• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Ahsoka |OT| Ezra's out there somewhere, and it's time to bring him home.

lifa-cobex

Member
Obi wan tells Luke in ROTJ that his feelings "do him well bur could also be used in service of the empire" and it should also be noted that he himself was governmed by feelings in the OT, believing that the only solution was to kill vader... and of course beign wrong about that, from a certain point of view.
Before you folk start nitpicking between thing from the OG trilogy and after.....
Keep in mind that George confused tones of fans from between the OG trilogy and the prequals.

OG Jedi seemed more like Space knights akin to knights of the round table.
Prequal Jedi seemed more like space Monks. Virgins to the very end.
 

Yerd

Member
Ok, and? The actors are not believable in contrast to how Hayden and Ewen were. There is a start contrast on the choreography/actors part.
I didn't like any of the dancing spinning bullshit that was on display in the prequels. None of it looked like they were using white hot plasma swords to try and hit the other person. They were dancing around spinning themselves and their pretend swords. It was fast and flashy for the children of the time. It's an impressive little dance, but it's a dance, not a fight.

I just now watched the fight with Maul again, to make sure I didn't have a weird take on it. I'm spot on. It's garbage, and for the sake of the argument I went and watched the Ahsoka vs Marrok fight again. It looks like a fight where people are using a weapon that can cause damage and trying to land a hit. It's presented like a samurai style fight, even the music. I didn't appreciate it as much as I did on first watch. Yes it's still choreographed dancing, but the impression of an actual fight with weapons is much more apparent.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
I didn't like any of the dancing spinning bullshit that was on display in the prequels. None of it looked like they were using white hot plasma swords to try and hit the other person. They were dancing around spinning themselves and their pretend swords. It was fast and flashy for the children of the time. It's an impressive little dance, but it's a dance, not a fight.

I just now watched the fight with Maul again, to make sure I didn't have a weird take on it. I'm spot on. It's garbage, and for the sake of the argument I went and watched the Ahsoka vs Marrok fight again. It looks like a fight where people are using a weapon that can cause damage and trying to land a hit. It's presented like a samurai style fight, even the music. I didn't appreciate it as much as I did on first watch. Yes it's still choreographed dancing, but the impression of an actual fight with weapons is much more apparent.
Jedi were once fantastical "space wizards" with amazing acrobatics and almost god-like power in hopes to outsmart their equally powerful opponent. Since Disney, they have been neutered and watered down to just feel like they're a smidge above normal folk, even the sabers seemed nerfed. To me, it's almost breaks the 4th wall when they try and inject our grounded reality into sci-fantasy. Just like the cringe Po joke that totally broke the 4th wall in the beginning of TLJ.
 

Toons

Member
Don't "you guys" me like you're some sort of marketing shill that needs to defend this at all costs. You and I are having a direct conversation.
Its hard to tell if you're interested to be frank.

Slow the hell down in defending everything current year shits out and read WTF I said.
This has nothing to do with when it released, nor is its recency one of the reasons I have praised it. Most people, even skeptics whove otherwise not liked the show have praised the battle scenes so I'm surprised you didn't actually.

The actors made me believe they were wielding sabers. The actors (Ewan and Hayden) worked diligently to bring that believability that they were actual skilled swordsman to the big screen. This show's saber fights, the actors talent pales and is half assed in comparison and and stands out in contrast.

This show isn't trying to enulate the prequel fights. Most of those were mixed upon release, as they themselves were a far cry from the portrayal of saber battles in the original.

This show, I think its pretty clear is pulling from other sources for inspiration, old kurosawa films and whatnot. You can see this present even down to how filoni portrays fights in the animated stuff, where the battle is promoting mental and deciding hoe to approach rather than running in and flipping alot.

I never even said the fight I linked was bad, but ill stand by the notion that it isn't believable and isn't trying to be. The actors look like they are good at twirling the sticks, but they feel less like authentic swordsmen and more like superheroes in that battle.

Here, I can actually perceive ahsokas experience clashing with baylans, and how their fight styles are distinct. Ahsoka goes for feigns and misdirection while baylan is straight brute forcing his way through everything she tries like an impenetrable wall. Every strike is matched with equal and opposite reaction.

Stuff like this is not only fun to watch play out but it actually adds character to the opponents. It feels more deliberate, it feels more depthful, and thats not just cause it is "new". Like I said I actually prefer the OT battle particularly in ESB to most of the spinny things.
 
Last edited:

ManaByte

Gold Member
revenge of the sith episode 3 GIF by Star Wars
 

Dural

Member
Saber battles are lackluster. Nothing beats Darth Maul versus Qui Gon. Otherwise still a decent show considering other garbage being put out by Disney.

They are sort of comically bad. Like they forgot to speed up the footage of the actors doing their thing.

I honestly just don't care about the action stuff that much in Star Wars especially with Jedi's involved as it's all just sort of nonsensical. It's the writing and characters that make Star Wars stuff "fun" and this show everyone is a bit of a dud. The bad guys are Ok I guess.

Yeah, the saber fights with Ahsoka I'm not loving. Been re-watching some Clone Wars and Rebels and Ahsoka was always so quick and jumping around, she should be moving way faster than they've shown in the show. Legit does seem like they forgot to speed up the footage.
 

ManaByte

Gold Member
I liked Star Wars more when there were no Jedi left. The current Disney Star Wars looks like the purge didn't even happen
Geoge himself cut out certain Jedi from the Order 66 montage so they could survive past ROTS. There's a scene in Obi-Wan that references it. Quinlan Vos originally died in Order 66 on top of a tank during the Battle of Kashyyyk, but George cut the scene because he liked the character and wanted him to survive and do what he is described as doing in Obi-Wan.

 
Last edited:

jason10mm

Gold Member
Yeah, the saber fights with Ahsoka I'm not loving. Been re-watching some Clone Wars and Rebels and Ahsoka was always so quick and jumping around, she should be moving way faster than they've shown in the show. Legit does seem like they forgot to speed up the footage.
I feel like lightsabers are just hard to choreograph in general. Lots of lunging and poking seems like the optimal way to fight with one but that isn't as easy or cinematic. Those big swings and blocks LOOK great, but are very silly. And in order to have an inbattle dramatic scene you need that also silly part where the two combatants are locked together, Saber on Saber, yet neither can block with anything because the saber would cut it, so they are just kinda pushing at each other. Add in some older actors who were never particularly athletic in the first place, heap on some heavy outfits, and try to shoot without a lot of prep time, and it's a recipe for mediocrity.
 

Dural

Member
I feel like lightsabers are just hard to choreograph in general. Lots of lunging and poking seems like the optimal way to fight with one but that isn't as easy or cinematic. Those big swings and blocks LOOK great, but are very silly. And in order to have an inbattle dramatic scene you need that also silly part where the two combatants are locked together, Saber on Saber, yet neither can block with anything because the saber would cut it, so they are just kinda pushing at each other. Add in some older actors who were never particularly athletic in the first place, heap on some heavy outfits, and try to shoot without a lot of prep time, and it's a recipe for mediocrity.

Yeah, I figured it was mostly because it would be expensive to have her fighting like she did in the cartoons.

Geoge himself cut out certain Jedi from the Order 66 montage so they could survive past ROTS. There's a scene in Obi-Wan that references it. Quinlan Vos originally died in Order 66 on top of a tank during the Battle of Kashyyyk, but George cut the scene because he liked the character and wanted him to survive and do what he is described as doing in Obi-Wan.



I loved Vos in Dark Disciple, would have been cool if they made that into an animated movie.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member

Thats far better choreography than we usually get with star wars (and more character and story than most as well) but it still has a lot of "let's tap our swords together" though I realize they are actually mocking a lot of the Star Wars stuff as well.

It's tough. On the one hand the audience wants flashy saber stuff, but on the other the very nature of the tool lends itself to quick single stroke battles.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
Thats far better choreography than we usually get with star wars (and more character and story than most as well) but it still has a lot of "let's tap our swords together" though I realize they are actually mocking a lot of the Star Wars stuff as well.

It's tough. On the one hand the audience wants flashy saber stuff, but on the other the very nature of the tool lends itself to quick single stroke battles.
Precisely! The guy in white is basically Ahsoka. Even her name is inspired by Japanese names.

The final battle is more realistic too!
 
Liking the series overall so far, and as others have said, Baylan Skoll is one of the more interesting characters to come out of Star Wars in quite a while. He's reasonable, polite, and soft-spoken....kind of feels like a darker Qui-Gon. The only thing that's made me roll my eyes is the whole sequence with Ahsoka's ship being disabled: "Hey look, there's a woman with a lightsaber, a weapon famous for deflecting lasers and cutting things into pieces...let's shoot our lasers only at where she's standing, and better yet, let's fly close enough where she can cut out fighters into pieces."
 

Alex11

Member
The duels in the 4th episode were way better than I imagined based on what I`ve read, but that's about it, they were boring as hell. And so are the characters, that Sabine is the worst for me, on the other hand, Baylan is the only saving grace, Ray Stevenson just oozes charisma in every scene.
 

BlackTron

Member
I'm not even that big a fan, and even if you count some of the better cartoons like Rebels/CW, Bad Batch is a bit kiddy for me currently, and the Lego stuff is sometimes good and sometimes not.

But just the live action stuff is nothing. I don't even think if you added all the live action TV Disney+ shows together you'd have a total runtime over that of a single AAA game like Baldur's Gate 3.

So no, not really. People can get through 1,000 hours of games a year here, 60 hours to catch up with EVERYTHING on Star Wars isn't that much.

Star Wars fans just went from having nothing for an eternity (3 all time great movies) to having an endless stream of meh content to sit through for the like 20% that rekindles what once made it great. When you're going through that, even one hour is too much.
 

Toons

Member
This.

Obi-Wan and Anakin got stuck in a balancing act of reading/feeling each others movements and it happened blindingly fast. It was a game of "chicken", you just didn't know it.

It showed that the real fighting was on a completely different level.

Theres ways to show that without flippant nonsense. This shoe actually does it much better.

Episode 5 was AMAZING!

Indeed. This is easily their best outing on D plus and we aren't even done yet. This epsiode had a toooon of nostalgia but it didn't substitute that for actual quality content. And it didn't rely on that alone to keep us engaged.

The visuals, the shots; the dialogue, and action, the thematic weight of it all for this character was on point.

Hayden is so good here it basically proves that the problems his portrayal had before were above his sphere of I fluence... with actual writing, dislogue and believable meat to chew on in a scene he does quite well. They definitely took some notes from the clone wars depiction, which was also a much better version of the character.

This was just great. Felt like a kid. Anime influenced shots too, I felt, especially in the end. Couldve been a little shorter but this is the highlight and ahsokas finest moment since the clone wars series ended. I've questioned filoni on his constant need toshove his OC into everything but if it means stuff like this well that's quite alright.
 

BlackTron

Member
Theres ways to show that without flippant nonsense. This shoe actually does it much better.

If I ever make a statement about Star Wars, Toons will be there to counter it.

At this point, I have such an inverse relationship with his opinions on all movies/media that the more he likes it, the more trepidation I feel to consume it.
 

Toons

Member
If I ever make a statement about Star Wars, Toons will be there to counter it.

At this point, I have such an inverse relationship with his opinions on all movies/media that the more he likes it, the more trepidation I feel to consume it.

Do you feel this way about every franchise ? Because that's a self destructive way to consume/not consume media out of spite. Im merely a name on a screen far as you're concerned.

But im hardly the first to have qualms with the some of the nature of the fighing in some ot the pt stuff.
 
Last edited:

BlackTron

Member
Do you feel this way about every franchise ? Because that's a self destructive way to consume/not consume media out of spite. Im merely a name on a screen far as you're concerned.

It's not limited to Star Wars, and it's not spite, it's simply observing an inverse correlation.

I will probably wait until all the episodes are out then binge it in one night or something. I can't take the rollercoaster from this IP anymore. Take it for what it is in one shot without getting either bent out of shape or overhyped for the next episode.
 
Last edited:

Toons

Member
It's not limited to Star Wars, and it's not spite, it's simply observing an inverse correlation.

I will probably wait until all the episodes are out then binge it in one night or something. I can't take the rollercoaster from this IP anymore. Take it for what it is in one shot without getting either bent out of shape or overhyped for the next episode.

Well thats fair at least, haha.
 

Toons

Member
So what was Anakin trying to teach Ahsoka? That she gives up to quickly?

Also, did he show mastery of using both sides of the force?

Its kinda a resolution to her entire character since the end of clone wars. She's been directionless and walks away from difficult choices. Now here she chooses to make one. Lots of great subtle bits about her past and how it influences her relationships.
 

Alex11

Member
A bit better, but let's be honest, we know why. Once again it proves that Star Wars it's still "cursed" by the old ones, it needs the presence of someone from the OG trilogy or prequels.

I wish they would ditch this era and dare for more, make some new characters and stories that have nothing to do with what has already been.
 
The latest episode gives me a bit more optimism going forward. It kind of makes me wish they did a live action Clone Wars with Hayden and Company, but that ship sailed long ago. Well, time to hop aboard some space whales and see where the Force takes us!
 

lifa-cobex

Member
A bit better, but let's be honest, we know why. Once again it proves that Star Wars it's still "cursed" by the old ones, it needs the presence of someone from the OG trilogy or prequels.

I wish they would ditch this era and dare for more, make some new characters and stories that have nothing to do with what has already been.
For me this is the running problem with all these series.
We all know what all these series lead up to. The Disney trilogy. As much as it's a cop out I'm actually hoping the do the multi verse BS with SW.

That way they can get out of being boxed in between trilogy's and create a over aching story that leads to actual interesting villains.

Cake metaphor.....
They can add all the interesting/tasty ingredients they want to make a cake. But at the end of the baking process, I'm very aware that their going to use shit instead of icing on top.


As much as I enjoyed this episode. I'm aware it was due to Hayden Christensen and my own personal bias of member berries.
This series certainly has potential go somewhere interesting. But I am still waiting for it to happen.
So far we have interesting villain's that aren't incompetent. Hopefully they develop a bit more.
A story that feels pretty safe. Not a good or bad thing.
Cast is pretty good for the most part. I'm not a fan of the lady who plays Ahsoka. She's not bad but I wouldn't call her good.
The saber combat was good in this episode. Especially from Hayden and the child actors who played Ahsoka.
 
Last edited:
I now understand what fans are looking for when they look for "good star wars" what they mean is fanservice.

Because that was one of the worst episodes of tv I'd ever seen.

+Wooden acting all around, not a single good acting performance from anyone since episode 1 (combination of bad writing, direction, casting, and acting)
+Every scene with Jacen in it was trash
+The pilot they keep using from Mandalorian is not a good actor
+Really poor choreography for the lightsaber battles that gave them no weight or meaning
+The use of fog and extras running in the background was one of the cheapest effects I've seen in a major tv production
+I've seen Mary Elizabeth Winstead act better than this, so I've got to assume this is just bad writing
+Show lacks any sense of nuance

Compare this to Andor and it's pure trash, but Andor didn't have as much pew pew and space wizards so many fans hated it.
 

Sybrix

Gold Member
I now understand what fans are looking for when they look for "good star wars" what they mean is fanservice.

Fanservice was The Force Awakens & wasn't what fans wanted.

If you liked Andor, fine, i personally didnt and thought this episode was great.

Based on that fans of Star Wars are looking for different things, i suggest you keep to Andor and don't watch anymore Ahsoka.
 
Last edited:

Toons

Member
I now understand what fans are looking for when they look for "good star wars" what they mean is fanservice.

Because that was one of the worst episodes of tv I'd ever seen.

+Wooden acting all around, not a single good acting performance from anyone since episode 1 (combination of bad writing, direction, casting, and acting)
+Every scene with Jacen in it was trash
+The pilot they keep using from Mandalorian is not a good actor
+Really poor choreography for the lightsaber battles that gave them no weight or meaning
+The use of fog and extras running in the background was one of the cheapest effects I've seen in a major tv production
+I've seen Mary Elizabeth Winstead act better than this, so I've got to assume this is just bad writing
+Show lacks any sense of nuance

Compare this to Andor and it's pure trash, but Andor didn't have as much pew pew and space wizards so many fans hated it.

I usually hate vapid fanservcie, this epsiode wasn't that. The fanservcie argument is sound but its used here in the way it should be used. The fanservice here is not just "hey remember this" but actual content relevant to the character and influencing a change in her character.

Worst episode you've ever seen? It's not even the worst episode of this series
 
I now understand what fans are looking for when they look for "good star wars" what they mean is fanservice.

Because that was one of the worst episodes of tv I'd ever seen.
It was terrible. Worse than that, it was disappointing.

When the credits rolled, I couldn't believe how badly they dropped the ball on such an interesting set up in episode 4. What you should now understand about modern Star Wars fans is that changing the color of your robe, eyes, or lightsaber = character development. Show lightsabers, necro old content and fan favorite characters, and let fan nostalgia do all the heavy lifting for your poor storytelling.

The blatant rip-off of the Gandalf v Balrog fight, and rebirth arc is just..........I can't even. At least in the LotR films they dwelled on it for all of 10 minutes and then moved on.

Whatever. The fans got their Anakin/Clone Wars moment, yay. Next episode hopefully we get back to Ray Stevenson - everything else in this show just plain sucks.
 
Top Bottom