After watching Deadpool & Wolverine, I was reinspired to finish watching X-Men The Animated Series on Disney+. I have been watching X-Men on and off for close to three years. I would watch a few episodes, then take a break, watch a few episodes, then take a break. I decided enough was enough and I devoted time to finish the series. I’m glad I did because I think the show still holds up all these years later. Instead of writing a traditional review, I wanted to share some of my favorite episodes from the show.

Night of the Sentinels Part 1 – Season #1 Episode 1

Night of the Sentinels is the first episode of the series. In this episode, the Sentinels attack and go after Jubilee. Jubilee is eventually recruited by the X-Men after the attack is thwarted. I picked this episode as a favorite because it starts the series with a bang. On top of that, Jubilee becomes a valued member of the X-Men. Jubilee develops a great friendship with Wolverine throughout the episodes. She brings youth and positive energy to the X-Men which I think they needed.

Repo Man – Season #2 Episode 5

Repo Man is the fifth episode of the second season and focuses on Wolverine. Wolverine goes to meet a woman from his past and is captured. Through flashbacks, we see Wolverine being injected with Adamantium which explains his increased healing factor. Wolverine is helped by several allies to escape the facility.

One of the many reasons that X-Men The Animated Series holds up is how great the show is at highlighting classic comic storylines. If someone is ever new to comics or to the X-Men in general, this show is a great way to introduce someone to the characters. Wolverine is often seen as the face of the X-Men and his story is tragic. He has powers, but because he can be healed so quickly, it makes him close to immortal. That’s a lot to grapple with and that’s what makes Wolverine’s story so interesting.

A Rogue’s Tale – Season #2 Episode 9

In A Rogue’s Tale, this episode focuses on Rogue and how she came to be. When Rogue gained power, her father was abusive. Rogue is forced to flee and struggles with her powers.

When X-Men 97 was released on Disney+, fans critiqued the series for making the X-Men “woke”. I can’t help but laugh. The X-Men have always been political. Charles and Magneto represent two ideas of fighting for basic rights. Charles serves as the pacificist who doesn’t want to hurt humans even though some truly hate the existence of mutants. Magneto offers a hint of brutality and why should he protect humans when they hate him. It can’t get more political than that. The X-Men are all about fighting for equality.

With this episode, the look of Rogue’s father reminds me of Trump supporters. Rogue’s father is wearing a baseball cap with the American flag. He believes he’s a patriot because he loves his country, but can’t even learn to love his own daughter? I think this episode is one of the more tragic episodes in the series and it’s done so well.

No Mutant is an Island – Season #3 Episode 8

This episode is a Cyclops-focused episode where he confronts Killgrave! For those unaware of who Killgrave is, he’s a villain with mind-control capabilities. He was played wonderfully by David Tennant in Jessica Jones. I wasn’t expecting to see Killgrave in this series, so I thought this episode was a pleasant surprise.

Nightcrawler – Season #4 Episode 8

In Nightcrawler, this is what you would expect as Nightcrawler’s introduction in the series. While in Germany, Wolverine hears rumors of a demon in the area. When Wolverine confronts the demon, he realizes he’s also a mutant named Nightcrawler. Wolverine and the other X-Men protect Nightcrawler from the other townsfolk. This was another solid episode. I like how this series focuses on each member of the X-Men and how they get their episode to shine

Family Ties – Season #4 Episode 13

This episode centers around Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver discovering Magento is their father. Scarlet Witch is one of my favorite Marvel superheroes, so any episode that features her front and center will automatically be a favorite of mine.

Old Soldiers – Season #5 Episode 7

Old Soldiers is a flashback episode where Wolverine teams up with Captain America during World War II. During their mission, they encounter Red Skull, another classic supervillain in comics. This episode was unexpected, I did not think any of The Avengers would appear, so I had to add this episode to my list.

This post ended up being much longer than I anticipated! I consolidated my list and removed episodes I originally had. If you have been watching X-Men The Animated Series, let me know in the comments which episodes you liked the most.

While at my local comic book store, I picked up a few issues of Thunderbolts written by Collin Kelly and illustrated by Nico Leon and Jackson Lanzing. Before reading Thunderbolts, I didn’t know anything about this superhero group. Led by Bucky Barnes, Thunderbolts feels like a much tamer and more heroic version of Suicide Squad. There was a recent teaser trailer posted online for the Thunderbolts* movie set to release in 2025. I watched the trailer and was pleasantly surprised and excited about the film.

While the trailer is three and a half minutes long, it serves as a build-up to who is a part of the group. Yelena Belova (played by Florence Pugh) is shown knocking on Red Guardian’s (played by David Harbour) door. At first, he’s disinterested, but he decides to show up. From there, there’s a scene showing fan favorite, Bucky Barnes (played by Sebastian Stan) along with disgruntled John Walker (played by Wyatt Russell) who is uninterested in his mundane life. The group gets together and meets Bob (played by Lewis Pullman) who is trying to figure out why they’re there. The lights go out and a timer counts down with the group realizing they have been set up, but unclear as to who would want them gone.

I’m not sure how comic book-accurate this is, but I like the interconnections between the members of the Thunderbolts. Seeing Yelena and Red Guardian together again is fun, I like the banter they have together. l liked the Black Widow movie a lot and it seems like it’s been forgotten about in the Marvel universe, so having the Thunderbolts keep some of the characters around brings everything together. I love seeing Lewis Pullman in this who oddly enough plays another character named Bob. For those who are unfamiliar, Lewis Pullman was in Top Gun Maverick and his call sign was Bob. With both Bucky Barnes and John Walker appearing, this movie will link back to The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. I completely forgot about Ava Starr (played by Hannah John-Kamen) from Ant-Man and the Wasp. It will be interesting to see how these characters interact with each other.

Besides the cast, I don’t know anything else about this movie. Is Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s character the main villain; I’m not quite sure. After the first two and a half minutes of the trailer, it shows various action scenes between Yelena breaking into a government lab and Bob being shot at, there isn’t much else I know about this movie. With that said, I love action films, so I’m sure by seeing this movie in theaters, I will be entertained.

Re-watching the trailer, I think Thunderbolts is going for the Suicide Squad vibe, but it feels off. If I had to decide why, I don’t genuinely believe all of these characters are bad like I do with Suicide Squad. An exception could be made for John Walker. For Bucky, I see him as a victim. Yes, he’s a contract killer, but he also had his mind wiped. I don’t want to justify his actions necessarily, but I don’t see him as evil. Yelena could be put in a similar category. For Suicide Squad, these are comic book villains and I don’t see that with the Thunderbolts. It’s not like it makes me like this group any less, I wouldn’t think of these groups as one of the same.

I’m looking forward to this and I’m interested to see more trailers the closer it gets to the movie’s release. We have had a lull in superhero films which has been a nice break, but I’m curious to see what Marvel has planned in the future for their superheroes.

I was listening to Geeks Without God, a podcast I recently discovered. They released an episode where they primarily talked about The Acolyte. I would recommend listening to the episode because I think they brought up what they didn’t like about the show in a nuanced way without completely trashing it. I did make the time to finish the series and while there were portions of the show I liked, I felt a bit let down by the show altogether. I wanted to summarize what I liked and what I didn’t like about the show.

Liked

• The characters. My favorites are Sol and Qimir
• The lightsaber duels
• The detective story of who is targeting the Jedi

I didn’t outright hate The Acolyte as I think there were things that I enjoyed. First of all, I liked the characters. I felt particularly drawn to Sol and Qimir. I admire Sol’s commitment to the Jedi Order. He wants to do the right thing even though he may not see the consequences of his actions. Qimir was awesome! I liked the look of his helmet and how intertwined he was with the twins. I would have loved a flashback episode of Qimir and why he left the Jedi. Was it noble like how Ahsoka left? or was it for his own selfish reasons? This leads me to the next thing I liked which was the lightsaber duels. Episode #5 was brutal and showed the darker side of losing a lightsaber duel. The dialogue between Qimir and Sol shortly after was top-notch. One of the main reasons I was looking forward to The Acolyte was to see the Jedi in a detective role. There was an element of mystery to figuring out who was going after these particular Jedi. While this is seen from the first few episodes, I think this gets lost once it’s revealed why the Jedi are being targeted.

Disliked

• Unanswered questions particularly around Darth Plagueis
• There were not enough episodes for everyone to get a good character arc
• Killing off Master Indara right away
• Sol’s Fate
• Pip’s Fate

Let’s talk about Darth Plagueis. Darth Plagueis was Emperor Palpatine’s master who Palpatine kills and tells Anakin about it in Revenge of the Sith. I think Plagueis’s appearance is odd? Was Plagueis Qimir’s master? Is Plagueis more admiring or watching Qimir, but has no relation to him? Plagueis’s appearance was neat but didn’t add anything to the show. It would have been interesting to see Plagueis tied to one of the characters or if Plagueis approached one of the characters in the last episode.

This is classic Star Wars where the movies or the shows introduce too many characters and some characters get dropped. I think The Acolyte falls into this. I think the best examples would be Jecki and Yord. They were clearly skilled Jedi, but it felt like their only purpose was to be killed by Qimir which is sad. I love Dafne Keen as an actress and I think she was underutilized in the show which is a shame. Another example is Master Indara and I’m still salty over the fact that she was killed right away.

The final thing I did not like about The Acolyte was the fate of the characters. I mentioned how much I loved Sol and I did not like what happened to him. Sol is killed by Osha after Osha learns that Sol killed her mother. When the Jedi discover Sol’s body, they blame him for everything. Sol did some questionable things, but I don’t think he deserved that. It would have been fascinating to see Sol be put on trial or confess to the Jedi what really happened. Additionally, it would have been interesting to see if the Jedi would punish Sol or try to cover up his involvement, which would have spoken volumes as to how the Jedi operates. In the Geeks Without God episode I referenced, they brought up an interesting point regarding Pip. Pip is Osha’s robot and Pip eventually is in Mae’s hands. Mae erases Pip’s memories back to default settings which effectively killed Pip. This is never referenced which is sad! Pip was Osha’s best friend and now Pip no longer exists. If this were any other robot in Star Wars, I think it would have been acknowledged. This reminds me of the time in Rise of Skywalker when the group contemplates erasing C-3PO’s mind. This decision also wasn’t treated with the respect that C-3PO deserved. I’m not sure why the robots are disregarded in Star Wars, but they are crucial characters in the story and should be treated as such.

After all the episodes of The Acolyte aired on Disney+, it was revealed that there would not be another season. I’m wary of using the word canceled because while that may be true, this might be similar to other Star Wars shows where the intention was to do one season and that’s it. If another season of The Acolyte was to be made, I wouldn’t be excited about it. I think The Acolyte is my least favorite of the live-action shows on Disney+. Despite my thoughts about the show, the review bombing and the negative reactions from fans were uncalled for and exposed the negative side of the fandom. Unfortunately, these fans felt they got what they wanted. As for the future of Star Wars, I hope to see more shows, movies, and comics being created, but I want the quality to be there.

I have had “Bye Bye Bye” on repeat whenever I’m driving thanks to Deadpool & Wolverine. If you have seen the movie, you know exactly why. I have been looking forward to this movie ever since it was announced. I loved the first Deadpool movie and while the second wasn’t as good, I still enjoyed watching it. With Hugh Jackman returning and wearing the classic yellow Wolverine suit, I had high hopes for this movie. Deadpool & Wolverine was hilarious and the cameos were excellent.

Deadpool & Wolverine follows Wade Wilson (played by Ryan Reynolds) as he has been jumping around in various timelines after fixing his timeline to save his girlfriend, Vanessa (played by Morena Baccarin). Wade attracts the TVA’s (Time Variance Authority) attention resulting in him being forcibly brought to TVA’s headquarters. Wade meets Mr. Paradox (played by Matthew Macfadyen) who explains to Wade that his timeline is dying after Logan was killed saving X23. Wade is offered a chance to work for the TVA, but his friends will die as his timeline will be destroyed. Refusing to accept this, Wade wreaks havoc and steals the TVA’s transportation device to find another suitable Logan to save his timeline. Wade and Logan struggle to work together but eventually team up to take on the TVA.

Major Spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine

One of the best things about this movie is all the cameos. This is where the spoiler warning comes in because while some of these cameos were spoiled for me, some were not, so they came as a genuine surprise. My favorite cameo was Elektra (played by Jennifer Garner). I loved the Elektra film even though it wasn’t perfect. I loved Elektra’s look in this movie. She’s wearing a burgundy jumpsuit of sorts with black armbands. It was sexy without being overtly sexy. There’s a joke between Elektra and Deadpool where Elektra mentions how Daredevil didn’t make it. For those who aren’t aware, Jennifer and Ben Affleck (who played Daredevil) were married for a long time in real life, so the joke is a subtle diss.

I can’t bring up cameos and not talk about Gambit (played by Channing Tatum). Channing did such a good job as Gambit! The accent was top-notch. Channing was so good that I’m sad to see him not get his own movie. There are so many cameos to talk about, but I don’t want to reveal all of them in case there is anyone who is reading this who hasn’t seen the movie yet. I will mention one last cameo and that was Henry Cavill as a Wolverine variant. He looked so good! Deadpool making a comment about how Marvel will treat him better.. oof. The joke was on point.

If I haven’t mentioned this enough, the movie was hilarious. Ryan Reynold’s comedic timing was gold. I liked the joke in the intro where Deadpool mentions how there are 206 bones in the human body, but 207 exist if you’re watching Gossip Girl. The banter between Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman was great! I wish they would have starred in a movie together much earlier.

Deadpool & Wolverine deserves all the accolades. It was a well-made film that brought back the vibes from the first Deadpool movie.

I have been listening to more podcasts now than I have in the past. I listen to podcasts while I work, driving to and from work, and when cleaning the house. I mentioned NADDPOD (Not Another D&D Podcast) several times as I went to one of their live shows a few years ago. I finished listening to their first campaign several years ago and have since listened to their other campaigns. Since it’s been a bit, I decided it would be fun to go back and listen to their first campaign and I’m so happy I did. There was so much I forgot about. To celebrate the fact that I’m halfway through the campaign, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite moments or episodes that destroyed me emotionally.

If you have never listened to NADDPOD before, it might help to have some background. NADDPOD’s first campaign centers on the homeworld of Bahumia. Before the campaign began, Bahumia was saved by three adventurers with the podcast taking place after that major moment. The characters in NADDPOD are Moonshine Cybin (played by Emily Axford), Beverly Toegold V (played by Caldwell Tanner), and Hardwon Surefoot (played by Jake Hurwitz). The campaign is DMed by Brian Murphy or Murph for short. The first campaign focuses on Moonshine, Beverly, and Hardwon as they attempt to save Bahumia again.

Spoilers for the first 50 episodes of NADDPOD

Beverly Tricking a God – Episode #12

In episode #12, Moonshine, Bev, and Hardwon see a god and are each granted a question. Most of the questions center around their character’s stories. After asking their questions, Bev decides it would be a good idea to “trick” the god by handing the god a berry that would induce vomiting. The god rightfully gets pissed and throws Bev off a large tower. Bev almost dies from the amount of fall damage he takes and the group is astounded. I was laughing so hard.

I like this episode because it’s such classic Dungeons and Dragons shenanigans. One character trying to do something silly and it completely backfires. This is an episode to remember.

Hardwon cutting off Galad’s head – Episode #18

This episode was wild! Hardwon finds out that Galad Rosell conspired to murder his parents. Hardwon’s mom, Lydia Stormborn, makes a deal to return as a Revenant. For those who are unfamiliar, a Revenant is an undead creature that solely exists to kill the thing that hurt them. With Lydia becoming a Revenant, she focuses all her energy on killing Galad and earns the nickname “The Widow”.

Moonshine, Bev, and Hardwon catch up to Galad and have him pinned. Galad pleads for mercy and warns Hardwon that if he kills him, his mom will be lost as he will take away her mission. Hardwon does not care and kills Galad anyway. This moment was such an underrated moment, that even Murph was astounded at the outcome. I love this because it shows that you may have an idea as to what a player could do, they could do something completely different.

Balnor’s First Appearance – Episode #21

Balnor is an NPC that the group picks up earlier in the campaign. Moonshine and Bev agree to pull a card out of the “Deck of Many Things” which is a deck of magical cards that can grant different abilities depending on the card. They pull a card that gives them a Fighter character named Balnor. At first, the group teases Balnor, however, Balnor quickly becomes an important part of their group, and towards the halfway point of the campaign, the group finds out where Balnor came from.

NPCs are crucial to any campaign. Balnor is so sweet and has some of the funniest moments throughout the remaining episodes.

Marabelle Boss Fight – Episode #29

Moonshine, Bev, and Hardwon go to The Crick to help figure out the cause of Crick Rot. Moonshine learns that her aunt Marabelle is responsible for spreading this disease that’s been revealed to be demonic in nature. When the group discovers Marabelle, while they try to reason with her, they end up fighting her. After defeating her, the group sees a vision where Marabelle is targeted by a Necromancer and is forced into a ritual that turns her into what she is. It’s heartbreaking because she’s framed as a villain when she was a victim.

This episode sticks out to me because you can tell in the way the cast roleplays this, it’s getting to them emotionally. I believe I listened to one of their Q&As after this session and they mentioned either getting emotional during this portion or being close to that point. This episode solidifies how powerful TTRPGs can be in telling a story and how even though I’m not playing the game, I still feel emotionally invested in what happens.

Hardwon and Gemma’s private conversation – Episode #35

This isn’t necessarily a favorite moment, but I can’t not mention this episode. Moonshine, Bev, and Hardwon go to Frostwind where Hardwon grew up. Hardwon is made aware of his ex-girlfriend, Gemma Bronzebeard, who is getting married soon. Hardwon wants to speak with Gemma because he still has feelings for her. The group orchestrates this where Hardwon and Gemma can speak privately. As a listener, you think all is well until GEMMA IS KILLED BY AN ASSASSIN. Excuse me, but what in the actual fuck? Murph how dare you break all of our hearts like that. I felt so bad for Jake in this moment.

I still remember listening to this episode originally and how shocked I was. I’m overusing the word shocked here, but it still applies to this episode. While Hardwon may not have been able to reunite with Gemma, Gemma is an important character throughout Hardwon’s journey and motivates him to succeed in all of his trials and tribulations. If I could bring back one NPC from the dead in this campaign, it would easily be Gemma. RIP.

Hardwon grabbing the Coldain Kingshammer – Episode #45

After trying to uncover who killed Gemma, the group travels to Mount Forge to seek the Coldain Kingshammer, a hammer blessed by a god. After a pretty intense fight, Hardwon can grab the hammer and unlock the spirits of several dwarven families. Hardwon nicknames these spirits his “dwarven daddies” and the name sticks throughout the remaining episodes.

This episode is so important to Hardwon’s back story, but also, the dwarven daddies protect Hardwon when he needs it the most.

It’s been a blast re-listening to NADDPOD. NADDPOD taught me how powerful TTRPGs can be in telling an enchanting story. Once I finish the first campaign, I will write a second post summarizing all my favorite moments from the last 50 episodes. After that, I will get caught up on their third campaign and I may even start a new podcast altogether. If you haven’t listened to NADDPOD yet, you are honestly missing out on one of the best TTRPG podcasts ever.

This is the first Star Wars series where I watch each episode as they air. I would normally wait until all episodes were available on Disney+ but I don’t want to see spoilers, so I have been making time to watch each episode. I finished watching the fifth episode of the show and I could not believe what I was watching. This episode was intense and I loved it. There will be spoilers below, so please be mindful if you haven’t watched the episode yet.

Major Spoilers for The Acolyte

This episode was brutal. The mysterious warrior is shown violently killing several unnamed Jedi. Jecki, Yord, and several of the characters race to help. As Jecki pulls off the warrior’s helmet, he stabs her with his lightsaber three times. Each time you see the burn through her chest and on the back of her robes. JECKI NOOO. I liked Jecki and figured she would be around for the whole series, but apparently not. Shortly after Jecki’s death, Yord rushes into help and his neck is broken by the warrior. I am in shock. Killing off several of the characters in such a short amount of time, I was unprepared. Is this the Star Wars version of the Red Wedding from Game of Thrones?

As I watched this episode, I liked the dialogue between Qimir (played by Manny Jacinto AND the person revealed to be the warrior) and Sol. After Jecki’s death, Sol says something along the lines of “She’s a child”. Sol is disgusted by how Qimir fights with his lightsaber and that he kills a child. Qimir responds with “Why did you bring her here?”. Qimir has a point. The Jedi are supposed to be on the side of the light yet they are training children to enter war or fight to defend themselves. The Acolyte, in my opinion, is helping to set up the prequels. The prequels show the Jedi downfall, but that doesn’t happen overnight or in five years. This type of story moment takes decades to build and The Acolyte provides context for those moments.

This episode of The Acolyte hit me hard. I was not at all prepared for what would happen. This episode completely changed the tone of the series and I’m intrigued by how the rest of the episodes will play out. Are you watching The Acolyte? I’d love to hear your thoughts, especially about this particular episode.

Major Spoilers for Critical Role’s 2nd Campaign – The Mighty Nein

I have been watching Mighty Nein which is Critical Role’s second campaign. There’s an episode that many fans refer to as THAT episode where something major happens. I had this spoiled for me beforehand which honestly, I’m thankful for. In episode #26 “Found & Lost”, The Mighty Nein is tracking down some slavers who may have kidnapped their friends. In the process of launching an assault on those responsible, Mollymauk Tealeaf (played by Taliesin Jaffe) is brutally killed by Lorenzo (an NPC voiced by Matt Mercer). I wanted to talk about this moment in greater detail.

Molly’s death is a series of unfortunate events. Due to Laura and Travis being away on parental leave, there were no other party members who could heal if anyone fell unconscious or lost their hit points. This episode had guest star, Ashly Burch, who played a fighter. I don’t believe the guest stars should have to pick a class that they don’t want to play, but it still played into Molly’s fate. Before going after Lorenzo, I don’t think the group stocked up on healing potions which would have been smart considering they couldn’t be healed otherwise.

As the attack happened, it became clear as the episode carried on, how unprepared this group was for Lorenzo’s crew. Lorenzo was a spell caster which the group didn’t know previously. As such, many of the characters lost half their health early on. On top of that, Nott (played by Sam Riegel) will attack and then hide right away. Keg (Ashly’s character) was freaked out and instead of going into battle, she ran away which didn’t help Molly’s situation considering Beau (played by Marisha Ray) and Molly were the only ones up trying to take out Lorenzo and his crew. Watching this episode knowing what was going to happen eventually, I think it’s fortunate that no one else lost their characters.

Leading to Molly’s demise, Molly wanted to use one of his Blood Hunter abilities against Lorenzo. For those who are unfamiliar with the Blood Hunter class, Blood Hunter abilities will require the player to roll a die and take that much health for the ability to happen. When Molly did this, he rolled high on his die which caused him to fall unconscious. Since Molly was in close combat with Lorenzo, Lorenzo stabbed Molly, so Molly couldn’t roll any death saves to try and save his character. When Matt asked Taliesin what his final words were, I loved when Molly spat in Lorenzo’s face. Knowing he was going to die, he wasn’t going to let Lorenzo see him afraid which I thought was admirable and perfect for his character.

Regarding Molly’s death, I think it would be easy to react with judgment. Why would Molly have used his Blood Hunter abilities when his health was so low? To reiterate, the Blood Hunter class at this point in time was brand new. Matt Mercer customized this class to Taliesin, so no one else had played this type of character before. As such, it’s easy for all of us to judge (including myself since I have played as a Blood Hunter), but it’s an important reminder that at the time, Taliesin was still learning how to play this class and Matt was learning how to create a class that felt balanced.

It’s interesting because out of all the characters in Mighty Nein, Molly was probably my least favorite. I thought Molly was arrogant and selfish and would often pick a fight with Caleb even though I felt Caleb was in the right. I was surprised by how emotional I felt after Molly’s death. I felt so bad for Taliesin because not only do you see your character die, but it’s being live streamed so now everyone can see your first reaction. I would hate that. I find that after my own DnD sessions, I need time to emotionally process what happened and I couldn’t imagine doing that in front of a huge community.

It took me forever to finish this episode because I knew what was coming. I want to see the Mighty Nein get revenge on Lorenzo and honestly, I miss seeing Travis and Laura. I think the group dynamic is different with them being gone and I can’t wait for them to return.

I finished watching Star Wars Rebels and this show was an emotional rollercoaster. How can Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, and Carrie Beck do this to me? I am glad I took the time to watch Rebels and honestly, I think this was my favorite Star Wars animated series I have watched to date. I wanted to share my favorite moments and thoughts about the last two seasons.

Major Spoilers for the last two seasons of Rebels

To start off, I wanted to talk about Kanan. Kanan’s fate wasn’t exactly spoiled for me, but since I didn’t see him in Ahsoka, I knew something must have happened to him. The way it played out was so tragic. Hera finally confesses her love for him, they share a sweet moment together and then he holds off the explosive blast so everyone can escape. UGH MY HEART. I am not over it. In the next episode, Chopper holds Hera’s hand and comforts her while she works through his death. Chopper is honestly the best and I thought these moments between the two were so sweet. There was an episode or two after this where Ezra goes into a Jedi temple and with Ahsoka’s help, Ezra realizes he has to let Kanan go and how he can’t save him. While I wish Kanan would have lived, his loss shaped the other characters and solidified why fighting for the rebellion is so important.

Moving away from Kanan, I wanted to talk about Agent Kallus. Agent Kallus is an agent of The Empire and I think it would have been easy for the show to make him a throwaway character. Someone who antagonizes the group and eventually is killed in some explosion. Instead, Agent Kallus has several touching moments with the Rebels which helps him defect in the end. Seeing Kallus fighting off the troopers on Lothal, I think it was a full-circle moment for him. I did not expect to care so much for his character, but here we are.

Besides Kallus, Thrawn’s appearance is cool to see. I didn’t read much of Legends, the Star Wars novels that existed before Disney bought Star Wars. Thrawn appeared in those books and the fact that Dave Filoni brought the character back in canon was awesome! I think it was rewarding for fans to see that. It also encourages me to go back and read some of the Legends books because there’s a chance the lore could be brought into future shows or movies. Finally, I liked Maul’s dynamic with Ezra. Maul trying to push Ezra into the dark side and play on his emotions, I think that was valid to Ezra’s character. He has been through a lot and Maul preying on that was interesting to watch.

I think I preferred season three over season four. Season four had a lot of build-up, so I felt the episodes were slower to watch. Although, I liked how Lothal became the backdrop for the season as I think it was a fitting end to the crew who started their journey on this planet. Once Hera was saved, it was clear that Rebels wasn’t holding back. I did like the epilogue in the final episode. I thought it offered a conclusion to fans and it leads directly into Ahsoka.

I could go on and on talking about how much I loved Rebels. It’s interesting because I figured I’d like Clone Wars more since it takes place in my favorite era of Star Wars. I think Rebels was more charming to me because, with each episode, you start to care for the heroes and see their individual moments shine. I’m sad Rebels is over, but now that I’m finished with the show, I plan on diving into Ahsoka next. I’m slowly getting caught up with all things Star Wars and it’s clear that I slept on some of the best shows in the Star Wars universe.

The release of Star Wars The Acolyte seems to have caused a stir on social media. I’m seeing a flood of comments online about how fans miss when Star Wars wasn’t own by Disney along with the vitriol of fans commenting that The Acolyte isn’t good. As a Star Wars fan, I’m always looking forward to new additions to the galaxy and creating new stories across the timeline. I watched the first two episode of The Acolyte and I liked them. I don’t know if The Acolyte will be my all-time favorite Star Wars series, but I am curious to see how the series unfolds.

Spoilers For The Acolyte Below

The Acolyte takes place in The High Republic era, approximately 100 years before The Phantom Menace. The show opens with Master Indara (played by Carrie-Ann Moss) who is approached by a mysterious figure later to be revealed as Mae (played by Amandla Stenberg). After an intense combat, Indara is killed by Mae after trying to save a patron in the bar. The episode cuts to Osha (played again by Amandla Stenberg), who is approached by Jedi as she was seen at the scene of the crime. Osha protests her innocence, but is arrested. She escapes captivity and realizes her twin, Mae, is still alive and is responsible for these crimes. Meanwhile, Master Sol (played by Lee Jung-jae) is sent to investigate and capture Osha and bring her in for questioning. Sol has a personal connection to the case as he was Osha’s former master. Throughout the first two episodes, Sol is joined by Yord Fandar (played by Charlie Barnett) and Jecki Lon (played by Dafne Keen) to find Osha and understand why she is going after the Jedi.

I will say the obvious, I am bummed to see that Master Indara was killed in the first episode. I mentioned in my The Acolyte – First Thoughts post how excited I was to see that Carrie-Ann Moss was a part of the cast. It makes sense now since the trailer didn’t feature her at any other time, but still, I was hoping she would have a bigger part. It’s too early to say because I’m assuming there will be flashbacks in the later episodes. From a story perspective, I was not expecting the twin aspect with Osha and Mae. I figured Amandla would be a villain serving an evil master, I didn’t think she would be good. I think Yord is going to be an interesting charcter. He seems to have this arrogance to him which I think makes sense as the Jedi were powerful at that time. With the first two episodes, I think there’s enough intrigue to keep me invested. I’m curious to see how Mae’s revenge plays out and who she is serving. It seems like she doesn’t even know who her master is.

I wanted to focus on Master Sol. Sol reminds me of Qui-Gon Jinn. I think Sol believes in the good that the Jedi can bring, but he also seems to have this objective view as well. He will disagree with the orders he’s given and he also clearly has emotional ties to both Indara and Osha. It sounds like Sol saved Osha, but not Mae, so is he feeling guilty for that? What happened the night he met Osha? I think Sol is going to be a strong character in this series.

While I liked the first two episodes, fans have been divided when it comes to recent Star Wars projects. I wanted to first address something that’s been circulating online. There’s an interview with Charlie Barnett where he says that, “If you can’t look and see that Anakin blowing up the Death Star possibly killed millions and millions of people”. From A New Hope, we know Luke blew up the Death Star. I have seen fans mock Charlie online for being incorrect with his knowledge of Star Wars. If an actor decides to play a role in a geeky franchise, are they responsible for knowing everything about said franchise? or can actors simply be actors? I already know what you may be thinking, saying Anakin blew up the Death Star is a pretty egregious and incorrect fact. Sure, but does that warrant fans going after him? It’s not an excuse to justify online harassment.

Besides Charlie’s comment, he isn’t the first actor to either say something incorrect or comment on their experience with Star Wars. It’s no secret that Alec Guinness didn’t like Obi-Wan’s dialogue and wanted to be killed off in the movie. Harrison Ford has shown a saltier attitude to Star Wars as well. While it’s cool to see someone like Henry Cavill express their fandoms, I don’t think all actors need to do this unless it’s their hobby.

While I liked The Acolyte, there’s nothing wrong with not liking a show or a movie. I think it boils down to, are you sharing your opinion to open a conversation? or are you spreading negativity when one person decides to say that they like something. There’s nothing more annoying than someone saying how much they like something only to receive negative comments. I do plan on writing recap posts every few episodes to discuss the series, share theories, and provide context as to what this means for The High Republic.