good beat. Again, the train ride and capture veers a little too closely to Solo, but her food dispenser method of escape and Chewey tossing her in the river is a fun bit.
And when the pair team up and escape from the Empire/Grabala together, the episode at least establishes a nice combative-but-compatible dynamic between the probably Freemaker parents.
Overall, I miss a bit of the natural propulsiveness of The Freemaker Adventures and it’s a bit of an adjustment to the new format, but there’s good stuff here.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2019-12-07T03:14:08Z
[7.4/10] The timing of this episode is a little weird, since this one feels oddly like a direct prequel to Solo: A Star Wars Story, but also like a prequel to The Freemaker Adventures.
I am assuming that Lena, with her fast-talking con-artist skills, and Pace, with his Mr. Fixit attitude, will turn out to be the parents of Kordi, Zander, and Rowan. I could be wrong there, but I’m doubtful!
So we introduce Pace as an old buddy of Han’s on Corellia. Pace getting wrapped up in one of Han’s street races, and running afoul of local toughs, Proxima’s goons, and bounty hunters is a little convenient. But the action on Corelia is decent enough and gives Pace an excuse to be in Grabala’s(!) crosshairs. This version of Han is more annoying than roguish (it doesn't help when he’s putting a seemingly decent guy at risk), and the episode is, again, a little too convenient a lead up to the first act of Solo.
The Lena part of the episode fares a little better. I like her as a proto-Aladdin scamming folks in some outer rim bazar (paging Ezra Bridger), and her having the heart to help Chewey escape from the Empire is a good beat. Again, the train ride and capture veers a little too closely to Solo, but her food dispenser method of escape and Chewey tossing her in the river is a fun bit.
And when the pair team up and escape from the Empire/Grabala together, the episode at least establishes a nice combative-but-compatible dynamic between the probably Freemaker parents.
Overall, I miss a bit of the natural propulsiveness of The Freemaker Adventures and it’s a bit of an adjustment to the new format, but there’s good stuff here.