Critical Hits & Misses #340

Now you listen here, Old Man.... --Rey, probably
Get off my lawn, Millenial punk! --Luke, probably

• In a battle more brutal than the Rebellion and the Empire, a war is being waged online. Two generations of Star Wars fans fight over whether or not The Last Jedi was good. (Spoilers)


• Goddammit. TJ Miller of Silicon Valley and Deadpool fame has been accused of sexual assault, and is denying it.  

For today's musical hit, we have Christmas Booty. You're welcome.

Today's critical rolls: What side of the force are you on? By which I mean, what did you actually think of The Last Jedi. Please start your post with a spoiler tag if you're going to be talking about sensitive stuff. 

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #338

• Surprising nobody, The Last Jedi wrecked at the box office on Thursday night, suggesting this weekend may be one of the biggest ever. 


• Because Star Wars weekend, USA Today ranks the other 8 flicks in the franchise. See if you agree!

For today's musical hit, we are keeping with the theme of the day, so have the Main theme from The Last Jedi by the eternal John Williams.

Today's critical rolls: NO SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS PLZ. What's on the agenda for the weekend? Does it involve The Last Jedi? Did you already see it, and love it/hate it? 

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #329

• Sexual harassment is a daily topic of discussion now, with all these allegations spilling out of various industries. But not all women can agree on what constitutes sexual harassment. This fascinating article talks about the differences between how women over 50, and how Millenial women, perceive interactions with men. 


• Fellow The Last Jedi costars break our hearts but make us laugh as they tell stories of Carrie Fisher on set in what became her last movie. We still miss you, Carrie. 

For today's musical hit, have the fabulous Lindsey Stirling and "Christmas C'mon"

Today's critical rolls: What's on the agenda for the weekend?

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #311

• The shit is just not stopping. Goddamn, Hollywood, you have a lot of roaches that are scattering with all these lights turning on. Sigh. Here goes: filmmaker Brett Ratner has been--you got it--accused of sexual harassment by six actresses. 


• Disney throws its considerable weight around just because it can, this time in the form of setting down a bunch of unusual and not-great conditions for theaters to show Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Way to go Darth Vader on an already-struggling industry, Disney. Sheesh. 

For today's musical hit, have some N.E.R.D. and Rihanna, with "Lemon"

Today's critical rolls: Happy Hump Day and All Soul's Day! Halloween is over and we're zooming right along towards the busiest shopping season! Are you a Black Friday shopper? Will you be scoping out the deals (assuming your country does Black Friday at all), or do you prefer to craft gifts perhaps?  

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #282

This is my Twitter Troll Says Wut face.

• #SWISAGIRLTHINGTOO: Because Twitter trolls continuously need reminding that they don't own geek properties, and that they can't women out of those spaces just cuz. 


• And in more sexist news: Fox sports analyst Clay Travis says something crude and gross on CNN during an interview. Welcome to Trump's America. 

For today's musical hit, it's Lorde and "Homemade Dynamite"

Today's critical rolls: Geek trolls, emirite? Tell us about your experiences with gatekeeping nonsense in your fandoms.


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #281

• We mentioned yesterday how Colin Trevorrow's firing from Episode IX of the Star Wars franchise signals that minority directors may not have much of a chance at getting a foot in the door at Lucasfilm. This article from Vulture examines why Trevorrow was ousted.


• Selena Gomez recently went public with the knowledge that her health has been great, and in this interview with People, she discusses internet haters, why she waited to go public and why she did go public, and how she's dealing with it all. It's a pretty good snapshot of the kind of stupid bullshit celebrities (and especially women, to be frank, whose bodies always seem to belong to everyone else) have to deal with because they are in the public eye.  

For today's musical hit, we have Lindsey Stirling and "Brave Enough"

Today's critical rolls: Free-For-All Thors Day! Discuss what you wish!


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #279

• Mine! is a comics anthology to benefit the long-beleaguered Planned Parenthood, an organization that is vital to serving the health needs of vulnerable communities. Check out this IO9 article about the star-studded anthology, and consider picking it up!


• IndieWire takes a look at how the Star Wars franchise, while promoting diversity in front of the camera, is having a much harder time promoting diversity behind the camera. A solid piece on why Lucasfilm is sticking to known quantities, and why that means the likelihood of a minority director is slim to none. 

For today's musical hit, we have Calvin Harris and "This Is What You Came For"

Today's critical rolls: If Lucasfilm DID pick a minority director for Episode IX, who do you think it should be? If you've got nothing in mind, here's another question for you: what do you think of JJ Abrams being back in the franchise?


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #240

• CBM has a spot-on analysis of how Vulture was cultivated as not-you-average-Marvel villain in Spider-Man: Homecoming. A solid analysis of a complex and interesting villain, easily one of Marvel's best. Spoilers abound, if you haven't seen the movie, particularly for a very important reveal in the second act that is worth being surprised for, so if you haven't seen the film but plan to, beware!


• Okay, not feminist or progressive news, but it's Friday, so let's have a fun one: Disney unveiled it's highly-anticipated sneak peek at the upcoming Star Wars land coming to both Disneyland and Hollywood Studios in 2019. This looks totally badass!

For today's musical hit, we have the old but powerful "Four Women" by Nina Simone

Today's critical rolls: It's Friday! What's on your agenda for the weekend?

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #235

Photo credit: College Humor's "Which is Nerdier" video

• In keeping with the theme of equal pay in Hollywood (as posted in yesterday's CH&M), Emma Stone tells Variety that her male co-stars have taken pay cuts so that she could receive equal pay. 


• And today in Dumb Geek News, an actual fight broke out over the debate on whether Star Trek or Star Wars is better, choke holds and all. Get a grip, nerds! It's ok to like one or the other, and it's ok if you like both! That goes for your Marvel and DC geeks too!

For today's musical hit, we have The Julie Ruin and "I'm Done."

Today's critical rolls: Star Trek or Star Wars? Marvel or DC? Hunger Games or Divergent? What do you think of competing fandoms, and have you ever encountered a rabid fan (or maybe you are one yourself!) and had to deal with it (online or in person). Let us know!


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #178

• We have feelings about this! Over the weekend at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, it was announced that the fourth season of Star Wars Rebels would be its last. EW has the story and the trailer for the final season. 


• Get out your tiny violins, folks, this one is going to require an orchestra. Last week on the reality tv show Survivor, Jeff Varner outed fellow tribe member Zeke Smith as transgender in a failed attempt to appeal to the inner transphobes in his tribe, suggesting that Smith staying in the closet was a "deception" that the tribe ought to know about (you can read that story here). In a move that strengthened my frail faith in humanity, the tribe thought Varner was a right proper asshole and kicked him off the island. Varner came out last week with a wonderfully-prepared apology that he probably paid a lot of money to some PR firm for. But this weekend we've learned that Varner has since lost his real estate job, and this Entertainment Weekly story really begs for people to feel sorry for him (you know, instead of the guy who actually got outed to millions?). Trigger warning for cishet victimhood. 

For today's musical hit, we have The Avett Brothers and "No Hard Feelings"

Today's critical rolls: Happy belated Easter! Even if you don't celebrate it for religious regions, did you do anything fun yesterday, or eat anything special?


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #105

• In this fascinating article on Buzzfeed, Syreeta McFadden discusses why dark-skinned people seem to photograph so poorly, and how it contributes to making people of color invisible in western culture. (Critical Writ staff)


• 2016 was the year the House of Mouse dominated the box office. The Verge discusses how Disney's investments (including Marvel and Star Wars) have panned out to make it the most profitable movie studio ever. (Critical Writ staff)


• Huffington Post has 10 comics that show what the polyamorous lifestyle is actually like, and fights the various misconceptions about it. (Critical Writ staff)

For today's musical hit, check out Janelle Monae's Q.U.E.E.N.:

Today's critical rolls:

Did you make a New Years resolution? Care to share? We're not interested in hearing the usual broken ones about getting in shape that everyone makes. We want to know about your unique and interesting resolutions! What are you resolving to do to make 2017 better?


— Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: don't be a salty internet warrior.

Critical Hits & Misses #101 - Mourning Edition

Photo credit

The world is in mourning today over the devastating loss of Carrie Fisher. We here at Critical Writ are broken-hearted. She wasn't simply an actress. She was a powerful, strong, beautiful, and brave woman that influenced an entire generation of girls (including many of us now blogging here). 

And later in life, she spoke out about mental health and her own problems, using her platform to bring awareness on important causes. We love you Carrie, and we shall miss you. 

The New York Times has a pretty good tribute to her here, but really you can find many tributes, all over the internet to her. 

• Ariana Grande describes a gross encounter with a fan of boyfriend Mac Miller. Said male fan disrespected her openly in front of her, and she is not having it. Come on, dudes, what the fuck?


• Boss hacker of the week: six year old girl in Arkansas uses her sleeping mom's fingerprint to get into her mom's Amazon app and purchased $250 worth of Pokemon toys for herself. 

Need a holiday from the present climate of awfulness? Thievery Corporation will take you on a journey to strange musical vistas.

Today's critical roll:

Was Carrie Fisher important to you? Why or why not? What did she mean to you?

— Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: don't be a cancerous excrescence on the Internet's insides.

Movies That Didn't Suck 2016

Yet another "Didn't Suck" list? Yes of course! This is Critical Writ's list of awesome movies for 2016! In case you missed it, we had a few samples of news earlier in the week, followed up by a mega list of kick-ass comics. Stick with us this week to also get our list of TV and Games that didn't suck in 2016.

Disney’s Moana was perfection. This animated film is about a young woman from a Polynesian island that has to answer the call of the sea to save her people. Everything about Moana is awesome from a feminist point of view: a brown woman, with lush crazy-beautiful curly dark hair, heir to the position of chieftain of the tribe, and someone who actually gets to be a hero, instead of watching someone else do things. The soundtrack to this film is gorgeous, especially with star Auli’i Cravalho’s fabulous vocals, with music by Lin-Manuel Miranda. For the last few years, Disney has been diversifying its films, and Moana was easily one of the best efforts so far. If you haven’t seen this movie, you should. (Ivonne)

It’s amazing to not only see two animated feature films from Disney in 2016, but to have both of them be amazing pieces of art and tell stories that needed to be told, is unprecedented. In addition to Moana, there's this: Zootopia takes the world of talking animals, and tells a crime story. But this isn't just any average crime drama; it tells a timely story of prejudice, both systemic and internalized. It’s brave of its creators to show one of the main characters as not only suffering from biases, but as guilty of them herself and becoming aware of her own shortcomings. That’s something we needed this year. (Dominik)

Well, it's yet another Disney movie, but we can't not include Star Wars: Rogue One on this list. If you haven’t seen this movie, what are you waiting for? This is the story of how the Rebellion obtained the plans for the Death Star that allowed them to defeat it later in Episode IV. Rogue One features a diverse cast, including a female lead, and a bunch of fabulous POCs, including Diego Luna. And a droid voiced by Alan Tudyk, which is not something you realize you need in your life until you see it. Many a critic and Star Wars fan have spoken the words that could potentially be sacrilegious: this may be the best Star Wars movie yet. Or at least as good as Empire Strikes Back. (Ivonne)

Star Trek Beyond was a pleasant surprise for me. Unlike the previous two movies in this particular version of the Star Trek universe, Beyond genuinely felt like it was crafted with fans of the original in mind. It had the original show’s heart and optimism for the future coming out of it’s ears, which I have needed in this shittiest of years. Also no gratuitous nudity. That was a nice touch. (Miz Opifex)

You might have missed this one, especially since it's barely managing to register as part of the tail end of 2016 (limited release on Dec 25, but wider release in January 2017), but you really need to see Hidden Figures. Taraji B. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae tell the real story of three black women scientists who were instrumental in NASA's first space missions. Most people have never heard of Katherine Johnson (Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Spencer), or Mary Jackson (Monae), but without these brilliant mathematicians, it's likely the US would have lost the space race. That's right, in 1962, we had three awesome black lady scientists who have mostly been obscured in American history. Hidden Figures tells their story, with powerful performances delivered by the leading ladies. (Ivonne)

As a feminist blog, it would be wrong to totally miss mentioning Ghostbusters, which caused such a fuss this year among the dudebros of the world. Incensed by the idea of ladies busting ghosts, the internet went on a hate-filled campaign to try to tank this film. It wasn't the success it deserved to be in terms of box office dollars, but as a lady-led film, it was still a damn fun time. Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon star as the Ghostbusters for a new generation, and they were pretty hilarious. Ghostbusters was by no means a perfect film, but it was well written, well acted, and as a bonus, it pissed off a lot of internet dudes. (Ivonne)



And finally... we're a geek blog, so we would be remiss to completely leave out any and all superhero movies, right? Well, not if they all sucked, or were mediocre at best. But thankfully, in a year full of Marvel (Captain America: Civil War and Dr. Strange) and DC (Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad), we have a clear winner in terms of awesome superhero movies, and it wasn't any of the ones I already mentioned. The Superhero Movie Award of 2016 clearly goes to Deadpool. Yes, it's filthy as hell, yes there are tons of off-color jokes, and yes the lead is a white guy (Ryan Reynolds), but Deadpool was hilarious and joyful and wicked fun. It helps that girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) was treated with respect despite originating as a sex worker, and that she wasn't entirely a helpless damsel. It also helps that one of Deadpool's sidekicks was badass Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), and that he lived with a blind and black lady (Leslie Uggams). So much about this movie was wrong, wrong, wrong, but so right. Most fans of the Merc with a Mouth would agree: this movie captured the character perfectly well. (Ivonne)

Did your favorite movies this year not make it on the list? Let us know what we missed in the comments!

Critical Hits & Misses #93

• Amber Heard, still in the process of divorcing Johnny Depp, has written a powerful letter on her experiences with domestic abuse, addressed to her "silent sisters" going through the same thing. Absolutely worth a read. (Ivonne)


• Star Wars: Rogue One is officially out today in the US. To celebrate, Read about how the American Nazis (we here at Critical Writ will never use the euphemistic and normalizing term "alt-right") hate Rogue One. Why do they hate Rogue One? Because white male genocide or something. Who the fuck knows. Who the fuck cares. (Critical Writ staff)

For today's musical hit, check out Childish Gambino on Jimmy Fallon, singing "Redbone."

Today's critical roll:

Are you in favor of white male genocide? Or to put the question another way: have you seen/are intending to see Rogue One? Are you totally pumped? Why or why not?


— Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: don't be a loud-mouthed Nazi asshole. Seriously, just don't.

Critical Hits & Misses #83

• Over at the Washington Post, Shamira Ibrahim discusses how today's feminism doesn't reflect the experiences of her black immigrant mother. (Ivonne)


• Speaking of feminism, Felicity Jones talks about equal pay, the f-word (no, not the 4-letter one), and Rogue One. She's a feminist and proud of it. And that makes us happy. (Critical Writ Staff)


• Are you a fan of Funko? Well apparently enough people are, that there are going to be animated shorts featuring the huge-headed collectibles! Check out the trailer for a new short featuring Funko Spidey and Funko Tony Stark, taking on Funko Loki. 

For today's musical hit, we have Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello's "Bad Things" (Ivonne)

Today's critical rolls: 1. Are you a proud feminist? Why or why not? What does feminism mean to you? Yeah, we're getting pretty deep here on a Friday!

— Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: don't be a douchecanoe.

Critical Hits and Misses #78

• Today in "Awesome Ladies You Should Know," Laura A. Parker wrote a profile for Glixel (Rolling Stone’s new awkwardly-named gaming site) on Amy Henning, Uncharted director who’s currently working for EA on a Star Wars game. (Dominik)


• And Today in "Smells Like Bullshit News," Kathleen Kennedy discusses why the massive Star Wars franchise hasn't yet hired a female director. Something something experience, because I guess there aren't female directors out there with plenty of experience already? (Ivonne)

For today's musical hit, watch Lady Gaga's "Million Reasons" live from the 2016 American Music Awards. (Ivonne)

Today's critical rolls:
1. What's the real reason we don't have lady directors of a massive franchise like Star Wars yet?

— Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: don't be an MRA asshole. 

Star Wars Rebels Recap - S03E07-08 - "Imperial Supercommandos" + "Iron Squadron"

It’s been eight episodes since the start of the season (seven, if you consider the premiere a single episode), and it’s pretty clear what the producers have building for this half of the season. They’ve been crafting a bigger Rebellion, increasing its numbers by gathering more and more allies. Now, after "Imperial Supercomandos" and "Iron Squadron", the unified resistance against Empire got even bigger.

(Spoilers beyond this point.)

Our primary focus for the two episodes are Ezra, Sabine and Ghost’s astromech droid Chopper, though the second episode features the rest of the crew more heavily. In "Imperial Supercommandos" the trio assist Fenn Rau, the leader of the Protectors of the Concord Dawn turned prisoner of the Rebels, in investigating a sudden loss of contact with his people. First introduced in the second season, Protectors were a Mandalorian (Star Wars’s "proud warrior race people") faction controlling a crucial hyperjump spot the Rebellion needed to find their new base planet. Their position and skill were so good, the Empire bribed them to keep anyone from passing near Concord Dawn. But the Imperials, being who they are, always want to take full control over everything. That’s what Fenn and the Rebels find out upon reaching his base — which they find completely destroyed. The Protectors were wiped out by other Mandalorians, ones openly and completely allied with the Empire, led by Gar Saxon. More importantly, they are of House Vizsla, Sabine’s people — in fact, her defection to the Empire is the primary reason for that alliance.

The episode definitely is setting up Sabine’s future subplot, especially with the mention of her mother, and her burgeoning rivalry with Gar over House Vizsla. It’ll be exciting to see more of it — as exciting as the episode’s action sequences. Generally speaking, the ground level fights in Rebels are not the show’s most spectacularly choreographed ones, unless they involve Force users. This time, we have Mandalorian aerial combat with jetpacks, and it’s a sight to benhold; dynamic, creative, and thrilling. It’s a damn shame we won’t see it for a while, after Sabine’s jetpack gets destroyed by the end. Sigh.

The next episode, "Iron Squadron", introduces a new group, the titular squadron. Under the impressive name hides a trio of teenagers and an astromech, fighting the Empire in a cargo ship in such a bad shape, it makes the Millennium Falcon look like a Star Destroyer. The group’s leader is Mart, revealed to be the thought dead nephew of the Rebel fleet leader, Commander Sato.

Mart and his friends start out — there’s no other way to put this — annoying as hell. They’re basically a trio of Ezras from the first season, thinking themselves a big thorn in the Empire’s side when they barely made an impact. In fact, after Thrawne sends a light cruiser to mop up any resistance in their system, they’d be dead. Thankfully, the Ghost arrives and with the help of first Sabine, Ezra and Chopper — and later the entire crew and Sato’s cruiser — everyone manages to get out safely.

The episode helps develop the thus far very static character of Commander Sato. Sato spent the entirety of last season and the previous episodes this season as the authority figure to the Ghost crew, as someone to send them on missions and react to some of their more insane plans. "Iron Squadron" gives him some depth; a brother lost to the Empire, a nephew thought lost, and what sounds like a history with Grand Admiral Thrawn. The last one especially looks like it’ll be important in future episodes.

Finally, the episode shows how far Ezra’s come since the start of the show. By contrasting him with the teen members of the Iron Squadron, we can appreciate his development. Especially after his short speech, during which he attempts to convince them to leave with the Ghost. The words "How we choose to fight is just as important as what we fight for" sound like something Hera and Kanan would say to him in the earlier episodes. The kid, and the show, have come a long and satisfying way.

And now, an announcement: as of next week, I will be leaving the coverage of the show in more competent hands. As much as I love the show and the Star Wars universe, I’m not an expert in it, which I think could be felt in the previous posts. Thus, I leave in the Stephanie Maynard’s hands, and can’t wait to read her reviews. I’ll see you in other recaps.

Dominik Zine is a nerdy demisexual lad from northeastern Poland and is generally found in a comfy chair with a book in hand.

Star Wars Rebels Recap - S03E06 - "The Last Battle"

Like I mentioned last week, I may not have watched the entirety of Clone Wars, but I dabbled. Thanks to that, I knew the importance of Rebels reintroducing Captain Rex, a major clone character from its predecessor. Sadly after around the midpoint of last season, he started falling to the sidelines, reappearing only once in a while. Thankfully, "The Last Battle" returns him to the fold, with a whole episode devoted to him.

(Spoilers beyond this point.)

The Ghost is on a salvage run, seeking resources for the Rebellion. To cover more ground, they split up: Hera and Sabine take the ship to a fuel station, while the rest remains on an old Separatist outpost to search for weapons and ships. They find some, and a still active Separatist battle droid battalion, unaware of the end of the Clone Wars. Once their leader, the hyper-intelligent tactical droid General Kamali, realizes the war is over, he decides to use his captives to prove once and for all who would win the conflict.

It’s actually nice to see the droids again; the prequels are, for the most part, justly maligned, but they’re still a part of the Star Wars canon. Yet, a few connections aside, it often feels like they and the original trilogy are two separate parts of the canon. So it’s nice to see the return of the droids and, once the Empire enters the arena (forcing everyone to work together), to watch them interact with Stormtroopers. For a while, it feels like it’s all part of the same Galaxy. And the episode doubles down on it, providing us with one last Clone Wars — the previous series in miniature.

It also finally uses Rex to his full extent, with his droid counterpart, Kalani. Both are veterans of the same conflict and both want to prove once for all who would’ve won. But Kalani never stopped fighting, unaware until now that the war ended, and focused on analyzing from the data he had how the conflict would end. Rex, on the other hand, has it worse. While able to avoid following Order 66, Rex was still discarded by the Empire that took the Republic’s place; a being built and programmed for war, trying to find his own identity. His muscle memory is intact, but psychologically, he’s all over the place, practically living through a PTSD flashback. It’s a bit of a shame we never get to delve deeper, but it is a 20-minute episode of a show aimed at kids, so it’s somewhat understandable.

The episode ends with both sides working together to survive an Imperial attack force, and with Kalani’s droids leaving the Ghost crew on somewhat friendly terms. It’s a pleasant ending, I only wish the execution was better, as it hinges on Ezra being able to deduce from very limited information he had that the Emperor manipulated both the Republic and the Separatist in his goal to create the Empire. It’s very flimsy, and it all seems to be in the service of crediting him with "ending the Clone Wars." Still, it’s a minor flaw in an otherwise terrific episode.

The show is taking a break this week, so there won’t be a new recap next week. The next episode after the break is "Imperial Supercommandos." I’ll see you then.

Dominik Zine is a nerdy demisexual lad from northeastern Poland and is generally found in a comfy chair with a book in hand.

Star Wars Rebels Recap - S03E05 - "Hera's Heroes"

At the end of last week’s Rebels recap, I mentioned "Hera’s Heroes" will continue the trend of episodes focusing on non-Jedi Ghost crewmates. And that’s true but it’s also connected to the season-long main plot.

(Spoilers beyond this point.)

The Ghost arrives with another supply mission to Hera’s homeworld, the Twi’lek planet Ryloth, and its crew finds out a lot has changed since their last visit. The previously incompetent Imperial Captain Slaven has started showing surprising strategic skills, which allowed him to capture, among others, Hera’s home province. More importantly to her, the Kalikori, a traditional Twi’lek family heirloom and her only remaining link to her mother, has been lost to Slaven. With her friends’ help, Hera takes it upon herself to retrieve it.

This is the third Hera-focused episode since season 2 started exploring its non-Jedi characters and their backstories. "Wings of the Master" tested her pilot skills to their limits; "Homecoming" dealt with her past with her father, Cham Syndulla (a returning Clone Wars character). This time, the show shines more of a spotlight on her connection to her family.

This is explored upon by her desire to retrieve the Kalikori. It’s a traditional Twi’lek totem, representing its family’s history, with each generation adding a new piece of art to the whole – resembling Earth heritage quilts in that regard. The Syndulla Kalikori was important to Hera’s mom, and with her gone, the Ghost’s captain is determined to get it back.

But that’s not exactly easy, as the characters finally meet their new antagonist and the architect behind Slaven’s new strategic achievements – Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn once again proves his superior intellect by quickly realizing the Rebels have infiltrated his headquarters in the Syndulla home and by deducing Hera’s identity. She is visibly more disgusted by him then Slaven; the latter is openly xenophobic, but the man’s a complete moron (in fact, it’s amazing he was promoted to the rank of a Captain). Thrawn meanwhile fetishizes Twi’lek culture and art, treating Hera herself as a work of art to be admired, and the Kalikori as another piece in his collection, explaining his treatment as a method of "honoring" it, while ignoring its value in the Twi’lek culture. It’s a more subtle form of racism than Slaven’s, but racism nonetheless. No wonder Hera would rather destroy the Kalikori than let it fall into his hands.

This is a neat foreshadowing of how she manages to escape Imperial clutches with Ezra and Chopper. When Slaven sets up a trap – with Thrawn as the brains, obviously – for Cham Syndulla in exchange for Hera’s freedom, she comes up with a plan to distract the Imperials by blowing her entire family home up. She’s able to let go of the past in order to protect her current family – the /Ghost/ crew.

Next time, we’ll cover "The Last Battle," an episode with connections to The Clone Wars. I’ll see you then.

Dominik Zine is a nerdy demisexual lad from northeastern Poland and is generally found in a comfy chair with a book in hand.

Star Wars Rebels Recap - S03E04 - "The Antilles Extraction"

Episodes showcasing main Rebels characters that aren’t Ezra and Kanan are always a welcome change of pace. And since Dave Filoni mentioned multiple times during the hiatus that Sabine Wren would get more focus this season, it’s about time she got one of her own.

(Spoilers beyond this point.)

The Rebellion is losing pilots and after the recent failed attempt at a relief mission, their need for them only grows. Luckily, a few cadets from the Skystrike Academy would like to defect. The mission to retrieve them falls to Sabine, Ghost’s Mandalorian demolitions expert. Sabine once was an Imperial cadet, and is the natural choice for the task, with Ezra, Kanan and Chopper acting as support and an exit strategy.

Sabine started out as one of the series’ most disliked characters. Aside from the usual misogynistic jerks who don’t like any female character that isn’t a window dressing, a vocal number of Star Wars fans were outraged at the creators taking a Mandalorian – the universe’s proud warrior race – and giving a bright personality with love of art. Since then, it seems that most of them warmed up to her, and a lot of that comes down to the character simply being awesome. She’s both a skilled action girl and a fun character. We get more proof of that this episode, after the mission (inevitably) goes south. Captured in a room with Governor Pryce and two Stormtroopers, she easily takes down the latter two, defeats the former and manages to free the captured cadets.

This includes Wedge Antilles, the character the episodes is named after. After the Disney takeover and leaving behind the entirety of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, the biggest problem that came with that choice was that a number of popular characters and storylines technically didn’t exist anymore. This is slowly being fixed, Rebels already brought back Thrawn (with more on the way), and if the rumors of a post-Return of the Jedi series are true, it’s likely the same will happen with Mara Jade. Hopefully.

Wedge never had that problem. He was introduced in A New Hope, the very first movie, where he was the only survivor (except Luke Skywalker) of the X-Wing attack on the Death Star. Since then, he’s been one of the fan-favorites, a sort of proto-Poe Dameron with a number of books dedicated to him and fellow Rogue Squadron members. But despite being the universe’s fixture, he never really got a backstory of how he joined the Rebellion. The episode fixes that by making him an ex-transport pilot recruited by the Imperials, who, along with two friends, became disturbed by the increasing radicalization of the Empire.

Sadly, one of them dies, and frustratingly, it’s the trio’s only Black guy, Rake. In fact, he’s the first named character to die in this episode. It’s terribly annoying to praise a series for its writing on its Asian female character, only for it to pull a tired old trope like this. You can do better, creators!  I’ve seen it.

Ignoring that misstep, it was a fun episode, as it’s generally the case when Rebels decides to focus on one of its non-Jedi characters. And we’ll be getting another one next week, in "Hera’s Heroes." I’ll see you then.

Dominik Zine is a nerdy demisexual lad from northeastern Poland and is generally found in a comfy chair with a book in hand.