ST Praetorian Guard Discussion

It seems like there must be a thread like this somewhere but in the off chance there isn’t let’s talk about them.



These are probably the finest human warriors that lack Force power in the galaxy. I imagine if Chirrut hadn’t been such a man of faith he’s precisely the type that would have been recruited.



Love the look. Love that their armor can deflect non direct saber hits. Love their different fighting techniques and protocol. Love how the one immediately begins to protect Snoke when Rey first approaches. Heck, I even love and respect that they fought despite their boss being dead.

I have to assume Snoke didn’t want 8 Force users around for obvious concerns.

I honestly feel like I could watch an anthology film simply related to the guard itself. Start at recruitment. Show them in combat school. Have Snoke return for a gladiatorial event where only the top 8 will survive and become Guards of Snoke. Make a couple more like Chirrut and not interested in joining and perhaps trying to break out of the school.

Is it weird that I like these guys more than Boba Fett now? Anyone else feel the same way? I loved the original inspiration from the OT but I like these designs more and that we finally got to see their loyalty and skill.

 

Is it canon they’re not Force-users?

 

I don’t think it is canon that they are absolutely not. All 8 are human though. It would make some sense that Snoke wouldn’t want 8 Force users and an apprentice of Kylo Ren’s magnitude around though.

 

Before the film I was worried that they were going to be “Phasmered”. As in, look cool but do nothing. I was very glad to be proven wrong. They were front and centre in (arguably) the best scene of the entire film.

 

Does anyone know what that one guard is shoved into that disintegrates much of him and spits up aspects of his armor? What was that?

 

Don't know. Reactor core?

 

I love that saber whip weapon so much. When he starts pulling Rey toward him it was nerdgasm stuff. Just so badass.

Same when the other one who splits their weapon in two while the same whip is flung into the back curtain and sets it on fire as he slowly stomps forward. Is this the same one that stabs Rey later in the arm?

That other guard also had a pretty cool stance where he seemed to be resting his weapon directly on his own armor in sort of a defensive pose while he surveyed the area.

These guards are so focused; they’re awesome.

 

Not a guard moment but I love when Kylo Ren has his back exposed and you can see him anticipating the guy behind him about to try to whip him and just waiting for the first guard to make the next move.

 

I'm sad that they're all dead. Maybe Kylo will recruit new ones. Maybe the Knights of Ren will replace them.

 

I like their different styles and new types of weapons.

Their looks is very cool too. Each one a little bit different.

 

That, or seeing Kylo explore some mint of Praetorian guard training facility would be a cool scene.

The good thing about the compressed timeline between when TFA begins and when TLJ ends (less than 7 days of time?) allows for the KoR to easily be out on some mission that could be explained with a single sentence and then, yeah, they could possibly be his new guard. Only perhaps we’d meet them by name.

 

Trooper brings in bottle of vintage wine made on Alderaan and exported prior to its destruction for the Supreme Leader to enjoy.

Trooper trips and bottle goes flying in the air towards Snoke. Guards react immediately but Snoke stops it mid-air regardless. Explains its value.

Looks over at guards. Smirks. They slowly surround the trooper.

Trooper becomes all sorts of red. :-D

 

OH MY GOODNESS. I'm glad you brought that up bc I wasn't sure how to put it into words. Despite it being a small detail, I loved how real it made the fight feel. I can't think of another moment quite like it in any of the other films.

 

I loved the way the PGs were utilized. I like how they disappear into the red wall, but come ever closer in response to perceived dangers to Snoke, almost like they come out of the wall. It's creepy and scary. I didn't expect to find them dangerous and was pleasantly surprised. (Honestly, I expected them to be lame... )

I wasn't quite sure why Rey and Kylo couldn't use the Force on them. Were they trying to fight fair or something?

 

Yep.

I really think the fight scene might be my favorite in the whole series-- for sure top 3. They give off a very predatory aura, and all the small details (like how they camouflage into the background, they look completely void, deadly, and each has a different weapon like they specialize in it) add up to a massively successful scene.

 

Kennedy mentioned that in Johnson she saw a director whose camera movement choices reminded her of a young Spielberg. Someone she knows very well.

That shot felt very Indiana Jones in a way. I could geek out all day on stuff like the camera being locked off as Snoke is sliced in two and the saber flies into frame for Rey to grab it.

I just watched the angry Rey scene versus Luke [NOPE] I love the way he shot that too. I hadn’t noticed the lightening in the back previously.

I started in the cinematography thread and just kept remembering memorable visuals over and over.

 

Most of the people who aren’t super experienced Masters of the Force seem to prefer to utilize the Force in order to enhance their hand to hand combat.

 

I definitely don't think it was to fight fair. We don't see a lot of use even in the PT though. Very briefly Anakin and Obi-Wan both try to push each other at the same time, but during their fight they mostly focus on the physical aspect of it, maybe because there's not really enough time in between? And the match up was much more uneven than when we've seen force push happen, like with Dooku.

 

I can't remember exactly, but after this is where he does that really cool move where he like whips himself and his lightsaber around taking on two of them at once?? This fight had so many cool, raw moments. I'm kinda disappointed we didn't get to see another RJ-directed fight in the film.

Also, I'm obsessed with the tracking shot where it goes from Kylo then to Rey

 

@dogprivilege Yes! He's actually fighting three of them cuz he's such a badass.

 

maybe the best scene imo. loved everything about it. one person who critiqued the film said the red chamber must be the laziest set design in history. (idiot) firstly it was a callback to this design by r mcquarrie which is awesome.



secondly, did he miss the part where it was the red curtain caught fire during the fight and revealed a huge opened viewing window. as the fight is coming to a close and then kylo tries seducing rey the burning cloth fragments are still falling. need in hd now!

 

Best scene in the film imo...and the best fight since Qui Gon and Obi Wan vs Darth Maul! I loved their weapons, loved their look, loved how they fought!

I would like to know how many helmet designs there were - There seem to be three but they are supposed to be 4 sets of pairs that fight together with the same weapons.

Did anyone do a body count?? As in - How many did Rey kill compared to Kylo ...?

 

I dig them. Very cool scene with them and they made up for the Emperor’s royal guards who were just in the back of the frame, though I loved their design.

 

there were 8 but 2 of each had the same weapon and helmet. so 4 sets of 2. the book says that it's a balance thing.

Elite Praetorian Guard | Wookieepedia | FANDOM powered by Wikia

they also know tera kasi!

 

[NOPE]from my count, we see Rey actually kill 3 and Kylo does the rest