Is it possible at this point in time they weren't aware of or really known of Darkside powers? I also seem to recall the witches on Dathomir having stronger attacks. But the red saber feels like it isn't a witch.
The Acolyte (SPOILER FILLED THREAD) - New eps on Tuesdays at 6pm Pacific
- Thread starter JasterMereel
- Start date
Dark side powers go way back in canon stories from the comics and the like. It's not possible they don't know about them. In fact, it seemed pretty clear that Sol sensed the darkness in Mae when they first met.
Not sure if they know about red sabers, though.
I mean in one of the legends novels didn't Palpatine create a black hole with the force? So yeah... the limit if they want is basically Dragon Ball Super levels of insanity.
I think at this point, they haven't really had corporate experience with hostile, powerful, and confident Force users, basically at all.
That coven on Brendok didn't seem really strong, and I don't think they've done anything with Dathomiri (who the Brendok witches might be related to, or might not). The High Republic antagonists weren't really Force users, unless those weird ass trees are more prevalent than I got from the few books and comics I read. The Sith had been extinct (as far as the Jedi knew) since Darth Bane destroyed them and set up his own line, and those kept quiet. Any Jedi the Banite Sith ganked were likely alone and also not expecting a legend from the past to come at them.
So, at this point, all the Force users the Jedi expect to run into likely are either weak, disorganized, or happy ("happy?") to be absorbed into the Jedi, and if they try to fight can be curb stomped. Running into an actual Sith, even if it's "just" the apprentice, is going to be a surprise, and we'll get to see how many redshirts get cut down in the opening round.
There are 8 Jedi there at the end of the episode. We know that Sol will make it, and likely Yord and Jecki. There are 5 left for lightsaber fodder. They are 4 humans (3 men, 1 woman) and a Kel Dor.
I suspect if they kill Bazil there will be riots.
Presuming he's not actually the big bad.
"... Master, why did you issue the red robes today?"
"I just had a feeling, that's all."
I thought they were like the red lab coat in Better Off Ted.
I know how to explain it...
They couldn't use any of the smart Jedi, because they were trying to hide it from the council. Therefore, all of the Jedi they brought with them are the known idiots, hence why at least half of them are going to die in the upcoming fight.
They couldn't use any of the smart Jedi, because they were trying to hide it from the council. Therefore, all of the Jedi they brought with them are the known idiots, hence why at least half of them are going to die in the upcoming fight.
Ah yes, like the 'the Death Star is impenetrable that's why the stormtroopers on it can't shoot for shit' theory.
I just tried to watch the first episode of this series and I couldn't make it past the first scene. Seriously? a Jedi master, someone who has spent their entire life training in combat can be killed by some random person using an incredibly obvious trick in under 5 minutes? I love Star Wars in general, but I don't understand why they keep pushing the "the good guys are ridiculously stupid" trope so hard. It's exhausting.
I dislike that I had such a strong reaction to that. I'm going to give it another chance.
I dislike that I had such a strong reaction to that. I'm going to give it another chance.
I'm normally pro-"filler" episodes in shows as they can be a good opportunity to focus on character development or world building or other things that can otherwise kind of get left out in modern highly-serialized, plot-driven shows.
But this past week's episode... nothing happened, at all. That's the worst kind of filler-- you could skip the episode entirely and you won't have missed anything. The tiny bit of plot that happened at the end of the episode (the confrontation with, presumably, Mae's master) will likely be covered just as well by the recap and first couple minutes of the next episode as it was in this week's episode.
Definitely feels like they don't have enough story and they're stretching things out to hit their episode count. Which is kind of weird considering it's only an eight-episode order and most episodes aren't even filling a full conventional hour-long TV slot (about 42-ish minutes of actual content, plus credits-- Acolyte episodes have been between 30 and 40 minutes).
I'm kind of wondering if this was originally conceptualized as a 3 or 4 episode miniseries or TV movie type of thing and it's being stretched out by higher-ups because they think more episodes are better for subscriber retention (quantity over quality).
But this past week's episode... nothing happened, at all. That's the worst kind of filler-- you could skip the episode entirely and you won't have missed anything. The tiny bit of plot that happened at the end of the episode (the confrontation with, presumably, Mae's master) will likely be covered just as well by the recap and first couple minutes of the next episode as it was in this week's episode.
Definitely feels like they don't have enough story and they're stretching things out to hit their episode count. Which is kind of weird considering it's only an eight-episode order and most episodes aren't even filling a full conventional hour-long TV slot (about 42-ish minutes of actual content, plus credits-- Acolyte episodes have been between 30 and 40 minutes).
I'm kind of wondering if this was originally conceptualized as a 3 or 4 episode miniseries or TV movie type of thing and it's being stretched out by higher-ups because they think more episodes are better for subscriber retention (quantity over quality).
and Mae going "fuck the Master" and was going to surrender ot Kelnacca and the Jedi.
As soon as she said that I knew he was going to be dead and the Jedi would come upon her and think she did it. It's not like they didn't do that two episodes ago... and it's not like that's one the most obvious and overused cliches in TV.
Yeah, these are filler episodes. Episodes that just stretch out the season with little or nothing of consequence.
I like character episodes and MoW episodes and adventure episodes. SG-1, X-Files, Babylon 5 were all good at doing those. Episodes that had nothing to do with the seasonal arc but we're just fun and interesting stories.
The problem with Acolyte is they are giving nothing but seasonal arc episodes padded out with nothing interesting to them. Episode 3 is the only one that piqued my curiosity so far.
It's too bad because Mae and Osha are interesting characters.
I feel like there is no point in continuing to watch.
Yeah, these are filler episodes. Episodes that just stretch out the season with little or nothing of consequence.
I like character episodes and MoW episodes and adventure episodes. SG-1, X-Files, Babylon 5 were all good at doing those. Episodes that had nothing to do with the seasonal arc but we're just fun and interesting stories.
The problem with Acolyte is they are giving nothing but seasonal arc episodes padded out with nothing interesting to them. Episode 3 is the only one that piqued my curiosity so far.
It's too bad because Mae and Osha are interesting characters.
I feel like there is no point in continuing to watch.
Sigh... I haven't been watching this one at all because the immediate response I saw from a lot of places was 'This is the return of Great Star Wars!' so I thought, I'll wait till it is all out and then watch it. I don't mind getting minor spoilers in relation to the overall enjoyability of the show.
Now I am onto the other side of that coin: I think I can just wait till it's all out so I can skip through the pointless bits and catch the ending.
I would really love to be a fly on the wall and/or in the brains of the people in charge at Disney who seem to be incapable of realizing that Star Wars is one of their premium IPs and they absolutely need to do a lot better because they are literally throttling it while holding it down in the bath water with every new release they do.
I care very, very little for the issues that a lot of the toxic "fans" have brought up about gender issues, sexuality, political correctness etc. To me those are all just tiny side issues (they can add up to minor annoyance when they detract from or overshadow the story but when done right they can absolutely add to the enjoyment of a story too!) when the main meat of the story is being tortured and mangled like this.
Non-sensical stuff happening that leaves fans endlessly speculating on, "Are the writers really that stupid? Or are they really smart and just waiting to reveal the trick?" does not make for good storytelling most of the time. If you are really, really good as a writer and you get to work with the production at a very integrated level where you can pull off a complex story with twists and reveals that are satisfying, then absolutely go for it. Otherwise, no. This is Star Wars. It doesn't have to be complex.
Repeated episodes of pointless filler and endless twaddle when you have a very limited amount of screen time to start with is just a complete deal killer. Again, this is Star Wars! You can do a lot of really cool stuff, epic space battles, amazing stunt work, huge lightsaber fights or other sci-fi weapon fights. You can have amazing force-based combat and droids swarming over troops with flying drones and huge armored walkers or other machines and vehicles. You can basically just do anything as long as it is something cool and important to the story.
Doing nothing is not an option. Doing nothing and stretching it over a couple of episodes and patting yourself on the back for pretending it was artsy or complex, and had something important to say (but not actually saying it) is not acceptable. Doing nothing by doing and then undoing or just not explaining anything is also not acceptable.
Now I am onto the other side of that coin: I think I can just wait till it's all out so I can skip through the pointless bits and catch the ending.
I would really love to be a fly on the wall and/or in the brains of the people in charge at Disney who seem to be incapable of realizing that Star Wars is one of their premium IPs and they absolutely need to do a lot better because they are literally throttling it while holding it down in the bath water with every new release they do.
I care very, very little for the issues that a lot of the toxic "fans" have brought up about gender issues, sexuality, political correctness etc. To me those are all just tiny side issues (they can add up to minor annoyance when they detract from or overshadow the story but when done right they can absolutely add to the enjoyment of a story too!) when the main meat of the story is being tortured and mangled like this.
Non-sensical stuff happening that leaves fans endlessly speculating on, "Are the writers really that stupid? Or are they really smart and just waiting to reveal the trick?" does not make for good storytelling most of the time. If you are really, really good as a writer and you get to work with the production at a very integrated level where you can pull off a complex story with twists and reveals that are satisfying, then absolutely go for it. Otherwise, no. This is Star Wars. It doesn't have to be complex.
Repeated episodes of pointless filler and endless twaddle when you have a very limited amount of screen time to start with is just a complete deal killer. Again, this is Star Wars! You can do a lot of really cool stuff, epic space battles, amazing stunt work, huge lightsaber fights or other sci-fi weapon fights. You can have amazing force-based combat and droids swarming over troops with flying drones and huge armored walkers or other machines and vehicles. You can basically just do anything as long as it is something cool and important to the story.
Doing nothing is not an option. Doing nothing and stretching it over a couple of episodes and patting yourself on the back for pretending it was artsy or complex, and had something important to say (but not actually saying it) is not acceptable. Doing nothing by doing and then undoing or just not explaining anything is also not acceptable.
Lucasfilm was doing almost nothing with Star Wars prior to the Disney purchase: 16 years of essentially nothing on screen between the release of ROTJ and TPM, and seven years between ROTS and the Disney purchase with nothing except Clone Wars on screen. You've got books and comics and video games coming out in those interim periods (particularly after Zahn's Thrawn trilogy reignited interest in the series in the early '90s), but none of those hit the same mass-market appeal as a film or TV release does.
At least Disney is actually using the IP instead of letting it rot on a shelf somewhere. Is all of it "the best thing ever"? No, but I'd posit that it doesn't need to be-- it's pretty much all been watchable, the vast majority of it entertaining, and we've gotten some almost universally-acclaimed gems post-Disney like Rogue One and Andor. Lucasfilm didn't have that kind of content pipeline going, and might not have had the money to get that kind of content pipeline going even if they had wanted to (without the additional backing of someone like Disney).
My understanding was that they made that money back very quickly with the release of the first or first two sequel movies when you add in all merchandising and such.
It's been hit and miss. Most of the animated series have been good. And a couple of the live action series have been good. The Disneyland stuff has been successful I believe.
It's been hit and miss. Most of the animated series have been good. And a couple of the live action series have been good. The Disneyland stuff has been successful I believe.
I get that side of it and I think it is true that Lucasfilm was letting it rot on the vine just a bit but what they did produce was generally quite good. Most of the books were generally decent, some great. The games were often quite good and Clone Wars was really pretty good for the large part too. I think we've got a bit of a feast or famine situation but unfortunately the feast is basically an all you can eat place where you really don't want to look in the kitchen, and the large part of what is on the buffet is not very appealing once you get up close to look at it.
Yes, it is all mostly better than a lot of what you see if you compare it all to everything on TV these days, but that's mostly because there is an absolute ton of junk foisted on streaming services just to keep it feeling like there are things yet to watch (so don't cancel your subscription!). That's really faint praise for a very expensive IP, especially when you look at the failure of the star wars hotel and the 'fair to middlin' experience at the star wars stuff at Disneyland.
Yes, it is all mostly better than a lot of what you see if you compare it all to everything on TV these days, but that's mostly because there is an absolute ton of junk foisted on streaming services just to keep it feeling like there are things yet to watch (so don't cancel your subscription!). That's really faint praise for a very expensive IP, especially when you look at the failure of the star wars hotel and the 'fair to middlin' experience at the star wars stuff at Disneyland.
I definitely feel just based on the books that there was more Star Wars to tell on the big or small screen. I will say that I have not found any of it so terrible that I regret watching. Certainly some has been better than others, but I have found some Stat Wars enjoyment in it all.
I am not willing to write off the whole series as something might happen to tie it all together and make the "filler" episodes more important in context. I do have to say I am underwhelmed so far. Why do they need send 6 - 8 Jedi to Kelnacca? Do they think Mae is that dangerous? She killed Indara, but the other guy drank poison.
"They're doing nothing with Star Wars"?!
Come on. This one is a bit of a stinker, no question. So was Ahsoka (but we got Thrawn on-screen and in canon!).
The TV series have been mostly kinda bad. The Book of Boba Fett? Bad. Obi Wan's series (can't be arsed to look up the name)? Pointless.
But... The Mandalorian is fun. And Andor was straight-up superb. They are creating new content, and trying to go places. I don't think it's fair to write them off. Uneven, yes, no question. The overall score is bad. But there are gems, and they clearly can put out good content.
Then again, I liked The Last Jedi, so maybe I'm broken.
Come on. This one is a bit of a stinker, no question. So was Ahsoka (but we got Thrawn on-screen and in canon!).
The TV series have been mostly kinda bad. The Book of Boba Fett? Bad. Obi Wan's series (can't be arsed to look up the name)? Pointless.
But... The Mandalorian is fun. And Andor was straight-up superb. They are creating new content, and trying to go places. I don't think it's fair to write them off. Uneven, yes, no question. The overall score is bad. But there are gems, and they clearly can put out good content.
Then again, I liked The Last Jedi, so maybe I'm broken.
I mostly agree with this, except that I view the Disney era more favorably. I’d argue that it’s produced at least two things that are right up there with the original trilogy in Rogue One and Andor. With a couple of exceptions (Boba Fett, Rise of Skywalker), virtually everything they’ve done is significantly better than Lucas’ prequels. And I infinitely prefer the firehose of movies and shows we’ve gotten to the voids between the OT and prequels and after the prequels.
Regarding movies, I loved Rogue One, really enjoyed The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, kinda liked Solo, and hated Rise of Skywalker. That hit rate is pretty consistent with Lucas’ Star Wars movies, and better than most franchises.
On TV, Andor and the first season of Mandalorian were terrific; the second season of Mandalorian and, so far, the Acolyte are pretty good (yeah, I enjoy the Acolyte more than most); Obi Wan was OK; Boba Fett and the third season of Mandalorian were bad; and I haven’t watched the others. Not a great hit rate, but I appreciate that they’re trying a variety of new things, and the ones that hit were really good.
On the whole, I’d much rather have the Disney additions to the Star Wars universe than not.
New Jedi uniform
I didn't expect both Yord and Jecki to get taken out too. Jecki put up a pretty damn good fight though. Once she got the 2nd lightsaber, she turned the tide on that fight.