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Star Wars Rebels Season 3 |OT| Dark Forces Rising

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I checked the scene in Phantom Menace when they were shooting the podracers and there were definitely lasers coming out of those rifles.
*checks*

Huh, I don't remember them being so... laser-y, but fair enough. Still a bit odd (though very Lucas) that they make such sounds in both movie and episode, though.
 

LordOfChaos

Member
In the next Special Edition of Return of the Jedi, after Anakin's force ghost joins Obi-Wan and Yoda, there will be a zoom-in behind his shoulder and there will be the green-tinted ghosts of Talzin, Savage, Maul and Ventress, smiling and nodding at Luke.

*shudder*
 

TDLink

Member
In the next Special Edition of Return of the Jedi, after Anakin's force ghost joins Obi-Wan and Yoda, there will be a zoom-in behind his shoulder and there will be the green-tinted ghosts of Talzin, Savage, Maul and Ventress, smiling and nodding at Luke.

*shudder*

Unlike Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Yoda, those characters have nothing to do with Luke whatsoever. Also, all four of those were good characters if you're trying to imply otherwise...
 
In the next Special Edition of Return of the Jedi, after Anakin's force ghost joins Obi-Wan and Yoda, there will be a zoom-in behind his shoulder and there will be the green-tinted ghosts of Talzin, Savage, Maul and Ventress, smiling and nodding at Luke.

*shudder*

Spoilered for bad fanfic:
Luke: "Say, Ben; what's up with those spooky green ghosts behind you?"
*beat*
Obi-Wan: "Oh, hell."
Maul: "Kenobiiii-wait why do I still have robot legs"
Ventress: "Speak for yourself, I went full light-side at the end!"
Talzin: "Lifetime membership, hun."
Yoda: "Hrrrrm. Sold a bill of goods I was. 'An exclusive club', Qui-Gon said."
Anakin: *creepily smirks*
Savage: *creepily glares*
 
Binged through season 1 and 2 this week. Watched the first two episodes of season 3 tonight and just jumped to the latest, wanted to see the finish. Got a wave of emotion with the close when I heard
Luuuuuke!
 
So they used him as a tool to set up Ezra's darkside wobbling - but that got resolved perfunctorily, and hasn't really been dealt with since. He is in Rebels solely to apply pressure to Ezra's character. And on that front, this episode, just like his presence in the series entire, is disappointing.

Ezra doesn't really learn anything he didn't already know. Ezra isn't really brought low or forced to transform in any way he hasn't already.
Ezra is told everyone knows Lothal means more to him than everyone else, and the first thing he does upon having that reaffirmed, is to bail on Lothal and all his responsibilities. And he gets a group hug at the end of it
. I'm not saying he should be shunned or reprimanded strongly. But so far as Ezra's character path going forward - it doesn't. It's a cul-de-sac
I rather liked the scenes concerning Ezra just trying to find Kenobi. Had a very enjoyably classic Star Wars feel. Using the force to find the sith holocron, barely surviving the ambush. Had some rather nice imagery too. Hell they even made me care for Chopper a bit this episode, and that alone is an achievement. I'm not bothered by the fact that the fight is short. It's suiting that it not be drawn out. What am I bothered by is the fact that
Ezra left without seeing it at all. Ezra was the one other person in the universe who had a relationship with Maul. We've seen the constant pull Maul has on Ezra. This episode didn't really build on that much. (Also would Ezra really just leave like that? Just when a fight is about to break out?) We haven't really seen Maul enough to feel his personal struggle, so his death felt a bit flat to me.

You guys highlighted my biggest problem not only with this episode, but the show as a whole. The characters are continuously stuck in mud with only brief illusions and teases of progress.

The only character I can think of that went anywhere legitimate was Sabine and that was only recently. That was good shit. They teased a lot for Ezra this season but it didn't really pan out.

Regarding the fight, I'm fine with the short length, but I would have preferred more...preparation for it. It was sort of shocking the way it dropped that bomb. I think I would have felt more impressed if Obiwan had a longer conversation with Maul beforehand. Something more overt to give the chasm between their states of mind more immediate context. A conversation that highlight Maul's haggard desperation versus Obi's calm wisdom. It was clearly there in this episode, but I think I would have found the fight more emotionally satisfying if I expected it a little more beforehand. I'd be thinking "That's it." instead of "That's it?" I dont need more swording, but I wanted more talking.

Not a bad episode, certainly interesting, but overall doesn't really serve anything in the Rebels storyline.
 
Regarding the "chosen one" prophecy, two things probably worth pointing out:

1. It was pretty well established all through the PT/TCW that while Obi-Wan took the prophecy seriously, not everyone did. Yoda always seems a little dismissive of it. Even Anakin himself at one point in TCW basically shrugs it off as some old bullshit. But you know Obi-Wan. He's kind of a sucker for dramatic stuff.

2. Maul was dying. He asked "Is he the chosen one?". Of course Kenobi has to answer yes anyway. He's not going to say no at that point.
 

firelogic

Member
I want more Ahsoka. I tune in every episode for a hint of her and end up disappointed. Just leaving her fate up in the air is annoying. Did Vader kill her or not? If he did kill her, what an unceremonious way to finish off a legacy character's story. If he didn't kill her, what a piss off to have it hanging for an entire season or more.
 

Jacce

Banned
I want more Ahsoka. I tune in every episode for a hint of her and end up disappointed. Just leaving her fate up in the air is annoying. Did Vader kill her or not? If he did kill her, what an unceremonious way to finish off a legacy character's story. If he didn't kill her, what a piss off to have it hanging for an entire season or more.

She is dead.
 

Gravidee

Member
I want more Ahsoka. I tune in every episode for a hint of her and end up disappointed. Just leaving her fate up in the air is annoying. Did Vader kill her or not? If he did kill her, what an unceremonious way to finish off a legacy character's story. If he didn't kill her, what a piss off to have it hanging for an entire season or more.

Sorry to say, but this isn't the Ahsoka show. If they ever do reveal that she isn't dead, it may not even be through this medium.
 

Boem

Member
She is dead.

Filoni heavily hinted that she might have survived.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/star-wars-rebels-pretty-much-revealed-the-fate-of-ahsok-1783778829

The Rebels panel at Star Wars Celebration Europe is going on exactly as I type this, but and of course the first question everyone had was about whether Ahsoka Tano survived her climactic duel with Darth Vader in the end of the season two finale. More surprisingly, director Dave Filoni actually gave us a pretty clear answer.

Host Warwick Davis asked the question pretty much the minute Filoni hit the stage. Filoni’s answer was that Star Wars puts many characters in danger, but when he likes a character, it’s going to be hard to kill him or her off. And then:

“It’s likely that you might not have seen the last of Ahsoka Tano.”

Filoni then qualified that it could be a flashback, or that fans could “see” her on merchandise like a lunchbox. But then he qualified that again, clearly indicating he was joking. So chances are, not only did she live, but she’ll probably show up at some point in season three

That season three part is speculation on that site's part and I doubt it'll happen at this point, but still. Filoni made similar comments in other interviews as well. If Ahsoka ever dies, I think they'll make it less ambiguous.
 

Kalentan

Member
Filoni heavily hinted that she might have survived.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/star-wars-rebels-pretty-much-revealed-the-fate-of-ahsok-1783778829

That season three part is speculation on that site's part and I doubt it'll happen at this point, but still. Filoni made similar comments in other interviews as well. If Ahsoka ever dies, I think they'll make it less ambiguous.

They seriously need to set a show between EP 6 and 7 and make it about Ashoka. Give some good reason why she never appeared in 4 ~ 6 and now is coming out of the shadows. Probably did some soul searching or w/e after her encounter with Vader.
 

Anoregon

The flight plan I just filed with the agency list me, my men, Dr. Pavel here. But only one of you!
They seriously need to set a show between EP 6 and 7 and make it about Ashoka. Give some good reason why she never appeared in 4 ~ 6 and now is coming out of the shadows. Probably did some soul searching or w/e after her encounter with Vader.

She was in a force coma for a few years. The death of Vader sent a force ripple that woke her up. Duh.
 

Boem

Member
They seriously need to set a show between EP 6 and 7 and make it about Ashoka. Give some good reason why she never appeared in 4 ~ 6 and now is coming out of the shadows. Probably did some soul searching or w/e after her encounter with Vader.

Even if it isn't about Ahsoka, I'm fully expecting Filoni's new secret show to take place in that period. Move it closer to the new movies, but not too close (not between 7-8 or 8-9). Gives them a chance to play with some of the new characters/locations/events for the new generation of kids that's getting into SW with these new movies.
 
As we established just a couple of pages ago, Kenobi lies a lot.

Yeah, he's definitely Qui-Gon's boy. Qui-Gon kinda has a running subtext of being a bit starry eyed when it comes to prophecies and stuff, and seeing undue importance in everyone he meets (like dopey Gungans and snot nosed ten year olds, for example). In the TPM novelization, they basically say that's why he's not on the council... he's one of the best and most competent Jedi of all, but he's just a bit too much of a pain in the ass. I think Kenobi kind of inherits his mentor's tendencies, somewhat.

(This all may be a bit of headcanon, but I bet if I went through and itemized all the places in the story that support this it would be a surprisingly legit list.)
 

Hystzen

Member
They should just let Ashoka die it finishes her story and Anakins instead she is fan favourite so keep dragging her around. That final fight and end would been fine for her as she saw how little remains of Anakin he was not same person she knew
 

daveo42

Banned
I enjoyed it more from the fan aspect than anything else. Really, the only thing the episode did right were the dangers of Tuskan Raiders and killing off Maul outright and getting him off the show. I did like that Obiwan seemed to know and had been playing over that specific scenario for a decent chunk of his time on Tatooine. Both right moves in an episode where next to nothing else happens. Regardless, the ending got me all misty eyed and nostalgic.
 

Sayers

Member
She is dead.

hqdefault.jpg
 
There's no way she lived. Stretching it out like this is almost as weaksauce as, say, deciding at the last minute to not have Maul die to Vader only to have him hang off of Rebels S3 for three episodes like a filled appendix until Ben kills him in 3 seconds and cradles him like a baby asking for vengeance nobody gives a fuck about.
 

graffix13

Member
Ahsoka is either dead or hiding like a coward. She held her own fighting Vader, why would she just give up now? Especially when the young rebellion needs her the most?

It's better for her character to be dead.
 

Kalentan

Member
She was in a force coma for a few years. The death of Vader sent a force ripple that woke her up. Duh.

It's not the worst excuse. Although I'd rather have her wake up after the events of Aftermath: Empire's End so that we see her in a post-Empire galaxy rather than during their final days.

There's no way she lived. Stretching it out like this is almost as weaksauce as, say, deciding at the last minute to not have Maul die to Vader only to have him hang off of Rebels S3 for three episodes like a filled appendix until Ben kills him in 3 seconds and cradles him like a baby asking for vengeance nobody gives a fuck about.

Then why not just come out and say it? Hell when Ashley Eckstein asked Filoni if Ashoka had died, he wouldn't tell her. Why dodge a simple answer?
 
Well that's not entirely fair. It's a retcon and to suggest that we have to accept it isn't entirely fair. The PT and the OT are as comparable as john wick is to the matrix.
I don't fully accept the PT as being connected to the OT, any more than I accept the Expanded universe.

what the hell? hahaha. was john wick a matrix prequel? what is happening with this post?
 
This episode and fight were not a "mistake in judgment".

”I felt strongly Obi-Wan, if he could help it, would really rather not kill Darth Maul. Obi-Wan is at a point, in my mind, where he's become rather enlightened. He's been in the desert discovering who he is, really evolving as a character. He's not that young brash kid that went into a fight with Maul out of anger for the fact his master was killed. It can't be that same situation this is so many years later. Maul, for his part, is pretty much hung up on that exact moment. That's where his life went wrong. He can't let it go."

”It really is to express the difference between the Jedi and the Sith. Which is the Jedi become selfless and the Sith remain selfish. When pressed, because Obi-Wan is protecting someone else in the end, he does fight. But because he is so true and knows who he is in that moment, you can't defeat that. So Obi-Wan is going to strike down Maul because Maul is such a broken and lost person, which I think is why in the end you see Maul being cradled by Obi-Wan.

This idea is that Obi-Wan is willing to forgive this person who is so cruel and terrible because he feels pity for him. To his dying breath Maul is hoping there will be some revenge exacted upon his enemies. And in my mind, Obi-Wan expresses sadness there because that means that Maul has never grown and will never be released from his suffering. So I felt that moment had to be beyond a lightsaber fight and had to be more an expression of their characters."

Maul tries to get Obi-Wan with a very similar move as he gets Qui-Gon. Which is he blocks and uses the blunt of his hilt to smack Qui-Gon in the face. So I had Maul try to do the same thing to Obi-Wan but again, to show growth, Obi-Wan is ready for that and slices it right in half. That slicing of the lightsaber hilt is to represent Maul being sliced. But we all joked that maybe Obi-Wan should dice him up and bring him to other parts of the planet because he tends to come back, that crafty Maul. But not this time.

This is one of the most "epic" battles in Star Wars, because it's one of the most thematically-perfect and well thought out battles in Star Wars.

This is the
perfect end to Maul's character.
It couldn't BE better. That is impossible.

The best battles in Star Wars were always the shortest anyway.
 

Tsunamo

Member
The way Filoni talked in the Celebration about fans reactions to her makes me think she'll comeback at some point and Filoni would like her to, but hopefully if she does it's something minor and she doesn't just waltz back into the rebellion like nothing happened.

If they're not gonna go past Rebels I think a Siege of Madalore special would be a good compromise, though I feel like they still can't figure out where the best medium to do it in is. (would be neat if they managed to get it as a one off animation movie, might be a hard pitch though)
 
This episode and fight were not a "mistake in judgment"..

The mistake in judgment was letting him survive into S3. This is just the culmination of that mistake.

They left him alive to do this with him. This isn't, in my opinion, worth that exchange.

The idea that Maul deserves some sort of perfect poetic end doesn't make sense to me. He's a tool. He's always been a tool. Until he was brought back for Rebels, his purpose had been served. But then they brought him back - and properly used him as that tool again. Until they copped out on breaking him, and then let him be a poorly used tool to push Ezra's character along a path they quickly abandoned. So now all you have left is Maul dying for Maul's sake, and no reason to give a shit about Maul's sake.

His ending is just Qui-Gon's ending, inverted. It's not perfect. It's repetitious.

It's some ring theory shit.
 
While the battle makes sense thematically I was still disappointed cause they basically hyped this up for an entire season and it only lasted a second.
 
The mistake in judgment was letting him survive into S3. This is just the culmination of that mistake.

They left him alive to do this with him. This isn't, in my opinion, worth that exchange.

Are you insane? Seriously. I am legitimately asking if you are insane.

How can you look at that kind of character development and that interaction between the two characters and the way it informs them both and call it a mistake?

It's literally nothing like Qui-Gon's ending outside of his final words. How can you seriously sit there and argue against thematic relevance for ANY character? Unless a character is racist or offensive in some way, there is no reason not to improve upon them if it's possible. The idea that you shouldn't is ludicrous to me. I'm actually getting bizarrely angry about this.
 
I'm looking at the "character development" and it's not there. Nothing's developed. Ezra isn't changed really. Maul isn't, either.

I edited my post above, check that out.
 

Boem

Member
There's no way she lived. Stretching it out like this is almost as weaksauce as, say, deciding at the last minute to not have Maul die to Vader only to have him hang off of Rebels S3 for three episodes like a filled appendix until Ben kills him in 3 seconds and cradles him like a baby asking for vengeance nobody gives a fuck about.

So you're saying she survived.
 
Learning more about who a character is and what motivates them is character development. Up until now I have never gotten a sense from Maul that there is anything going on with his character more than blarrgh Sith betray make Sith good big bad again.

An interaction where we learn he's a broken, pathetic creature holding onto and motivated and informed by his greatest failure without ever telling us that in words, simply by watching how he fights, is character development. And it's good character development. Especially for Star Wars. It's also the best scene I have ever seen Maul in. You can't take a one-dimension character, make them more three-dimensional, and then say "well I have made a huge mistake".
 
We already knew this. It's the exact same motivation he's had since he was resurrected in Clone Wars.

Invert Phantom Menace's ending, top it off with the Binary Sunset. Mission accomplished.

smh

Just seems way too reductive of the thought process Filoni was going with for this. I doubt he thought of it in those terms, even if you do.

I need to quit talking about this now and take a Zoloft or I'm going to lose my cool. Which is especially weird because I don't even like Star Wars or Rebels. I think I just have an attachment to this scene because it's the first scene I have ever seen from Rebels that made me feel ANYTHING, but I don't know how to explain why beyond being impressed by the fact that Filoni put this much thought into this character at all. It's not a mistake for me because it worked for me. You can think whatever you want, I guess. My argument is based on emotion and on Filoni's thought process, and I'm not confident enough in myself or in him to argue further.

I need a drink. I hate Star Wars.
 
Both here and in other sources I've seen people assume that the reason that Kenobi knows who Ezra is, has to be via a conversation with Yoda. While that's possible I don't think that has to be the case. Powerful Jedi are obviously capable of some form of remote viewing so he may have been watching Ezra himself.
 
smh

Just seems way too reductive of the thought process Filoni was going with for this. I doubt he thought of it in those terms, even if you do.

I don't think Filoni thought it out that much at all is precisely what I'm arguing.

I mean, it's not even much of a secret that large chunks of Clone Wars are not much more than remaking his favorite films in a Star Wars milieu. You can describe a lot of 4-episode blocks as "Ahsoka in Hitchcock's ______________" "Anakin Skywalker in Kurosawa's _________________"

He has his own shorthand that he relies on, and his own shortcuts he likes to take from a storytelling perspective. This whole Maul thing was apparently an audible, and the three-episode coda he got in this season of Rebels feels like it only has any strength that it has because it managed to repurpose the ending of Phantom Menace, and closed with the Binary Sunset.
 
I don't think Filoni thought it out that much at all is precisely what I'm arguing.

I mean, it's not even much of a secret that large chunks of Clone Wars are not much more than remaking his favorite films in a Star Wars milieu. You can describe a lot of 4-episode blocks as "Ahsoka in Hitchcock's ______________" "Anakin Skywalker in Kurosawa's _________________"

He has his own shorthand that he relies on, and his own shortcuts he likes to take from a storytelling perspective. This whole Maul thing was apparently an audible, and the three-episode coda he got in this season of Rebels feels like it only has any strength that it has because it managed to repurpose the ending of Phantom Menace, and closed with the Binary Sunset.

Honestly, it's dumb that I got so upset about this, because I don't like this show or Clone Wars. The only Star Wars animated show I've ever liked was the Gennedy one.

However, I've liked ideas from Rebels, namely this scene and the way they handled Ahsoka's relationship with Anakin now that he's Vader. I feel if there was a character Anakin should ultimately kill, it's not Maul, it's Ahsoka.

The main thing that upset me is that I don't know how to reconcile the fact that I liked Filoni's idea with your argument, which makes absolute sense to me. The way I work is that if an idea is stupid, I can no longer enjoy or like it. It's stupid, but that's who I am. So if Filoni's idea is actually shallow, idiotic, or recycled, and I like it, I don't know how to reconcile that. That's the real reason I even started this argument, and most arguments about movies or TV I like in general.

But this is Rebels, and Rebels is not something I really think of as smart usually, so that just makes your reading of Filoni's thought process more likely to me than mine, and that is frustrating. Because I like this scene! And I don't even know why or how to articulate it properly!

I feel like you just turned me into Darth Maul and Obi-Wanned me.
 
Hyping up Maul's return was stupid as it set unnecessary expectations, and Rebel's budget doesn't do anything that happens on this show justice. But the way it was handled themeatically, and at least as far as writing goes, was more or less what needed to be done. The more I've thought about it, the more I think it was fine.
Both of these characters essentially took everything from one another - Maul took Qui Gon and Satine from Obi Wan, and Obi Wan took Maul's purpose from him. But Obi Wan was able to move past that, and Maul was not, dedicating the remainder of his life to revenge. Bringing Maul back from the dead to give Obi Wan some character development is a plus in my book, because he's always felt undercooked.

But man this show stinks. The unfinished episodes of TCW were still more fun to watch.
 
2. Maul was dying. He asked "Is he the chosen one?". Of course Kenobi has to answer yes anyway. He's not going to say no at that point.

Haha I guess not.

"Well, I don't know. We thought Anakin was the chosen one but he didn't destroy the sith so that didn't really pan out. I saved his kid though and he seems pretty force sensitive so we got a shot there. Qui-Gon told me I needed to protect him so maybe he's the one, then again he also told me Anakin was the one so maybe he's just full of shit, but he's a magic ghost now so there's a good chance that this time he... Oh, um. Oh."
 

Anoregon

The flight plan I just filed with the agency list me, my men, Dr. Pavel here. But only one of you!
Both here and in other sources I've seen people assume that the reason that Kenobi knows who Ezra is, has to be via a conversation with Yoda. While that's possible I don't think that has to be the case. Powerful Jedi are obviously capable of some form of remote viewing so he may have been watching Ezra himself.

fuckin pervy old kenobi
 

batfax

Member
Finally got around to seeing the episode. Seems like a perfect end for Maul to go out like a punk. This is what living only for revenge leads a Sith to.
 

Sayers

Member
Haha I guess not.

"Well, I don't know. We thought Anakin was the chosen one but he didn't destroy the sith so that didn't really pan out. I saved his kid though and he seems pretty force sensitive so we got a shot there. Qui-Gon told me I needed to protect him so maybe he's the one, then again he also told me Anakin was the one so maybe he's just full of shit, but he's a magic ghost now so there's a good chance that this time he... Oh, um. Oh."

That is precisely what he did. He just joined up with them for a while first.
 

FN-2187

Member
I don't have cable so I watch this via Xbox Movies and TV. For some reason, Twin Suns hasn't shown up yet. Anyone else have this problem? The episodes have always shown up on time.

Edit: Nevermind. It finally showed up.
 
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