EclecticJustice

Kathryn Hahn is great. Her whole thing seems off early, but that’s why we watch things through instead of assuming and quitting! Also kudos to the older witch, she is great too. The rest is par for the course. The casting of Aubrey plaza took me out of the story- I just kept thinking about parks and rec. I had trouble buying her as death incarnate. The witches road is a fun adventure. The singing episode was a tad cringe and the lowlight. The older witches trial episode was the highlight. The mid season reveal was decently earned and told. I thought the finale was a bit of a letdown even if it tied the room together. Knowing Agatha’s motivations makes her recruiting her neighbor all the more funny. It isn’t mind blowing but it’s fun enough.

This show started out great. And then they figured out how much money they could make pushing Grogu as the central character. They should change the name of the show to “The Baby Yoda” It’s nonsensical. We keep being told how important Grogu is and then Mando promptly keeps sticking him in dangerous situations. Which one is it? The dialogue initially was swift and succinct. But now it plays like video game dialogue. “Get this ancient water. Then you will be redeemed. Yes master. We must get on the ship and travel to mandalore to retrieve ancient water. Yes mando.” And for a show that is intentional in getting in and out quickly-40 minutes- the stories they choose to tell don’t feel like high priority ones. It started smart and then got dumbed down for casual fans who like cute plush toys.

Andor is about paying attention. Those who don’t want to or can’t, find it boring. But the writing and world building is top notch. For the first time we get Star Wars with a brain. Disney green lighting a story about the pervasiveness and encroachment of empires, corporations and power-that citizens and consumers apathetically accept- is refreshing and a bit ironic. Allegiance and loyalty is the culprit to our human conflicts and Andor explores this masterfully. Its pacing is perfect. You never feel rushed away from a place you want to stay. Or stuck in a place you’d like to leave. And the settings certainly vary. I was starting to lose hope that Star Wars couldn’t be taken seriously. That it was purely popcorn, blasters, ships, and light sabers. And Andor has this stuff. But with it, is a little more complex and meaning Motivations of characters are earned by believable dialogue. I can’t recommend this enough. Though it is fantastical, there are parallels to life here on Earth all throughout this. Remember that.

It’s a journey of selfishness to selflessness Of arrogant confidence to humility. Of isolation to friendship Of free will vs determinism All carried by Hiddleston, who has the range to believably act out his transformation. The scope and stakes of this caper just grow and grow. Mobius is prime Owen Wilson. I found it was even better on a second watch-catching the hints I couldn’t catch the first time through.

The Acolyte was good. As a white guy, I waited too long to check it out, cause I’d heard the bad stuff. Andor was fantastic and I’m a little Star Wars’ed out in general, so I didn’t rush to check this out. This show did what phantom menace couldn’t. It conveyed a believable relationship between padawan’s and mentor’s. It explores the challenges of putting our family or our personal interests first. It explores if good or evil is in our nature or nurtured. It explores the concept of freedom at all costs-and the destruction and anarchy that it creates, when someone with power wields it so selfishly. The sights and sounds are great. I thought the light saber fights and colors were great. The writing and acting wasn’t stellar but it was above average. I was okay with the pacing. Like Andor, it wanted its world to breathe a bit. And it slow played a couple reveals if you stick it out. Pip the robot felt a bit forced. This will probably sound crazy, but I thought the show was intentionally racist-Sometimes you have to face your stereotypes of the past to move properly into the future. The white characters, and Jedi in general, thought what they had done in the past was good for everyone, when it wasn’t. And they felt guilty for it. The Asian characters were fantastic fighters and held pearls of wisdom and were teachers. The black characters were just trying to be treated as equals by the others and find their place, in establishments built and designed by and for other races. The physically strong jock characters had trouble with nuance and analysis-carrying themselves confidently and brazenly, making assumptions and committing to rash decisions. The alien races could see beyond the racial challenges altogether, to give pearls of wisdom about any living things motivation, in general. But it left us with SO MANY QUESTIONS! Please green light season 2 with a smaller budget so this story can get fully told.