Lit From Endor to Exegol - The State of the Galaxy Discussion Thread (Tagged Victory's Price Spoilers)

I guess when I watch a Star War I am in that world (and honestly, most movies, it's why I tend to avoid really harsh stuff). But that's me, obviously, I get why it doesn't work for you.

 

There are moments in both TFA and TLJ that do have that sense of immersion for me, but Kylo just breaks the spell and the magic for me.

 

We traded a villain with some real presence...Vader...for a triumvirate of losers.

Kylo = angry at everyone and if it wasn't for the Force would not be a threat at all.

Hux = pasty, incompetent ginger who was given his position due to parentage and does not really appear to be respected by his subordinates for anything other that the rank plaque on his chest.

Phasma = chrome plated stormtrooper who really did not do all that much. She led the attack at the beginning of TFA...then got thrown in the garbage chute....then goes one on one with a traitorous subordinate and gets herself dead.

I want a real villain...a guy (or girl) that when they some on the screen you go "That's the guy." Someone who has some presence or gravitas.

 

Count Dooku. There was a villain with presence. Love that guy.

 

Same with the Grand Inquisitor.....a refined, superior attitude; competence with a lightsaber; reserved yet menacing.

 

Agreed completely. People say Maul should've lived on, but I disagree. Dooku was perfect in his role, Maul was really just a mook to be toppled over and this is even established in related material. TCW turns him into some mastermind for no reason.

 

I'll admit, one of my few genuine disappointments with TLJ and even the novelization was the utter lack of reference to the Centrists. It's like they went to all that trouble to create a backstory, only to ignore it in the final film.

What's more telling is that in the novelization, Jason clearly lays out that the FO is basically based in the Outer Rim and Unknown Regions, with the Supremacy as mobile flagship. Which makes me think that the Centrist secession was either a) small scale, or b) led to a bunch of independent smaller states, not a large FO in sheep's clothing.

--Adm. Nick

 

Most likely it was a move more to disrupt and destabilize the Republic government before their blitz. I kind of like that idea. I'd like it more if they actually followed through with a lot of these concepts they are introducing.

 

I'd love to see the Centrist worlds reaction to the destruction of Hosnian Prime. People forget, the vast majority of Centrists aren't FO sleeper agents. They were New Republic citizens who had had different views on how the government should be structured. The First Order obviously didn't care for the Centrist worlds, it was just a convenient way to further destabilize the New Republic.

In my mind, most Centrist worlds would be shocked and disgusted by the Hosnian Cataclysm. I'm sure that when the First Order starts it's invasion, many Centrist worlds are shocked when they too are conquered in the name of "peace & security" by Snoke's hordes.

--Adm. Nick

 

I did like in the novelization how...

Spoiler

Snoke referred to Rax, Sloane, and Hux's father, and their implied fates. I wouldn't be surprised if he played off the latter two against each other, waiting to take out the winner.

 

On that point:

Spoiler

Had the other guy, Apolin something, been mentioned previously at all? The name was new to me.

 

That guy's from Claudia Gray's Bloodline.

 

Thanks

 

@Jedi Ben

I can dig up the pages where the NRDF, surviving senators, and the state of the NR are mentioned when I get home. There are 3-4 direct references. They may only be a sentence or two long each, but they provide some wonderful context about what the New Republic is doing with it's federal government gone and into Leia's plans to rally them.

I wasn't expecting Jason to devote whole chapters to this. However, these tidbits provide a great background into the events we're not seeing onscreen in TLJ. Coupled with stuff like the Visual Dictionary, it gives us some cool story threads.

--Adm. Nick

 

That'd be cool, thanks Nick.

 

From the Wook:

 

If Ormes is still around, maybe he's the unseen part of the FO? The Prime Minister or whatever, the one running the civil government?

 

Listen, Leia destroyed Hosnian Prime. It's fake holo news if anyone says otherwise. Did you not hear about the Resistance superweapon?

 

Hahaha, not funny.

 

I would assume that would actually be the FO's byline. I mean, at least after Starkiller Base was destroyed.

 

I really hope that somewhere down the line we will get a Dooku novel detailing his life as a Jedi and how he became so discontent the Jedi Order . He's too fascinating of a character to leave behind in the dust.

 

Not if Hux has any say in the matter. That dude is proud of blowing up Hosnian Prime.

 

Exactly. Which is also the reason your joke isn't funny. Unlike the Empire, the First Order wouldn't dare cover up their involvement in annihilating Hosnian Prime.

 

He had some presence due only to the performance of the late Christopher Lee. The characters himself was thin as a potato chip.

What makes Kylo a great villain is that he has a measure of vulnerability and relatability, which makes his violent, psychotic outbursts more frightening and his acts of evil more despicable.