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Books A/V The Last Jedi - Visual Dictionary by Pablo Hidalgo (Spoilers)

Discussion in 'Literature' started by AdmiralNick22 , Dec 13, 2017.

  1. Barriss_Coffee

    Barriss_Coffee Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2003
    I now question his taste.
     
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  2. BobaMatt

    BobaMatt TFN EU Staff star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2002
    They couldn't even do something clever like name him, like, Sam Nacl? Or Nathan Clemmons?
     
  3. jSarek

    jSarek VIP star 4 VIP

    Registered:
    Feb 18, 2005
    To be fair, the book doesn't say when Sergeant "Salty" Sharp got his nickname. It could well have been earned after his squadmates watched him disregard any sensible precaution and taste (!) the planet in order to make his pronouncement. As an aside, he's darn lucky that the pretty red subsoil beneath the salt was the slightly toxic rhodochrosite and not the very toxic cinnabar, which was my first thought when I started giving any thought to what that substrate might be.
     
  4. Hamburger_Time

    Hamburger_Time Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 13, 2010
    Poe's entry mentions something interesting, namely that many Resistance members had already evacuated to different points throughout the Galaxy. So I guess we can infer that anyone we saw in TFA but not in TLJ (Wexley, Statura, etc.) had already left by the time TLJ begins.
     
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  5. AdmiralNick22

    AdmiralNick22 Retired Fleet Admiral star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 28, 2003
    That line is classic Pablo. Basically, he wanted to ensure that if those character appear in IX (Statura, Jess Pava, Snap, Kalonia, etc) that it was already explained how they didn't die in TLJ. Whether they do or don't is irrelevant, the key is that it planted the seed for a potential story. That is exactly what I love about these guides.

    --Adm. Nick
     
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  6. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    (would be easier if they just never said "THIS IS THE ENTIRE RESISTANCE" in the film though...)

    ANH and ESB let us avoid this issue. I get what the guide's doing, a sort of CYA measure, but it's really unfortunate to need to do that.

    And yes, I know the reason why: because otherwise people on the internet will complain about "plot holes."
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2018
  7. RavagerFish

    RavagerFish Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 26, 2011
    I was surprised that the film was so specific with numbers of vehicles and troop counts. A feature of previous Star Wars conflicts has been that the battles were so large that if we didn’t see certain characters we could assume there were off-screen/elsewhere (as in with Geonosis Coruscant), or the film was deliberately vague about how many people were in a certain battle (like Hoth). Both instances allowed for stories to be told outside what we are seeing unfold in the film, such as the old EU stories for the Battle of Hoth and Battle of Geonosis.

    However, kind of commendably I think, The Last Jedi deliberately gives us a troop count: 400, of whom most are killed over the course of the film. Later, during the Battle of Crait, Hux exclaims that there are “13 incoming light craft,” which also means most of them are destroyed over the course of the battle. I guess Pablo’s VD explanation for Snap, Jess, etc. is necessary given that this is one of the only times I can think of where background characters can’t be dismissed as being “off-screen,” as can be done with the Alliance leadership from A New Hope to The Empire Strikes Back.

    Pablo’s explanation does, though, reduce the impact of hearing those tiny troop counts at the end of the film if we know that there’s a larger Resistance force somewhere else.
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2018
  8. Revanfan1

    Revanfan1 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 3, 2013
    Agreed. We all know (well, as much as we can know) that Snap will be in IX because JJ is directing and Greg Grunberg is in all his movies. I could see Jess appearing again too, provided Henwick isn't busy with Iron Fist Season 2 or something else. Those are the main two I want to see reappear in IX, but I would be happy with Statura or Kalonia, too.
     
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  9. The Raddinator

    The Raddinator Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 18, 2017
    The Poe Dameron comic might give us some idea what Black Squadron at least is up to during the events of TLJ. I would bet they'll lay heavy emphasis on their small numbers in all the ancillary material now though, to make sure it doesn't create the impression that there were hundreds of other operatives scattered across the galaxy.
     
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  10. Dawud786

    Dawud786 Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 28, 2006
    Hundreds would be pretty small though. A galaxy is a very big place.

    Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
     
  11. AdmiralNick22

    AdmiralNick22 Retired Fleet Admiral star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 28, 2003
    What I love most about the Visual Dictionary is that no matter how many times I read it, I always seem to find something new. It is truly amazing how much Pablo can pack in a book with comparatively little text (compared to the visuals). I should probably go back and re-read the one from TFA as well.

    --Adm. Nick
     
  12. The_Forgotten_Jedi

    The_Forgotten_Jedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 12, 2010
    Anybody know if she survived? Five pilots survived the failed attack run on Cait and we know the identities of four of them (Poe, Finn, Rose, and C'ai), so I was wondering if anyone managed to spot her or another survivor on the Falcon during the evacuation.
     
  13. Vorax

    Vorax Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 10, 2014

    It does not really help that no scattered Resistance fighters or otherwise Alliance affiliated aid came to help the Resistance fleet nor on Crait. Pablo could be connecting that stuff to that other loose end is the Battlefront II arc with Zay's storyline of finding Resistance allies in the outer rim territories, who also never showed up.
     
  14. themoth

    themoth Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 5, 2015
    There's a loophole there if JJ wants to use it. But I think I prefer that the Rebels remain a very small unit, as shown at the end of TLJ. Any other characters we see in IX could be new people that joined their effort - especially if there's a time jump.
     
  15. Noash_Retrac

    Noash_Retrac Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 14, 2006
    Considering the absence of Home One and Echo of Hope, with the lingering line towards other Nebulon-Cs in the Resistance's hands, fair to say they had likely been sent off early - Statura was head of logistics and procurement so he probably left with Kalonia (head of medical) and Captain Cypress (no other reason then his absence), Snap (Poe's second-in-command, if callsign Blue One is any indication). They likely went off to locate a new supply route aboard one of the other cruisers (though considering their fuel situation throughout TLJ, wouldn't surprise me if only the four ships we saw had a majority of their fuel resources to evacuate D'Qar, and the others were in deep space, away from the fight.
     
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  16. Vorax

    Vorax Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Jun 10, 2014
    I would guess if they evacuated some ships early, they were likely the non-combatant personale, or the wounded and unfit for duty or whatever and with probably a very small escort as they could not afford to spare much and leave their entire fleet and leadership exposed or without defensive protection . They'd need all their fuel weapons, ammo supplies and best soldiers at the front. D'Qar was under heavy attack and withdrawal for their lives and according to the opening crawl there was very little wiggle room for any good number of survivors aside from the ones we see in the actual movie fleeing and fighting. The First Order and its legions literately reign supreme and spreading out virtually unopposed with only General Leia's band of Resistance fighters standing in the way of the First Order. The New Republic fleet So even those survivors could be under attack elsewhere, or went home to form a home guard for their respective home planets, or plain far too insignificant , scarred or weak to mount an offensive or even refit, or even annihilated off camera.

    I think at this point it would be really word of what Luke did n Crait could theoretically inspire a new rebellion and rallying call to arms against the First Order(neo-Empire) . Of course some familiar faces could appear again . Maybe the novelization contains something of interest.
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2018
  17. Hamburger_Time

    Hamburger_Time Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 13, 2010
    One detail that kinda made me groan, though, was the statement that several New Republic member states were considering jumping ship to the First Order even before the Hosnian Cataclysm, citing promises of "greater security." Like that's just Marvel Civilians level of being an ungrateful doucheclown right there. Not to mention really unsubtle political satire. :rolleyes:

    I haven't yet decided which continuity I like better but I definitely prefer the Legendsverse's more successful NR if nothing else.
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2018
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  18. BobaMatt

    BobaMatt TFN EU Staff star 7 VIP

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    Aug 19, 2002
    "Triad of Evil" was unsubtle satire. Switching loyalties for the promise of security is just something political bodies seem to do sometimes.
     
  19. TheRedBlade

    TheRedBlade Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 17, 2007

    Taking our own fractured politics into account, we've seen some Texas and California publicly mull secession after the last two presidential elections. While the comments were not particularly serious, there was a substantial positive response on social media from people on the respective edges of the political axes. If the US government had neither the will nor the desire to prevent states from leaving the Union, and if there was a legal pathway to do so (as there appears to have been for the New Republic), a world where the coastal states cut themselves free and merge with Canada isn't hard to imagine.

    Basically, we the audience have been spoiled by political stability. The thought of leaving or forming a new country is alien to most of us. De-naturalize the idea of a country with solid, unchanging borders, and the canon New Republic becomes a lot easier to figure out.
     
  20. Dr. Steve Brule

    Dr. Steve Brule Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 7, 2012
    When we constantly were told how there were no more allies of the Resistance and no help were coming, it also made me wonder just where all those evacuated Resistance people from D'Qar were and why those people (and presumably who they were with) weren't so much as responding.
     
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  21. The_Forgotten_Jedi

    The_Forgotten_Jedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 12, 2010
    I would guess they had orders not to come. Perhaps a small group of Resistance members, led by Admiral Statura and Temmin Wexley, were sent away early in the evacuation to ensure that if the main Resistance group were to be destroyed, there would be somebody hidden away to get things going again with at least some resources.
     
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  22. Vthuil

    Vthuil Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 3, 2013
    Alternatively, they were with those allies trying to convince them to respond; it just wasn't having any effect until Luke made his stand.
     
  23. AdmiralNick22

    AdmiralNick22 Retired Fleet Admiral star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 28, 2003
    My assumption would be that when Leia transmits her situation to those allies, they lost the last vestiges of hope. The message would basically be "We're on Crait. We've lost our entire fleet and 95% of our personnel, we need rescue". Not exactly a situation that would inspire folks to fight on, especially as they are still reeling from the loss of Hosnian Prime and worlds across the Galaxy surrendering to the First Order. As Leia notes in the film, hope was spent, at least until Luke reignited it.

    --Adm. Nick
     
  24. vncredleader

    vncredleader Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 28, 2016
    Maybe it is. Imagine that, he survives this massive fight and is one of he only resistance members left.........only to die like a week later cause he just had to put it in his mouth

    Actual footage of Leia's next briefing

     
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2018
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  25. Darth_Duck

    Darth_Duck Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 13, 2000
    Hahaha, yep.
    Those are words to live by.

    Sent from my SM-G386W using Tapatalk
     
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