ST ST Complimentary Discussion Thread

Resistance is great, and getting better every episode. And yes, if you watch TFA and TLJ in context of Resistance, I think both are significantly improved. For the reasons you outline.

In short, the FO’s slow burn set up for the SKB attack, the FO’s recruitment tactics, the way this tangibly affects regular people on that Collosis, and the Resistance dynamics themselves (including the simple fact of them having a spy service), have all added up to give the background of what happened in TFA a lot more depth.

 

I think what was unclear to me in the ST initially was what the Resistance was. Was it the new Republic’s army? Was it similar to the Rebellion where it sort of came about in the underground during occupation?

Maybe they did spell it out in the scroll of TFA more than I remember but it was more so the EU and now Resistance that have helped me to see the Resistance almost like MI6 in Mission Impossible (but much larger) in that they were essentially disavowed and treated almost like vigilantes or some paramilitary group who the the government wasn’t too happy were out there organized in numbers to the extent that they were. I also like how it showed that the Resistance were looking to recruit right out of the more formal military academies and most recently how the FO has begun recruiting for “security jobs.”

It’s kind of interesting in a way because you can almost imagine that under the leadership of anyone else but Leia that some in the galaxy would have been equally fearful of this other large paramilitary organization with significant resources perhaps looking to “protect” and then occupying. Anyone who knew Leia would know she wasn’t that type and anyone who wasn’t favorable to the Empire should have been more leery of the FO group growing but in a democracy you really do have to allow for freedom of speech and other groups to have the right to assemble. Even when you hate them. We have the same issue in North America with other “organizations.”

In a lot of ways the ST, to me, sets up as society so fearful of loss of rights following the Empire that they came to focus more so on the letter of the law and their own individual protections legislatively and to ensure no military was in a position to attempt a military coup. So in some ways it does feel like a reaction to the Palpatine era.

In the PT they welcomed a far right approach to totalitarianism in by not considering the loss of their rights and freedoms enough welcoming in martial law and just watched that slide further and further. Here, it seems they were so worried about that happening again that they left themselves vulnerable to an attack less from within but privately.

I’ve been surprised at how they’ve incorporated Poe and BB8 and Leia and more to come into the animated series. It was very surprising to hear Poe reference the mission to Jakku the other episode and also to hear Leia share that they just don’t have enough ships to send since this situation with the Colossus is now playing out in multiple locations and setting up for the premier of SKB as a threat. Hearing this voice actress as an older Leia also gives me some hope that they might be able to get creative and have some holo conversations in IX that have Fisher from the side or behind in Holo, using real footage, with her arms moving and it implied that she’s talking and perhaps this same voice actress (or someone even closer perhaps?). Would seem less controversial to do that then CG (which they said they wouldn’t do) and/or recasting a physical actor (which they also said they wouldn’t do). The Leia scenes here seem to work for me and make me more than I thought they might. They seem respectful.

From the time period the FO establishing themselves as security to the present episode with TIES and more it feels like only a matter of weeks. That rushed timeline better sells to me how this came to be.

The story group takes a lot of heat here but I feel like they’ve been better at collaborating in the leadup to VIII with the Claudia Grey work leading into VIII and now Resistance setting things up better.

Would you guys ever be interested in seeing more with Luke as he builds his temple and seeing Ben Solo pre-fall and the start of the Knights of Ren if they made a show like that? Even knowing how it all ended sadly I still would but I know others may feel differently.

 

@Ender_and_Bean

I love the Resistance show, the animation is great, the characters are fun. And it’s doing a great job of fleshing out the FO and the Resistance’s mission to learn what they are doing.

 

@starfish do you think the insights gained from the show allow you to better appreciate the ST more than before the show existed?

@Mila Lazarus , are you hoping for another Ben and Rey teamup in IX?

 

I'm in the middle of watching Resistance right now, about to start S1E10: "Station Theta Black." I like it a lot so far. It's fun, funny, light on its feet, and entertaining, and although I don't feel it's given me any greater insights into the ST or increased my appreciation of those films (which I love anyways) it has been nice to see how "normal" people in the GFFA live, and how the cold war involving the New Republic, First Order, and Resistance isn't really an every day concern for them. The Colossus is a great setting, and its gritty design and grungy details contrast nicely with how oddball a lot of its denizens are, as well as the generally bright lighting and colorful palette that comprise much of the show's visual aesthetic.

I'm of course expecting the show to grow up a lot once it nears and overlaps with the events of TFA/TLJ, and I suspect at that point it'll start informing my perspective of the ST in the same way TCW enhanced the PT and Rebels added to the OT for me. But as of now, spending so much time at the Colossus is actually getting me more excited to visit Black Spire Outpost at Galaxy's Edge than anything

 

@Ender_and_Bean

I would say yes. I mean I generally like the ST anyways and I always enjoy the additional material, whether it’s books, comics, or animation.

But the ST has been very lacking on the world building front, and showing exactly what the galactic state is. So yeah, Resistance has given a lot more insight into what’s happening in the galaxy, so I appreciate that.

Some of it’s just really little things. Like the first couple minutes of the show we see Kaz flying a new republic fighter with new republic colors, with a couple fellow new republic people. It’s a really little thing but I like that kind of stuff.

And I really like the colossus, in addition to the main characters, the inclusion of all the various familiar and unfamiliar aliens is really great. Aunt Z, Flix and Orka, Synara, Glem, some really fantastic characters. And of course Neeku is the best.

And yeah it’ll be really interesting to see when the show starts overlapping with TFA, it’s moving faster than I expected to that point.

 

What did you guys think of the idea that the FO had attempted Stark Killer base attempts on smaller scales prior to SKB?

 

I mean, it makes sense. It'd be pretty embarrassing if they sunk all their efforts into Starkiller Base with the intent of it being the final project, only to discover it doesn't work. It's one of the details that's neat to have in the larger canon, and perfect for a side-story like Resistance to explore, but doesn't really have any place in the saga films.

 

Good point. I liked the visual of it. I’m looking forward to seeing how my son takes to watching Resistance leading right up to the ST.

I know there are a lot of purists in Star Wars fandom but I’ve been curious if anyone who enjoys the ST has enjoyed any of the bigger changes in Force lore that we’ve received thus far? Even if they aren’t necessarily consistent with the past.

Maybe it’s just me but when it comes to Force mysticism enhancements... I’ve been generally on board so far.

Seeing Empire expand Force lore was magical for me and I appreciate having that experience again even though I’m older. Even if it isn’t necessarily consistent with the past.

I don’t know why but the inconsistency doesn’t bother me the way it seems to some who have super strict continuity expectations or rules.

Anyone else feel like that? I actually liked the Force back concept and I liked the voices drawing Rey to the ancient Jedi texts. I liked the ancient setting and the tree library. I loved seeing ancient books in this galaxy too. All of the criticism about how it’s not consistent just doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Anyone else feel like that with those kinds of things? I’m okay with enhancing force powers from what we’ve seen before.

 

Wait and see. It gets a lot more grown up.

 

I suspect it will get buried in “Not my Luke” style comments in the Luke thread so I wanted to share why he is mine here.

Star Wars and its power as a modern myth to help people work through their problems is more important to me and, IMO, the greater world than petty wish fulfillment thoughts of what my childhood dreams for Luke were.

Darkness does come back. Anyone who has faced real darkness in their lives knows that. It’s not gone in an instant. And blocking out others when struggling is not going to help people.

Luke Skywalker wasn’t the best character of the 1980s because he had the least amount of flaws. He was the best character because of his flaws and how he showed us that no matter how hard things seemed to him or to us watching him struggle... even if your dad is Hitler and the boy you trained idolized Hitler and not you or what you wanted and destroyed everything you spent decades building toward... there is alwaus a way out of the darkness. You aren’t defeated by the darkness until you die defeated by it.

Luke in the OT taught me more about my complicated relationship with my dad than any other work at the time had.

Luke taught me more in TLJ about the darkness that can come from places less easily understood. From feeling like I’ve let others down. From feeling like I’m part of the problem. From repressing the issues right below my nose so that I don’t have to work through them and from blocking people out who might help me to do so. From a sense that I have made poor choices and that I’m no longer young enough to start over and begin anew. I do this. I think a lot of people who enjoy Luke’s arc either do this or can on some level empathize or relate to it on some level. I avoid what’s uncomfortable. I take the quicker and easier path. I distract myself. I come to sites like this to avoid my own problems. So, I relate to Luke yet again in my own ways as an older man and I’m truly thankful for that. It’s much more valuable to me, and I hope others too, than basking in that time period where everything was going right for him and he had probably had his first training session at his newly opened temple and was still talking often to Leia and Han and before Ben truly showed signs of the man he’d later become.

Because you know what? I don’t want to spend time with Luke at his birthday parties pre-ANH either. Lucas was wise to show him struggling before with an exaggerated take on the kinds of parent and child issues many watching could identify with and Johnson, even though it’s less poplar here, was wise to show him struggling again.

Luke teaches me to this day. Not getting angry and pulling back is great but not if I transfer all of that inside and repress it and avoid it. That’s it’s own quicker and easier path too. It’s not real growth. Learning independence when becoming an adult is important but take independence too far and avoid listening to outside opinion and you can easily go astray. It can be easy with all of the darkness in the world and in life to feel like there’s no way out and no way to help but there is. There always is. Even when it feels like we’ve sunk our own ships and have nowhere we can go.

I find that more important and more valuable than seeing a more direct path from where he was in ROTJ to TLJ.

 

I view the force as the most epic plot device ever. it is a strong or as weak as the writer wants it to be. In a new hope, it can trick people and do other minor things. in esb we see luke grab the lightsaber by using the force... flash forward to the PT and you got jedi and sith doing crazy neo moves straight out the matrix. Lets not even talk about the videogame front where one character is literally seen ripping as star destroyer out of the sky by using the force. This is all before disney bought Star wars. I think the ST is the best of both worlds a good mixture of the OT and the PT as far as the force goes, plus I love lukes take on the force as he it explains it to rey, far above the whole midichlorians stuff. My take on the force has always been the same you either got to accept it or not, its been all over the place for 4 decades plus lol.

 

I loved how Kylo Ren spun the saber with his hand and in his mind while twisting the othe with the force and lighting it as well.

Are you hoping for some Knights of Ren Force action for IX? Will be interesting to see what they can do. Assuming they are in the movie.

 

yes and I hope a good time jump, put it 3 to 5 yrs later. I think JJ is going to surprise a lot of folks, bc a lot of people think he can only set stuff up and never finoish. Now is his chance on an epic scale

 

A time period that away would actually cause some narrative problems for the ST and me, personally.

The longer the wait between VIII & IX the more that anything significant in terms of interpersonal relationships would have naturally progressed off-screen.

For example, if Luke is renewed now as a teacher because he has found a way to see that the failures of the Order were more a result of the individuals themselves and their own control issues and less the Order and it’s concepts then I want to be there earlier into the process when he’s reconnecting with Rey.

Similarly, if Finn and Rey, or Finn and Rose, are to advance beyond friendship then I’d assume that change would happen between VIII and a 3-5 year time period so that would also be something developed off screen.

About the only advantage of a lengthy time period between the films interpersonally in my opinion would be an absence makes the heart grow type of scenario where Ben Solo’s feelings for Rey have grown further. Remember, it’s always the complications keeping two people apart in drama that makes their eventual meeting more dramatic.

I can see the appeal from a war perspective and to show more occupation I guess and have the Resistance further into the recruitment of allies stage but in my opinion it would be best to be no more than about 3-6 months out past VIII.

The OT was different in that it could use the gaps to better explain Luke’s training but in Rey’s case I think many of us who enjoy the ST more after VIII want to see Luke work with her better now that they two of them have realized their mistakes. So, I don’t want Rey to come back even more powerful than she already is in IX years later. I want her to have more questions for Luke from concepts C3PO read her in the texts that seem abstract or powers she’s trying but can’t yet do.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with you bean. As an older person, where he was made total sense to me. Mark Hamill did a great job conveying Luke's sadness and regret. Also, I actually expected Luke to die in TLJ. That wasn't a surprise for me.

Sent from my QTASUN1 using Tapatalk

 

3 Questions for you and others who are looking forward to IX after VIII and Luke’s renewed peace and purpose coming out of VIII:

1) What are you hoping Luke’s role in IX will be like?

2) What do you expect it will be like?

3) What’s the minimum role he could have for you in IX before disappointment set in?

 

A few questions for those who enjoy VIII to get some discussion going rather than is just bullet pointing stuff we liked:

1) What personal take away from you or theme with Luke’s arc in VIII did you value most?

2) What did you think about Frank Oz as Yoda and seeing the original puppet again? What Yoda dialogue did you like best and why?

3) What aspects of Rey reconsidering Kylo Ren’s possible potential to be the one who may come back work best for you? How do you suspend disbelief around her slide and why don’t you dislike her for believing he could change?

4) What aspects of the Poe and Holdo dynamic do you find most interesting regarding their respective need to know plans and how communication breakdowns and mistrust can break teams apart? What do you think it says of Leia and her ability to keep teams united that this happened when she was unavailable?

5) Canto Bight may have had some of the best world building since the PT. What did you like about the setting?

6) There are a lot of setbacks for the character for much of VIII’s running time. How do you not allow those setbacks to bring you down? How are you hoping these setbacks better setup stronger characters for IX?

7) When you watch VII now after VIII what aspects seem to connect that you hadn’t considered initially? What aspects of VIII changed how you now see lines or plots from VII?

These seem like good places to start perhaps. Interested to hear your thoughts.

 

I'll bite on 3. Rey is a scavenger. I always thought that the skill set that goes with that role made it easier for her to be open to possibilities, such as possibly salvaging KR. Maybe she sensed he had a few good parts that could be leveraged for the resistance. Also, Annakin did horrible things and was considered redeemable, why not Ben Solo?

Sent from my QTASUN1 using Tapatalk

 

Yeah, I mean, Ben Solo didn't murder children or force choke his wife.


Unless there's EU novels about that.

 

The “just a few days” timeframe of the ST so far is one of the many things that makes the series seem far less epic than the OT to me. Just imagine if ESB had started the day after the Death Star was blown up, rather than on a barren snowy world with Luke riding a crazy alien. The latter creates such an interesting mystery about what happened in between that I find far more preferable to seeing everything these characters go through together. The history of the past few years is implied, and it makes for a story that feels vaster and more consequential.

I’m hoping IX will remedy this. Starting with a bearded Poe riding a weird horse alien on a grassy plain sounds more like it to me!

 

And all so that RJ could make his gag with the saber toss.

 

Yes, and can you just imagine the amount of money it cost to go back to that island with a full film crew and actors to film the ending a second time for that joke? And to take and assemble that milking creature there?