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This too early to have a filler episode. Waste of an hour. Watch the first 5 mins and last 5 mins. Rest has zero value to story progression.
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@whos_ur_buddha It was a good build up to Joel and Ellie showing up, and Bill got way more attention than he did in the game and I'm all for it, his story was great.
Review by Andrew Bloom
VIP9[7.5/10] Ahsoka feels right. The vistas of Lothal feel of a piece with their animated rendition. The characters seem like themselves despite shifts in the performer and the medium. Their relationships feel genuine even though much has changed in the five years since we’ve seen them together.
Maybe that shouldn’t be a big surprise with Dave Filoni, impresario of the animated corner of Star Wars, both writing and directing “Master and Apprentice”, the series premiere. He is the title character’s co-creator and caretaker. He is the creator of Star Wars: Rebels, the show that Ahsoka is most clearly indebted to. And he is, for many, the keeper of the flame when it comes to the Galaxy Far Far Away.
But it was my biggest fear for this show. More than the plot, more than the lore, more than the latest chapter in the life of my favorite character in all of Star Wars, my concern was that translating all these characters, and their little corner of the universe, to live action and a different cast and a different era of the franchise would make everything feel wrong. Instead, we’re right at home. The rest is gravy.
And the gravy is good. Because these are not the colorful, if intense, adventures of the Ghost crew fans saw before. This is, or should be, a period of triumph for the onetime Rebels. They won! The Empire is torn asunder! Lothal is led with grace and a touch of wry sarcasm by Governor Azadi, with none other than Clancy Brown reprising the role! Huyang the lightsaber-crafting droid is still around and has most of his original parts!
Nonetheless, our heroes are hung up on old battles and older wounds. Ahsoka Tano is on a quest to track down Grand Admiral Thrawn, who hunted the Spectres in Rebels. Sabine Wren can’t bask in the afterglow of victory as a hero when she’s still mourning Ezra Bridger. And the two warriors have some lingering bad blood with one another after an attempt to become master and apprentice, true to the title, went wrong somewhere along the way.
With that, the first installment of Ahsoka is a surprisingly moody and meditative affair, one that works well for Star Wars. Sure, there's still a couple of crackerjack lightsaber fights to keep the casual fans engaged. But much of this one is focused on familiar characters reflecting on what’s been lost, what’s been broken, and what’s hard to fix. The end of Rebels was triumphant, but came with costs. To linger on those costs, and the new damage that's accumulated in their wake, is a bold choice from Filoni and company.
So is the decision to focus on Sabine here. Don’t get me wrong, Ahsoka has the chance to shine in the first installment of the show that bears her name. Her steady reclamation of a map to Thrawn, badass hack-and-slash on some interfering bounty droids, and freighted reunions with Hera and her former protege all vindicate why fans have latched onto the character. For her part, Rosario Dawson has settled into the role, bringing a certain solemnity that befits a more wizened and confident master, but also that subtle twinkle that Ashley Eckstei brings to the role.
And yet, the first outing for Ahsoka spends more time with Sabine’s perspective. It establishes her as a badass who’d rather rock her speeder with anti-authoritarian style than be honored for her heroics. It shows her grieving a lost comrade whose sacrifice still haunts her. It teases out an emotional distance and rebelliousness between her and her former mentor. And it closes with her using her artist’s eye to solve the puzzle du jour, and defend herself against a fearsome new enemy.
This is her hour, and while Sabine is older, more introverted, all the more wounded than the Mandalorian tagger fans met almost a decade ago, this opening salvo for the series is better for it.
My only qualms are with the threat du jour. Yet another Jedi not only survived the initial Jedi Purge, but has made it to the post-Return of the Jedi era without arousing the suspicions of Palpatine, Vader, Yoda, or Obi-Wan. Ray Stevenson brings a steady and quietly menacing air to Baylan Skoll, the former Jedi turned apparent mercenary, but there's enough rogue force-wielders running around already, thank you very much.
His apprentice holds her own against New Republic forces and Ahsoka’s own former apprentice, but is shrouded in mystery. She goes unidentified, which, in Star Wars land, means she’s secretly someone important (a version of Mara Jade from the “Legends” continuity?) or related to someone important (the child of, oh, let’s say Ventress). And I’m tired of such mystery boxes.
Throw in the fact that Morgan Elsbet, Ahsoka’s source and prisoner, turns out to be a Nightsister, and you have worrying signs that the series’ antagonists will be rehashing old material rather than moving the ball forward. The obvious “We just killed a major character! No for real you guys!” fakeout cliffhanger ending doesn’t inspire much confidence on that front either.
Nonetheless, what kept me invested in Rebels, and frankly all of Star Wars, despite plenty of questionable narrative choices, is the characters. The prospect of Ahsoka trying to train a non force-sensitive Mandalorian in the ways of the Jedi, or at least her brand of them, is a bold and fascinating choice.
But even more fascinating is two people who once believed in one another, having fallen apart, drifting back together over the chance to save someone they both care about. “Master and Apprentice” embraces, rather than shying away from, the sort of lived-in relationships that made the prior series so impactful in the past, and the broken bonds that make these reunions feel fragile, painful, and more than a little bitter in the present.
I am here for Hera the general trying to patch things up between old friends. I am here for Sabine holding onto her rebellious streak but carrying scars from what went wrong, in the Battle of Lothal and in her attempts to learn the ways of the Jedi. And I am here for Ahsoka, once the apprentice without a master, now the master without an apprentice, here to snuff out the embers of the last war and reclaim what was lost within it.
They all feel right. The rest can figure itself out.
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@rivvvers So you didn't bother to read my write-up, but you did take time to comment on it? If you'd like to understand why I gave the score I did, might I recommend reading my review?
Shout by Thunas
I can watch a man melted to death... a man trying to jerk off and get his cock lasered off by Homelander... but that lobotomy scene was just too much
Great episode tho
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@thunas yeah... I have a thing for things in eyes... that was way too much, I'm scar(r)ed
Ugh, this concept is so lukewarm and ill-fitting. A generic Jedi vs. Sith war could possibly be stopped if the head of a Dark Side statue is destroyed, preventing the rain that falls along its stone from making vague prophecies? The Force is not generic anime sorcery. It doesn't have magic trinkets. And why would the Jedi send someone who obviously can't control his emotions? This is terrible.
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@rooktherhymer I think you might have missed the point of the whole episode. Go back and re-watch it. The prophecy/mechanic girl doesn't understand how the Force works. She is the only one who really thought the war could be stropped by destroying the head of the statue. The Jedi council sent Toul because he couldn't control his emotions. The mission was never really about destroying a statue head. It was about teaching two young people about the ways of the Force and of life in general.
Again with the damn random kid story. Wtf.
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@whos_ur_buddha again, it’s not random! Stop these shitty comments, thanks.
Shout by Thunas
I can watch a man melted to death... a man trying to jerk off and get his cock lasered off by Homelander... but that lobotomy scene was just too much
Great episode tho
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I had to hide behind a pillow! I can't handle eye trauma.
Don't get me wrong, I still like to watch the show a lot. But they are dragging this whole thing out too much.
It's clear no one can do anything against Homelander until the last episode. We had another two tries here and at least one of them was telegraphed in advance. Is this now going to continue ?
Someone told me that in the comics The Boys all have powers. Maybe it works when you do that from the start, but it doesn't work here. I was rooting for them because they were the underdogs but with powers they become the same arrogant f**** as the Supes. Heck, even worse then some.
As for the story: Soldier Boy is the weapon, he can take away each ones powers so it seems. Now they will have to find a way to convince him to fight on their side. With the rift, or better canyon, opening up between them, it will be interesting to see how this is mended.
Still amazingly great acting and things like the dildo-fight are what sets this way up from anything else on right now.
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@finfan I'm pretty sure that the whole point. Hughie with powers is more dangerous than Butcher. He is as insecure as Homelander. At least it won't be permanent solution unlike in the comics. So they probably go to status quo after this season.
I agree the show choose the right idea by avoiding compound V for so long. It doesn't work so well with the powers in my opinion.
OK, now I am lost a bit. On the one side we learn what happened and why. And that she in fact didn't steal Visions body but re-created him. I get that. But why did it MAKE her The Scarlett Witch ? Wasn't she always ?
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@finfan in comics, since the recent retcon of 2015/2016, the Scarlet Witch is a title, there was Scarlet Witches before Wanda. In the MCU, she had no superhero name before today.In the comics, her mother was Scarlet Witch before her, and there was many Scarlet Witches before that. And Scarlet Witch is not a mutant in the comics and Magneto is not her father. All that since the retcon of 2015/2016.
Erm.. okay I'm so confused
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@ponderism That's an entirely different timeline, it happened decades before the Battle of Cintra. The baby that Pavetta is pregnant with (and Geralt claims by law of surprise) will be Ciri. I agree though it's very confusing, the timelines are all over the place in this show.
Impressive level of detail with MM's hip-hop shirts tying in to every episode. For those who haven't caught on yet, the "dead prez" shirt this episode should be a little less subtle than previous episodes.
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@waynefire It's unfortunate that you didn't quite comprehend my comment. His shirts related to every episode throughout the season, while also featuring a common theme, and that's what's impressive.
I thought I was pretty clear that this episode's shirt was low hanging fruit for the viewers who haven't caught on yet.
What an absolutely botched ending to an otherwise strong show. Spoilers: Monica and Darcy are completely tossed aside, Evan Peters is entirely wasted as Quicksilver in favor of a dick joke, the writers show zero creativity in leaving characters to die and Wanda has ultimately learned nothing about her magic, ending the show exactly where she stood 8 years ago before 'Age of Ultron'. What a complete mess devoid of consequences, leaving characters storylines wide open for projects years away instead of tying character arcs up. Wanda apologises to the town members after tortuing them for weeks and we're supposed to feel bad when her fake children are erased? No, sorry, you're responsible for that. Monica really told Wanda the town should be grateful.... after she released them from their torture slavery. Wanda belongs on the Raft, Avengers need bodycams after this abuse. This is exactly what the Sokovia Accords were for. This isn't a show, it's a promotional ad to go see the next Marvel thing. I thought they were doing something special when the show began, embracing the wierd and unexplained magic in the MCU, but by the end the Marvel formula is intact and the story falls into laziness.
Who the hell was the missing person Jimmy Woo had in witness protection to begin with?
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@funger92 I mean...they felt her pain and her grief. They knew she was sorry. You could see it on her face and they were right there. Would you be able to face a town of angry people after you lost your husband and imagined children that you convinced yourself were real?
Ain't no fucking way this is coming back in just 6 months, lmao.
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This aged wonderfully lol then…
So great National City has an instant adoption process without any red tape or waiting...
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@glasgow1975 Hardly. Alex specifically lists all the procedures they have to go through before they get to fully adopt Esme, right at the start of the episode. It started with an emergency hearing, and her list ends with six months of fostering. No where does it even say that they've fully adopted her. The way Alex says all of that even shows how worried she is that something could go wrong at any stage. But Esme is a little kid who has just been abandoned by her previous family and as shown in this episode is traumatised by that (and possibly other experiences) so it's understandable why they're concentrating on giving her a stable environment instead of acting as if it's temporary again.
Acting is ok, visuals are great, Iroh and Zuko were the best here.
But what I‘m annoyed with is how they completely changed Bumi‘s character. Iroh is slightly different, too.
And the worst is how they changed the story. Zuko and Iroh weren’t supposed to be in Omashu.
The Omashu tunnel should have come later.
And when will Aang start water bending? He hasn’t even touched water since the beginning. In the original series he starts in the first episode. Yes he was in the avatar state but still…loading replies
@NBA20 it’s not supposed to be a copy of the animated series. I don’t want to repeat the same thing again. I am glad they are going with a new story
I'm sick of that deluded idiot Angelina. Hope she cops it bad.
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Bye Fiona ;)
okay, that's not nice but it was the first thing that popped in my head during that scene.
Angelina is a horrible person and the worst kind of religious zealot.
I'm so confused, should I watch this in english or spanish?
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@caiomunarolo I watched it in Japanese. shrug
Shout by Suit
04x06 - Brother Blood: 6.8/10 (It Gets the Job Done, Slightly Flawed)
This one is far more enjoyable than last week’s disappointing offering. The new direction Connor’s character is taking appears to have come out of left field, but I have learned to refrain from demanding too much from the writers. I don’t even mind it because the storyline is from the comic books. This episode was rather average, aside from the refreshing appearance of Smug Connor and his spitting of meta-facts at the rest of the team (and cough, cough, at the writers). Bernard and Tim’s dialogue continues to equal that of Riverdale in its ability to make you physically cringe. The actors don’t seem to be putting in any effort either, which certainly doesn’t help. Some recollections of Sebastian’s past were as unrealistic as a prank you find on YouTube. Everyone knows “Titans” is one of the most inconsistent shows out there, but if you love the characters, as I do, you keep going back for more. Nothing else to say. On to the next, I suppose.
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@suitability I think the worst line was Starfire’s in season 2. “Did Bruce Wayne just mansplain to us ?”
The season ends on a high note with “Star on the Wall,” a fitting conclusion to arguably the finest season of “Jack Ryan.” Despite some issues with the writing, which has been a consistent problem throughout the show’s run, the production values have remained top-notch and helped elevate the material.
While the finale was certainly enjoyable, it’s clear that the show could benefit from stronger writing to fully realize its potential as a serious political thriller. Hopefully, future seasons will address this issue and deliver the high-quality storytelling that the show and its talented cast deserve.
03x08 - Star on the Wall: 7.8/10 (Impressive)
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@typongtv Appreciate it! Even though we might not always agree, I also value your comments since we have a fair bit of overlap on the shows we watch. :smile:
Shout by Tiger Warwick
So for 3 seasons they make Ben out to be a savior, trying to save everybody, a great dude. Season 4 they make him a monster because I'm a dad and losing 1 child should not make you treat the other daughter like crap, the son I can understand for a moment but to act like the baby girl is your only child and the other 2 don't exist equals Bad Writers.
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@tiger451966 Both the other kids are older and presumably able to somewhat defend themselves. Eden is a defenseless 3-year old child completely at the mercy of a deranged killer.
I loved this episode except for noir's untimely death. I wanted to explore more of this nuanced character. Everything else was excellent, especially the last cheering that spell trouble for the world. I expected ryan to turn to homelander.
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@drbi you could have at least put a spoiler tag on
Why is there a random brick laying around in the bar?
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@arkam_ Danny The Street ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀least
Wow, one of the most mundane deaths of a main character I can remember; RIP Alex. (And, yes, I know why)
Also, seemed like some storyline gaps from the last episode, like Amos & crews arrival on Luna; no screening process for new arrivals, since "Peaches" apparently got off the shuttle with no issue? She is technically an escaped high risk prisoner, no?
Last nitpick: thank God Naomi is off that ship, it was all I could do to not FF through her ultra-whinning scenes, that whole concept seemed out of character to me.
That being said, good stuff :clap:, and I'll be waiting anxiously for season 6.loading replies
@bowtieguy Most people on that shuttle would have been arrested following a simple ID check if Chrisjen hadn't most likely intervened. It's just not something interesting enough to spend screen time on but someone could have said something about it in passing like when Erich talks about Hutch.
Shout by potatoesandonions
What the fuck was that with Reginald? Do we also have aliens now?
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@dnss123 In the comic Hargreeves was always an alien that dressed in a human suit. He came to earth when his planet was destroyed.
Shout by Jim222001
VIP6Going to be too much Mona and Gary again. And now there’s some random new guy that doesn’t seem to have any powers. Might as well just make a Mick spin-off. He owns every scene he is in. Constantine as well.
Oh and where is Nora, Zari and Amaya “shape shifter ?”loading replies
@jim222001 You're welcome. I wanted to add that Behrad is not an alternate version of Zari. He has always been her brother but in the original timeline he was murdered, Zari spend her time on the waverider looking for a way to save him. They changed time by creating Hey World! And now Behrad never died which means they asked him for help because he never passed down the air totem to his sister. Zari is probably at home, unaware (like the Legends) that she was ever a part of them.
Hi everybody! just a thought... could be possible that the mysterious green arrow come from another earth or queen from past/future? maybe response in the crossover?
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I'm going with illegitimate 1/2 sister.
I hate stories like this. Tales of the Noble Racist.
"The Noble Racist wouldn't be so racist, but they just had all these good rational reasons to be."
Real people are almost never actually like that, it is just the story they convince themselves of to make themselves seem less hateful.loading replies
@echelon_four What's rational about his thoughts though? His dad wouldn't work with the new steel simply because it was foreign. Then there were alien attacks (similar to terrorist attacks irl), done by bad people, but the episode also showed the good aliens, like Supergirl and J'onn. The guy had plenty of opportunities to see the full picture but he chose to look where his dad had pointed him, like only seeing the bad in his house burning down without the part where J'onn essentially saved his family.
finally, an episode that actually lives up to the name What If, rather than just gender swapping or race swapping a character
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Hmmm, you have a remarkably narrow world view if all you took from those episodes was just "gender swapping or race swapping a character." T'Challa is a very different person than Peter Quill and Peggy Carter is much more assertive due to her upbringing than opposed to Steve Rogers. The previous two episodes have very little to do with race or gender, and much more to do with how contrasting personalities put in similar situations would create vastly different outcomes.
I could have skipped this episode and missed nothing.
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@martlet the show, not inly in the text but also in interviews with the show-runners, is about love and the things we do for love (good and terrible) and to protect the ones we love.
Bill is a paralel to joel and frank to ellie. Opening up the others hearts and letting love in. On closed off by his own closeted homophobia and paranoia and the other from trauma and loss of his child. Both pragmatic and overly serious not letting others in (joel didn’t even let tess in for all the years they where together)
The episode shows also how post apocalypse we don’t have to sacrifice our humanity. To do more that just surviving but to actually live and care for the things around us. And for art, and beauty.
The letter at the end really activate joel in the quest to protect ellie. He has failed to protect his daughter and as reminded, tess. It tells him that life with purpose is possible and it’s mostly someone else. And that they, both, would do anything to protect the ones they care about… and i pity the fool who stand on their way (foreshadowing what joel is going to do in the end)
There are many more reasons why this episode matters in the context of the show but a not unimportant one is that it was beautiful and a good story and telling it was something they wanted to do and was worth it… maybe not to you but for many others, apparently.
I enjoyed this episode but I learnt something about TV shows these days.
It's ok to mess with a guy, tell him he's a bad dad for not being around and making him love a kid thinking it's his... Then tell him it's not his and it's all ok.
It's ok to force a guy to unwillingly have sex with you so he cheats on his girl.
All these things happened and it's ok because it was women who did it.
But, dare to misgender someone and you're evil
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@walgeon I don't think the show acts like any of it is okay. Lila in general just isn't a very good person and she never had the best morales, it's really not suprising of her to do something shitty like that. And the show makes us sympathize with Diego on this I think - at least I felt really bad for him when I saw his reaction and he stuttered.
Regarding what Allison did I will not disregard the history/problem media has with not taking sexual assault of men serious enough or straight up making it the butt of the joke but I don't think that's what happened here. At least not up until now. No one said what she did was okay, it was even portrayed as a bad thing that upset Luther. And now that she killed Harlan I'd say she's pretty much a bad guy at this point.
Erm.. okay I'm so confused
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@progshine No they really shouldnt. As someone that has read the books i dont agree with that at all. If the show cant tell whats happening without additional knowledge, it has failed in that regard.
I however also dont think that Calanthe not being dead and not married to Eist yet is horribly confusing. Both of them are definitely dead and if they are both walking around it has to either be a dream or the past. How is that hard.
