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.