Star Wars Tales Of The Arcolyte

[Suger Mag]

So I did not hate it, and I did not love it. Overall I am glad I watched it.

I think for people who are content in the role of the Jedi as perfect examples of goodness and light... it was troubling, and that is why I liked it... and I also think that is why some people disliked it. I liked that they are exploring themes raised in other parts of the universe. In so much of the movies the Jedi are held to this standard... never wrong... always doing the right thing.

This has shown up in our conversations around children being taken. People really want the Jedi to be good and above reproach... hence the need to have the children being surrendered freely as an honor. We get uncomfortable when our preconceived notions are challenged. But in the books, comics, animated series.... we see that the Jedi are not always perfect... plotting murder (Quinlan).... not understanding or trusting their own and believing a set-up (Ahsoka-Bariss)... Not seeing the Sith in front of them..... Even Qui Gon alluded to fighting with the council and not getting along. We are comfortable consigning those Jedi to the Darkside... but that reinforces the polarity. I liked that this show is exploring the grey.

Mae and Osha are not 100% anything... good or bad, and that is the mistake of ignoring the symbolism of the the Ying Yang shown all the time. Each has a seed of the other.

Keeping things from the Senate is not the same as keeping things from the council. And as that last scene showed us there is information being shared. SO I am not so quick to consign Vernestra to the dark side.

I wish this season had been more concise and a more satisfying ending in wrapping up the story. But I will watch a season 2.

Spoiler

as to Osha... finding out your hero had lied to you your entire life and also killed your mother might make you a tad pissy, I really liked the Kyber bleed. very excited to see Plageius.

 

[Skywalker3]

So I did not hate it, and I did not love it. Overall I am glad I watched it.

I think for people who are content in the role of the Jedi as perfect examples of goodness and light... it was troubling, and that is why I liked it... and I also think that is why some people disliked it. I liked that they are exploring themes raised in other parts of the universe. In so much of the movies the Jedi are held to this standard... never wrong... always doing the right thing.

This has shown up in our conversations around children being taken. People really want the Jedi to be good and above reproach... hence the need to have the children being surrendered freely as an honor. We get uncomfortable when our preconceived notions are challenged. But in the books, comics, animated series.... we see that the Jedi are not always perfect... plotting murder (Quinlan).... not understanding or trusting their own and believing a set-up (Ahsoka-Bariss)... Not seeing the Sith in front of them..... Even Qui Gon alluded to fighting with the council and not getting along. We are comfortable consigning those Jedi to the Darkside... but that reinforces the polarity. I liked that this show is exploring the grey.

Mae and Osha are not 100% anything... good or bad, and that is the mistake of ignoring the symbolism of the the Ying Yang shown all the time. Each has a seed of the other.

Keeping things from the Senate is not the same as keeping things from the council. And as that last scene showed us there is information being shared. SO I am not so quick to consign Vernestra to the dark side.

I wish this season had been more concise and a more satisfying ending in wrapping up the story. But I will watch a season 2.

Spoiler

as to Osha... finding out your hero had lied to you your entire life and also killed your mother might make you a tad pissy, I really liked the Kyber bleed. very excited to see Plageius.

Great summary! I agree so much about the Jedi observations.
Also I didn’t talk previously about

Spoiler

the lightsaber bleed, but that was very cool. I didn’t think Osha was going to go through with it . Thought she might catch herself, not turn, but nope.

 

[Suger Mag]

Great summary! I agree so much about the Jedi observations.
Also I didn’t talk previously about

Spoiler

the lightsaber bleed, but that was very cool. I didn’t think Osha was going to go through with it . Thought she might catch herself, not turn, but nope.

I agree, I really liked that part. When they showed it I was like huh interesting emphasis... and then when it happened I was like ooooooohh yeah.... Something referenced many times.... but I had never seen it done.

I also have to give props for all the fight scenes. I thought those were very well done. Really warming to Qmir. I did not think I would like him as I disliked his sycophant friend persona

I still plan on a rewatch.

Spoiler

Definitely think they are laying the groundwork for Anakin's conception. With the appearance of a certain Sith at the end episode.... the vergance and the twins being created. no coincidence that Plageius was involved with midichloians and life

 

[nancipants]

I had the same thought, @Skywalker3.

Spoiler

I understand Osha getting angry, just like when Anakin killed the Tuskens. But her choking Sol was so drawn out that it became less a "moment of passion" and more a deliberate action. And afterward, I still don't understand her going with Qimir. Like, Sol killed her mom, but did she just forget that Qimir killed all the other Jedi? She was friends with Jecki and Yord, at the very least! Or does she blame Sol for that now, too?

Here's what I hope happens: Qimir is just some fallen Jedi who has embraced the dark side and isn't actually Sith. Plagueis is watching him because the Sith are supposed to stay hidden, for now, and he's not happy that the Jedi might get tipped off to their existence. Show ends with all the dark siders either dying or being redeemed/exiled, and Plagueis continues to live in the shadows.

 

[BrianL]

So I did not hate it, and I did not love it. Overall I am glad I watched it.

I think for people who are content in the role of the Jedi as perfect examples of goodness and light... it was troubling, and that is why I liked it... and I also think that is why some people disliked it. I liked that they are exploring themes raised in other parts of the universe. In so much of the movies the Jedi are held to this standard... never wrong... always doing the right thing.

This has shown up in our conversations around children being taken. People really want the Jedi to be good and above reproach... hence the need to have the children being surrendered freely as an honor. We get uncomfortable when our preconceived notions are challenged. But in the books, comics, animated series.... we see that the Jedi are not always perfect... plotting murder (Quinlan).... not understanding or trusting their own and believing a set-up (Ahsoka-Bariss)... Not seeing the Sith in front of them..... Even Qui Gon alluded to fighting with the council and not getting along. We are comfortable consigning those Jedi to the Darkside... but that reinforces the polarity. I liked that this show is exploring the grey.

Mae and Osha are not 100% anything... good or bad, and that is the mistake of ignoring the symbolism of the the Ying Yang shown all the time. Each has a seed of the other.

Keeping things from the Senate is not the same as keeping things from the council. And as that last scene showed us there is information being shared. SO I am not so quick to consign Vernestra to the dark side.

I wish this season had been more concise and a more satisfying ending in wrapping up the story. But I will watch a season 2.

Spoiler

as to Osha... finding out your hero had lied to you your entire life and also killed your mother might make you a tad pissy, I really liked the Kyber bleed. very excited to see Plageius.

I am actually fine with some Jedi not being perfect. I am not okay with the seeming lack of criticism for the witches and their role in all of this. I also feel like some character motivations were a bit obtuse or a little quick - that is a narrative failing, but it does all play well enough. I am mostly upset with the lack of true resolution, the setup for mysteries we may never see, and, quite frankly, the lack of use of that light whip!

 

[BrianL]

I agree, I really liked that part. When they showed it I was like huh interesting emphasis... and then when it happened I was like ooooooohh yeah.... Something referenced many times.... but I had never seen it done.

I also have to give props for all the fight scenes. I thought those were very well done. Really warming to Qmir. I did not think I would like him as I disliked his sycophant friend persona

I still plan on a rewatch.

Spoiler

Definitely think they are laying the groundwork for Anakin's conception. With the appearance of a certain Sith at the end episode.... the vergance and the twins being created. no coincidence that Plageius was involved with midichloians and life

I agree on Darth Manny there - he was so lame...and then he was suddenly so boss! He definitely wins the acting award for the show, by far!

 

[Suger Mag]

I am actually fine with some Jedi not being perfect. I am not okay with the seeming lack of criticism for the witches and their role in all of this. I also feel like some character motivations were a bit obtuse or a little quick - that is a narrative failing, but it does all play well enough. I am mostly upset with the lack of true resolution, the setup for mysteries we may never see, and, quite frankly, the lack of use of that light whip!

oh I admit, I TOTALLY love Force Witches.... I give them a lot of latitude LOL.... totally not blameless. Their over reaction and defensiveness made the situation so much worse ... but then the show would not have happened if

Spoiler

Mother Anisaya had led with we have decided to let Osha be a Jedi instead of black cloud freak.....

 

[Boski]

I was really waiting for the last episode to give my final rating, thinking (hoping maybe?) that it will all tie together at the end, I was wrong. There were definitely parts I did enjoy but overall we had hit or miss acting combined with some really questionable writing. I think the general story idea is intriguing but it was not executed well. Visually the show was good, lots of on location shots and big sets, and CGI was pretty well done for the most part. I just don't know where that budget went. You've got HotD with a similar or lesser budget and the writing and acting are so much better with episodes that have a longer run time...and CGI dragons! I'll go into details and spoilers later as I think this last episode through a bit more, I just wanted to get out my general overall feelings after the end. I'd be curious to hear, and maybe we can put this in the general Star Wars thread, of where everyone ranks this amongst the other D+ Star Wars shows.

 

[Suger Mag]

I also do not think the story is done with the witches.... if there is a season 2 I think we will see more of that

Spoiler

Qmir went all black eyed when Osha had the helmet on.... Perhaps Osha is not embracing the Sith as much as she is embracing her heritage... the Witches believed in both sides of the Force as the Thread... light and dark. In nature you cannot have only life, there must be death for balance

 

[mdmost]

Long

Spoiler

I think it was a good concept but the execution, especially the resolution was handled badly. The story was badly disjointed and seemed to be back filling the motivations of the characters. I think that's a common issue when shows try to switch back and forth between the present and past to tell a story. Book of Boba Fett was poor in this way as well. If it were told from a linear standpoint, that show might've been better. The 2 different perspectives of the flashback was poorly done. One made the Jedi look like predators. The other made them look like fools who unintentionally massacred a group because they misread every single event that occured. You sent the absolute worst group of Jedi to that planet then. I don't like Sol seeming to have stubborn instance that what he did was right in the end. There was no "I'm sorry for what happened, I believed I was doing the right thing to protect you". Zero contrition which made the "it's okay" fall flat for me. He was very Anakin-esque, "I'm right and absolute about that". The crystal bleed was fine if it was unintentional on Osha's part and more the consequence of what she did to Sol. If it was, hey you're a dark sider now then that works better. But then, her going with Qimir just doesn't make sense other than she's afraid of the Jedi finding her. We get no resolution on how Mae linked up with Qimir. Did she just live alone on that planet as a kid until Qimir found her through the Force because of her anger at the Jedi? Some of this felt very much like the things JJ Abrams would do that annoy me. Dangling plotlines set up to be answered later.

My issue with a 2nd season is there's really only one character I find interesting, Qimir. Osha is frankly the weaker of the two sisters as a character and I don't feel the acting is good enough to make me want to follow what happens to her character. Venstra is now going to be trying to clean up things by manipulating a victim to protect the lie and coverup so the Jedi can hold onto power. The other Jedi around her seem very bumbling and naive.

I never liked the virgin birth concept of Anakin so I'm not really interested in seeing the explanation of how he was created shown on screen. I would much prefer that just be something that the Force made happen and not some plot by a dark sider in the shadows to eventually bring down the Jedi through an amazing string of coincidences that led the Jedi to the most remote planet in the galaxy that all stories seem to keep flowing through. I think a massive problem with Star Wars after the end of the OT is trying to backfill the reasons things happened. It's something I'm not enjoying Filoni feeling like he needs to do to make the Mandalorian era link up to the sequels with how Palpatine returned.

 

[nancipants]

Long

Spoiler

I never liked the virgin birth concept of Anakin so I'm not really interested in seeing the explanation of how he was created shown on screen. I would much prefer that just be something that the Force made happen and not some plot by a dark sider in the shadows to eventually bring down the Jedi through an amazing string of coincidences that led the Jedi to the most remote planet in the galaxy that all stories seem to keep flowing through. I think a massive problem with Star Wars after the end of the OT is trying to backfill the reasons things happened. It's something I'm not enjoying Filoni feeling like he needs to do to make the Mandalorian era link up to the sequels with how Palpatine returned.

Re: Anakin's creation, in the Darth Plagueis book it was something the Force made happen. Basically, Plagueis and Palpatine were trying to create life and the Force created Anakin in response. The name of that chapter is The Force Strikes Back. I hope they keep that backstory if they continue this show.

 

[gsdweller]

Ill just quote myself from earlier: "So so so bad"

Nothing like making the Jedi a bunch of gutless weenies and cowards to really make people love your show. They can't dig a hole deep enough to bury this crap in.

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

I also do not think the story is done with the witches.... if there is a season 2 I think we will see more of that

Spoiler

Qmir went all black eyed when Osha had the helmet on.... Perhaps Osha is not embracing the Sith as much as she is embracing her heritage... the Witches believed in both sides of the Force as the Thread... light and dark. In nature you cannot have only life, there must be death for balance

Surely KK is not going to spend the money on another season of this mess. $180 Million price tag and not having high viewership numbers pretty much ensures that this project lost lots of money.

 

[BrianL]

Surely KK is not going to spend the money on another season of this mess. $180 Million price tag pretty and not having high viewership numbers pretty much ensures that this project lost lots of money.

Getting a season 2 does worry me and setting up so much with no guarantee of one really hurts the narrative (it would be fine if not for that). It's a lot like Loki S1, but at least they knew they were doing S2. Andor was guaranteed S2 as well, but even it didn't leave things that open ended! What I would probably actually do is make a different show - something like "Star Wars: Fall of the High Republic" - and pick up on the threads here - Plagueis & Stranger, Vernestra's cover-up - but make MAJOR changes as well, so that it feels different. Even if there are a few off-screen deaths, I'm okay with that. This could even be done as a one-shot streaming movie - I actually think they should do more of that instead of series. They can do more with less and still keep content coming. Just a personal take on it though. Despite my misgivings about the finale, I do still want to see what happens.

 

[jade1]

Spoiler

I do like them adding more Star Wars content-not a fan of this one though.
So as I mentioned on the other thread, they killed Trinity right away so may as well kill the rest- and they did yay. She was in a bit more but eh.
Thing was a mess IMO. So many character changes at the drop of a hat.
Why would Sol hold up 2 bridges instead of just 2 50lb kids.
And Sol doesn't say that mother was turning you to smoke, so I did it to save you. He just says yea I killed her- so she chokes him to death.
One guy did nothing wrong but goes into hiding and kills himself. Wookie does nothing wrong but goes into hiding then gets killed. I guess Trinity did kill all the witches then? So she had it coming.
As mentioned why did the smoke mom not just say she can go? Why do the smoke thing at all?
The constant lying these Jedi did was embarrassing.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Just finished. I like Asoka better which is not really saying great deal because I was pretty ho hum about that show. I got kinda lost at the end might have to watch the last epsode over again, or more likely just be okay with being lost.
Though I think a lot of things just might not not have made sense, especially back story of Sol. Like why he would have waited so long. It was a stretch to think he would have done that.
Even May original revenge makes no sense as others didn't do anything. Just poorly developed to me.

 

[Kit Jackson]

I could use some clarification on multiple things. Was Brendok significant because it was a vergence? Did the planet itself have special properties and that is why the Jedi were investigating? Or, did the Jedi notice Brendok because they saw plant life where it should not be? The planet was supposed to be dead and incapable of sustaining life. Did the creation of the twins create the vergence and because human life was created through the Force (for lack of a better more specific term), that lead to plant life flourishing?

 

[tx911]

I'm an outlier here but I actually really liked the finale.

I'd give the whole thing a 6 or 6.5 out of 10. Not my favorite of the D+ series for sure, but I did enjoy it and hope we get a 2nd season.

 

[Suger Mag]

I could use some clarification on multiple things. Was Brendok significant because it was a vergence? Did the planet itself have special properties and that is why the Jedi were investigating?

there was a accident which made the planet a desolate waste

Or, did the Jedi notice Brendok because they saw plant life where it should not be? The planet was supposed to be dead and incapable of sustaining life.

yes. there was life where there wasn't supposed to be, so yes the Jedi were sent, because the existence of a potential vergence might by why the planet was teeming with all sorts of life

Did the creation of the twins create the vergence and because human life was created through the Force (for lack of a better more specific term), that lead to plant life flourishing?

No the vergence made the twins possible somehow the Mothers were able to harness the vergence and the abundance of energy to create the twins

 

[Boski]

IMO what would actually help give the series a bit more credibility is if some how Plagueis was working with the witches in a effort to create life and Osha/Mae was his first attempt. But that would also mean Plagueis's age would have to be tweaked...but they've already gone down that path so why not change stuff some more?