Mini Series My Homeboy Torbin: A Defense of the Paupers' Son

Although the thread title hints at humor here, I am 100% serious about defending Torbin's motivation to return to Coruscant in E7.

First, something I myself missed (and most of us missed) the first watch, the significance of Torbin being the son of "paupers," and how this related to his not wanting to stay on Brendok.

This idea is suggested by New Rockstars Erik Voss, and I think it's a good one -- since Torbin came from basically nothing, the last thing he wants to do as a Jedi is to do nothing on a lifeless planet like Brendok. This is a Jedi whose identity is built on being an important Jedi on the most important, wealthy, industrialized planet in the GFFA. In essence, being on Brendok makes Torbin feel like a pauper again, like a nobody.

When I first heard that term pauper when watching the show, I knew it was significant, but then I didn't immediately connect this to his desire to return to Coruscant. But yet, when we add his origin and shame about his origin onto the fact that he is young and restless like Luke and Anakin, craving adventure and fighting, his fixation on getting off of Brendok makes a lot more sense.

However, yet again, the execution of all this could have been better because as it is now, most fans don't really appreciate homeboy Torbin's deep yearning for importance. It's not that he just wants home; he yearns for relevance.

If the show had had more time to properly establish all of this, then we could have had an extra line or two that really digs in to Torbin's inferiority complex. The audience can't think that he just misses his luxurious lifestyle on Coruscant where he can eat whatever he likes at any hour. The audience has to understand "home" is a subtext for relevance, for importance.

Alas, poor Torbin, the Disney time execs have painted you unartfully, making you seem a shallow youngster, and not someone with a deep wound to be respected and understood.

 

Are they "paupers" or "poppers"? I need to check the subtitles. If they're poppers, I'm imagining Torbin's folks to be like:

Spoiler

 

The only "popper" I know is jalapeno.

 

Pauper is a good description of a Jedi in the Southeast Asia Buddhist tradition. Any devotee to the spiritual over the material.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Good he finally has his own thread

 

On my second viewing of Episode 7, I appreciated Torbin's motivations a bit more sympathetically.

The extra detail @The Chalk Jedi points out also adds to that - thank you, I wanna like the show because of this extra detail, just as much as haters find fault.

There was also a very interesting shot...

When Osha (or Mae, I can't recall) is taking the Jedi test, I think it's Sol who says to her "You must tell us what you really want" (or something like that). It cuts to Indara and Torbin having a very long glance at one another. There's something passing between them at that point, as if to say they both know Torbin isn't being totally honest in the Master-Padawn relationship. Torbin also looks very despondent on the Jedi ship shortly after the mind invasion (which I can imagine is quite life-changing).

Bearing in mind Indara is quite domineering and somewhat cold, and Aniseya had literally, the night before, just been in Torbin's head in a scarily tempting way (on lots of levels), it's clear something had changed for Torbin and Indara was quite concerned.

I think Torbin as a Padawan has been an interesting character, and has been well portrayed by Dean-Charles Chapman. He's another sad victim of the tragedy on Brendok, doomed by his own desires.

Like many character motivations, it's not brilliantly done because everything moves at lightspeed for whatever reason, so you have to catch snippets and spend time - outside of the drama - thinking about them.

(If anyone is interested, this book is good on the subject of storytelling...
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/L/bo9471242.html)

Anyway, I like Torbin as a Padawan. Not sure about his brief appearance as a Master or Knight or whatever he is. But let's face it, he's cool for trying to go against Kelnacca, a Master Wookiee!!

 

i find myself liking Torbin a lot also, and i thought his fighting style in episode 7 was fun to watch.

while i think some things could have been explained better in the show, it was obvious to me Torbin had some emotional issues. i mean i could tell that from the start, when they first confronted the Coven, he looked more afraid than the other Jedi.

his suicide over his guilt of what occurred on Brendok & his role in it, shows that he really never found peace. he was young and dumb, and since he was a Jedi -- his mistakes had more destructive consequences than most others at that age. and he could never get over it. it's tragic. RIP Torbin.

 

I definitely picked up some AOTC Anakin vibes from Torbin in this episode. Both of whom come from lower class origins and upbringings. Not so much the slaughtering Tuskin's part, just the immature emotional Jedi who hasn't quite conquered that part of themselves and is appealing to their own base desires. Even his hair seems a bit 1980s' Anakin-esque.

 

There was a simple way to make the concept of Torbin’s desire to leave work better. Have the Jedi research mission be an Apocalypse Now-level descent into hell, instead of a beginner’s foraging trip.

 

Star Wars: Heart of Darkness.

I love it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

As for his desire for relevance? That would’ve also been more successful if it wasn’t based on two lines he stated right before he then gets manipulated. I said from the beginning that you can tell a big ensemble murder mystery with eight, 30-minute episodes, and I think that was right. Everything needed more setup on the character/ emotional side of things.

 

Yeah. Just for fun :::

Start this off as EP 1. The Jedi are on a unsuspecting mission to investigate a vergence on a planet outside their jurisdiction. They've spent weeks visiting many planets so far and have found nothing. They land. We see them set up. Over a few days, we see them do mundane tests. Everything is rather tame. And while the technology and tests reveal nothing unordinary, they Jedi can sense the power of the Force all around them. (All within the first couple of minutes of the episode)

But then things start get heated. Emotional. They bicker. Maybe they're a bit paranoid of each other. They can't quite control themselves or their actions. They lose focus. Torbin just wants to go home and is about to steal their ship in order to do so. Indara suspects something is deeply troubling here and is able to control her thoughts long enough to get the group back on course.

They try to return to their ship, but instead that's when they discover the Twins playing nearby. We see them with the butterfly things, using the Force. The twins bicker too. Then Koril appears and scolds them for being outside of the Coven. They follow them to the Coven. Here things are calmer. Somehow protected. They finally feel like themselves again. They discover the Witches are illegally training children the Force and then soon walk in on the Ascension Ritual.

The rest plays out as we see. Everything goes to hell. Maybe all of these testing stuff just happens at the Coven. No need to go back and forth. Osha wants to become a Jedi. Mae starts the fire. Torbin draws his saber thinking he's going mind-controlled again. Mama goes into Mist Mode to save Mae. Sol kills Mama. Indara saves Kelbecca and the witches all die. Sol is only able to save Osha.

The Jedi finally leave with Osha, thinking Mae is dead, and decide to cover up these mistakes. And since what we got was basically an accident with noble intensions, its not all that different.

Then in EP 2, Mae is back and hunting down each of these Jedi for revenge. No more need for flashbacks until Sol comes clean to Osha one day.

 

He reminded me of Anakin from ATOC. Both young Padawans, having desires and wants. He is rash and quick to action.

 

Thinking more on this, both experienced a slaughter of innocents. Bot failed in their own way here as a Jedi.

Torbin went back home, became a master, but couldn't forgive himself for his mistakes, and his part, and entered a meditation of slience as some kind of ... penance. Eventually he kills himself when given the chance. Hell, maybe he suspects he's too dangerous otherwise.

Anakin, on the other hand, was more directly at fault, for obvious reasons. He desired being a master, and grew obsessive above other issues, and it led to his eventual doom.

 

He just wanted to get back home to his queen, Maergery…

 

He was very Anakin coded imo.

 

That's Tommen? Fantastic!

 

He also, oddly, played Martyn Lannister in the same show.

 

Eh, just seemed like a normal padawan, still in training.

 

Not with those emotional issues and delusions of grandeur.

 

Torbin seemed like a character who didn't want to have to deal with stuff. Him wanting to go home probably wasn't meant to be read in any way that wasn't just him wanting a simple jedi life and not to actually have to do stuff.

After all he decided to hide away for years in meditation and then kill himself just to escape it all. Guilt or not, he clearly didn't want to have to deal with things.

I don't see much similarity between Torbin and Anakin.

Anakin was more rebellious and not likely to back down to weakness or not getting what he desired. If Anakin was in Torbins position and Mae gave him the choice, Anakin would likely have fought back

 

His problem was that he was just lazy? Couldn't deal with stuff/

eyeroll...

He was 20-something years old. A padawan still. Wantedexcitement and instead wandering fields for weeks, growing homesick. Then his mind is invaded and he bends the knee, is part of a massacre, and a cover up.

That's pretty exciting. Too exciting. And then he couldn't forgive himself. His 10 years of meditation wasn't because he was lazy, or couldn't deal with 'stuff'. Ya know ... like being part of the murder of witches.

 

Yeah he killed no one. He didn't start the fire and he killed none of the witches. And he feels crushing guilt, added with one witch took over his mind for a bit where he revealed!... he just wanted to go home. Which left him mental damaged I guess? gotta be that because otherwise no there isn't much to this dude other then he clearly didn't want to be there. I guess the wookie was mentally affected by the mind thing also as he almost actually killed 2 fellow jedi against his own will. Now there is a possible reason for guilt.

Sol was able to kill Mae and osha's mother, starting all the events from starting and still keep going in his life. But Torbin, just couldn't handle it.