Lit A/V Clone Wars Continuity Discussion (Spoilers Allowed)

Yeah, mine is not an exact quote - but it does capture what Filoni said.

 

Alrighty:

Ahsoka, being a partially-trained Force-sensitive, has a leg-up on discerning the emotions, intentions and possibly thoughts of other beings.

The Jedi Temple provides an excellent and wide-ranging education - equal to the most exclusive, elite schools in the galaxy - and Shyriiwook is evidently a language of some consequence; it being available on the Temple's curriculum is entirely plausible.

Although not her formal master, Ahsoka maintained both friendship and a quasi-mentorship with Plo Koon; given that his master was a Wookiee and one of his padawans a Trandoshan, Plo Koon was likely well acquainted with the Kashyyyk System - quite possibly he served as the region's Watchman for a time - and he may have encouraged Ahsoka's interest in Kashyyyk and advised her to study Shyriiwook.

 

Great, but none of that explains Han being unable to understand Chewie.

Of course anyone who looks at the films knows that Filoni's statement is not accurate, it is just head shaking that he said it at all.

 

I suppose he could be referring to the fact that Ahsoka was a slave for almost an hour

I've never bought that the Force gives one any kind of deep understanding of the psyche of another. Unless one chooses to force their way into a mind, all the Force allows is the reading of surface thoughts. I don't believe the Force would give Ahsoka any critical insight about Chewie that traveling around the galaxy for decades would not.

And besides, while your other points would be valid for some Jedi, consider Ahsoka's character for a moment. She is, above all else, a soldier, an entirely different breed of Jedi. One of my favorite passages in Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, one that, believe it or not, fits Ahsoka really well, is a the differences described in how Jedi are trained during the Clone Wars and how they were before. Before, Jedi would have spent their childhood in meditation, exercise, learning about culture, diplomacy, and even gardening. During the Clone Wars, the Jedi younglings are taught to fight. Despite how often we're told how special Ahsoka is, it's always in her ability to fight; we never see her as one with a keen diplomatic mind.

Of course, then you could say "well, she's a fighter, Chewie's a fighter, kindred spirits right?". The thing is, Han's every bit the fighter that they are. The lovable scoundrel bit is played up, in his character and in all like him, but it's pretty hard to ignore the fact that Han makes killing almost a daily exercise. Plus, there's that never-give-up attitude that turns out to be quite a bitch to deal with (him defeating three much larger opponents at once, unarmed, during The Last One Standing).

It's probably not fair to say that Han fully understands Chewbacca, or the other way around. Despite the time spent together, there will always be a cultural gap and, perhaps more significantly, a fundamental difference in their moral codes and in the way they see the galaxy. But like Chewie, Han knows what it's like to be entirely owned by another person (Garris Shrike). He knows what it's like to be completely lost. Perhaps Ahsoka does as well, as she certainly has issues with the Jedi. That's up to your interpretation. She does have a lot in common with Han and Chewie, at least more than she does with someone like Luke. But to say that Han doesn't understand Chewie but Ahsoka does? Come on.

I don't hate Ahsoka at all. I just find the assertion ridiculous, at least without missing the entire core of Hans' character. Frankly, the idea that Filoni may be writing Han Solo is even less appealing now than it was before I knew of that statement. And it wasn't appealing in the first place; if there's one thing I don't feel the TCW writers have a very good handle of, it's the lovable rogues. Actually, they're pretty miserable in the comedy department in general (then again, there is a darkness to Han's character that so many writers miss in favor of him acting the clown, but I don't think I can be called cynical for not expecting to see this brought out under Filoni's pen). Thank Waru for their wonderful animation and fight sequences.

 

She did have a decade as a pre-war initiate; it was to that period that I was chiefly alluding.

Steady on a bit old man. Just so as we're all on the same page here: are you saying that by 'understand' Filoni meant a philosophical comprehension of one's entire nature and experiences, their essence, that is to say, of being, rather than merely speaking the same language (or, in a pinch, a telepathy-based facsimile thereof)? I was operating on the latter, more prosaic interpretation; if that is not in fact the case, then yes, I wholeheartedly agree that Filoni, if serious, was speaking entirely out of his hat.

 

Seeing that Filoni might be part of an OT-related show, let's hope he stays clear from any writer or directorial position.

Chewie growls
Han: What, buddy, where are you? I can't guess your emotions.

 

Can someone point me to a link where Filoni said the thing about Han and Chewie? Thanks.

 

I don't have a twitter account, but it was at an interview at WonderCon, 2011. From RF:

I remember seeing it quoted in an interview at an IGN-type site, but it was basically the above. I'm under the impression it's Filoni's own opinion rather than something set in stone.

 

I hope that it is his own opinion. Because in the OT (which is higher cannon than TCW) it looks like Han knows what Chewie is talking about. Nothing can convince me otherwise.

 

Haha! I knew it was from Wondercon 2011, but couldn't find the interview at EW or IGN. Didn't think to look in my own posting history.

I should have linked to the individual tweets, though. Something 2 years old may be a headache to find on Twitter.

EDIT: And after some digging, here it is:

Looks like paraphrasing of a quote. The surrounding tweets imply it's a response to an audience question. It'd be nice if we had a video or transcript of what he actually said...

 

So much for it all being on Lucas

 

From the sound of that, I don't believe he means that Ahsoka understands Chewie better on a communication level. He means that she understands him on a deeper level, understands his experience, understands his outlook, understands him better as a person.

Which, of course, is about 100x worse and an even greater misreading of the character, and is what I originally assumed he meant. Ah well.

I'm not angry or annoyed at the statement... I honestly find it kind of hilarious.

 

Mary suing at it's finest

 

I'd actually say the reverse is closer to the truth. Ahsoka understands Chewbacca better on just the face value; she might have more formal education to deal with other races (even though, as I said, Ahsoka likely spent more of her time training to be a soldier than a diplomat), they were both slaves at the time (though again, Ahsoka was a slave for something like an hour, where Han was basically a slave his entire life), and they're both talented fighters. But I could go on all day about how the Han/Chewbacca partnership is more than a standard "guy with hired muscle" operation. Despite coming from two entirely different cultures, having two different outlooks on the galaxy, they understand each other better than Han and Leia do. It's not even a matter of time; they're remarkably alike, and they have eerily similar backgrounds, at least according to the EU.

I mean, just look at the Holiday Special and tell me those aren't two kindred spirits

I'm generally not a fan of tossing the term "Mary Sue" around, but I do think that trait is a good fit, and certainly doesn't help Ahsoka's case of not being a Mary Sue. I've had the displeasure to read fanfiction with clear cases of Mary Sue characters. It's often actually really humorous; the Mary Sue will come in, and instantly gain a deep psychological understanding to the other characters, an understanding that the actual cast have been grasping for but never reaching. She'll get along with everyone except for the enemies, and will almost surely have the moral high ground over them the entire time, perhaps even shaming them in the end.

 

Apparently no one has ever even seen the original quote so that paraphrase could be completely out of context. For all we know he was making a joke or being sarcastic.

 

This is soo unlikely man

 

You said it, lady.

 

Considering how many times that has happened here, I think it is very likely.

Anyone remember the volcano Ryloth debacle?

 

More than likely, Dave was just tossing ideas into the wind. Anyone who's listened to him speak at conventions knows he's often inclined to do that. Sort of like "Regarding Affair XYZ, I personally think this [explanation] on the matter. But that's just me."

 

Yes, I do agree that if he actually said something like this (and I wouldn't put it past him), it's silly and completely undermines one of the best relationships in the OS. It's like saying Threepio can't understand R2.

Although sometimes Filoni's random ramblings have some merit -- at both C5 and C6 he went on tangents about Dooku as well, sort of supporting his side of the war from the Confederacy's perspective. Unfortunately very little if any of that ever made it into TCW. Dooku's personality would forever be as stiff as his CGI beard.

 

Filoni doesn't think Pinckney, Marshall, and Gerry should have paid Talleyrand, does he?

 

I have no idea what language of geekery that is.