The following is a spoiler-free review of the new Star Wars novel, Ronin. On the “About the Author” page at the end of Ronin, the novel is described as, “…a Japanese reimagining of the Star Wars mythos…” That is exactly what Ronin delivers. Never before has the Star Wars universe been tipped on its side, […]
Read more "Ronin Breaks Star Wars (In A Good Way)"Great art is rarely original. It builds off the strengths of its predecessors and pulls in the accepted norms of its form. Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, which George Lucas used to build his narrative for Star Wars, is a testament to this. Lucas pulled from the narrative history of mythology, filmmaking, and storytelling in the […]
Read more "Shang-Chi: A Star Wars Story"There are times in stories where the end is inevitable. The writers, directors, and audience all know where things have to go, but it still hurts when it gets there. The mask descending onto a newly minted Darth Vader comes to mind, as does Ahsoka and Rex having to go into hiding after Order 66. […]
Read more "Becoming The Bad Batch: Kamino Lost"The Bad Batch is the near a perfect culmination of everything both Clone Wars and Rebels did so well. The clones, the military presence, and the rising darkness in the galaxy seen throughout the seven seasons of Clone Wars is certainly there. Likewise, it is akin to Rebels not simply in having characters like Caleb […]
Read more "Becoming The Bad Batch: Return to Kamino"As much as the show is about the defective group of clones that gives it its name, The Bad Batch is about the true birth and evolution of the Empire. In Revenge of the Sith the Empire is created and in A New Hope it is fully formed. The 20 years in between were long […]
Read more "Becoming the Bad Batch: War-Mantle"The thirteenth episode of The Bad Batch was a return to form as far as the serialized adventure of the week format is concerned. Titled “Infested”, the episode could have been called “The Return of the Theme” for all the recurring ideas brought in from the first 12 episodes of the series. Arguments could be […]
Read more "Becoming The Bad Batch: Infested"For light there is dark. For hope there is pain. For enemy there is ally. Simple concepts to consider, muddied by the reality that the line that divides is much thinner than general conception. But turn off a light and see how quickly the dark arrives. For the clones of Force 99, that line revolved […]
Read more "Becoming The Bad Batch: Rescue on Ryloth"By thinking about the world in binaries such as good and evil, light and dark, up and down, it is easy to loose sight of how fluid these dualities really are. In ancient myths, particularly fairy tales, this is seen through the transition from the city, which is “civilized,” to the wilderness that lay beyond […]
Read more "Becoming The Bad Batch: Devil’s Deal"War makes it easy to look at the enemy as “other.” To dehumanize them and make them an abstract rather than a living being who simply has a different perspective. For clones, created for the singular purpose of protecting the Republic from the Seperatists, this “othering” is simplified because they did not fight against other […]
Read more "Becoming The Bad Batch: Common Ground"The opening salvo of the ninth episode of The Bad Batch started prophetically with Wrecker shouting, “It’s getting hot back here!” Yes, Wrecker, it is. With the addition of Cad Bane, and his capture of Omega, the heat has been turned up to Mustafarian levels. It is telling that the eerie Bracca theme, entitled “To […]
Read more "Becoming The Bad Batch: Bounty Lost"
CLASHING SABERS 