Growing Up Skywalker

Smuggler? Such a small word. He’s more of a…galactic entrepreneur.  This week, our episodes (Rebels S1, 11–12, “Idiot’s Array” and “Vision of Hope”) feature special guest and major scamp LANDO CALRISSIAN. We also meet the strawberry-shaped/ strawberry-slurping merchant of questionable morality, Azmorigan, and hang out with exiled senator Gall Trayvis. Hera punches every single one of them, and eve...

This week’s episode is all about elaborate Padawan training rituals, bonding with monsters through the Force, and surviving being a 15-year-old boy. We. Are. All. About it! “Gathering Forces” takes Ezra and Kanan back to the moon where Sabine and Hera were almost eaten by dragons—and forces Ezra to confront a deep fear. Then, immediately in the next episode, “Path of the Jedi,” he has to confront...

You know how Anna’s spent the last month begging for more Spectre backstories? Well, “Out of Darkness” and “Empire Day” (Rebels S1, episodes 7–8) deliver them in a big way. In this week’s recap, we talk about Ezra’s tragic backstory, Sabine’s time as a cadet on Mandalore, and Hera and Kanan meeting. We also dive deep into the tyranny, propaganda, consent, and control strategies the Empire deploys—...

Welcome to Halloween in August. This week’s Rebels episodes are a spooky bunch. “Rise of the Old Masters” and “Breaking Ranks” (Season 1, episodes 5–6) take us to a remote fortress called the Spire where Luminara Unduli is being held captive, and the inside of the Imperial child soldier academy. They’re callbacks to classic Clone Wars plotlines: the Rako Hardeen arc, Boba Fett infiltrating Tipoca...

This is Commander Meiloorun speaking. Rebels is very silly and we love it very much. We’re a little later than normal this week due to updated podcast guidelines from SAG-AFTRA in light of the writer and actor strike. But, we are able to be in your earbuds this week with a recap of Rebels Season 1, episodes 3–4, “Droids in Distress” and “Fighter Flight.”  In our recap, we talk about how Rebels hol...

Get in fam, it’s time for the Rebels pilot!  We’ve finally arrived at Sam’s favorite Star Wars show—Rebels. This week, we recap the double-header pilot, “Spark of Rebellion,” which originally premiered in 2014 as an hour-long movie. We talk about the critical reception Rebels received when it premiered versus its reputation now, which is a show for true fans. We also talk about the expansion of th...

The Obi-Wan Kenobi finale is a SWAN SONG to Star Wars. It teaches us about the Force, about being an avatar of the Light, about friendship and love, and when it’s time to be a warrior (versus when it’s time to go back to grad school). In our recap, we talk about the role of love in catalyzing Obi-Wan to finish his duel with Darth Vader. We discuss which characters got a hello in this series, and w...

We loved Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part V so. gosh. dang. much. And not for entirely uncomplicated reasons. Our recap centered on discussions of the series’ two most powerful women: Tala and Reva. We used this episode as a way to process not just the death of a compelling female character, but Star Wars’ long, long history of killing off (almost all of) its compelling female characters. In the case of Part...

Obi-Wan Kenobi, Part IV is tense, beautifully shot, and full of Easter eggs.  In our recap this week, we talk about the MANY different kinds of violence threaded through the episode, from Tala’s martial arts moves to Obi-Wan firing up his lightsaber again to the casual violence of Imperial reign. We also talk about rooting for Reva (even though we’re not supposed to), job security for the Inquisit...

What makes the darkest episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi (so far) tick? Exquisite world-building, delicious power dynamics, and a real contribution to Star Wars’ anti-fascism agenda. Also, some capital-D drama courtesy of capital-D Darth Vader. Obi-Wan Kenobi Part III takes us into Vader’s inner world—one where he’s spent 10 years planning revenge on his former master. We get to see what that revenge look...

Our recap of Obi-Wan Kenobi: Part II centers on Inquisitors—but we also talk about the Sith, the light side of the Force, and truly terrible bosses. Part II brings us to Daiyu, which is cyberpunk Coruscant and is DELIGHTFUL. We get to see Obi-Wan’s best Breaking Bad impression, the immediate father/daughter chemistry between him and Leia, and his bone-deep fear of using the Force again.  But mostl...

Obi-Wan Kenobi, Part I opens on a broken man. But it looks like he’s not going to stay that way. This week, we had the inestimable Kathleen Wass from The FSF Popcast on our show to talk all things Kenobi: from Inquisitors and seeing a full-strength Vader to raising an absolute firecracker of a 10-year-old. We talked about whether this show resonates differently for veteran fans and new ones, how I...

We asked a provocative question in our show this week: Should Solo be the first Star Wars movie a brand-new fan watches? There aren’t any Jedi in Solo—or even any Force users—but it’s a Star Wars story that shows a very familiar (and very fun!) side of the galaxy. Star Wars isn’t just about galactic duels between good and evil. It’s also about space heists, found family, and pushing the limits of...

The world wasn’t ready for Solo: A Star Wars Story when it premiered in 2018. But we contend it’s the perfect Star Wars movie for 2023. In our recap of the first half of Solo, we talk about the critical reception this movie got—probably TOO critical, since it’s a romp and it’s absolutely delightful. We talk about growing up as a scrumrat on Corellia, Qi’ra’s ascent to a position as top lieutenant...

It’s Bad Batch Season 2 finale time. Now entering the first stage of grief (denial). “The Summit” and “Plan 99” (The Bad Batch Season 2, Episodes 15–16) form the elegant, muted, devastating conclusion to the second season of the Bad Batch. It’s a good thing we’re moving through Star Wars chronologically and behind Disney’s release schedule 100% of the time, because if we didn’t know there was a Se...

Brb, retiring on Pabu.  This week, we recap Bad Batch in Paradise: “Pabu” and “Tipping Point” (Season 2, Episodes 13–14). The Batch takes a well-deserved tropical vacation, eating sushi and combating natural disasters, while Crosshair fights his way out of an interrogation chamber to warn them that the Empire is coming for Omega.  In our discussion, we talk about what to do during a tsunami, how C...

Alexa, play “Taps.”  “Metamorphosis” and “The Outpost” (The Bad Batch Season 2, Episodes 11–12) are the darkest Batch episodes yet. As the Batch scavenges a downed cruiser and Crosshair makes an icy trek across Barton-IV, the past comes back to haunt them: from cloned horrors of yesteryear, to the planned obsolescence of the clone army, to Crosshair’s bad decisions. In our recap, we talk about Emp...

Get in, King Katuunko heads, we’re going to Space Arizona! Our recap of “The Crossing” and “Retrieval” (The Bad Batch S2, 9–10) takes us to the slot canyons of Sedona—sorry, Ipsidon—where the Bad Batch is besieged by lightning, thunder, explosions, theft, gravity, and a herd of space gazelles. They also confront the evils of capitalism, and convince a bunch of kid miners to unionize.  In our recap...

Hold onto your tear ducts, friends, because we have a one-two punch of emotional walloping for you.  “The Clone Conspiracy” and “Truth and Consequences” (The Bad Batch Season 2, Episodes 7–8) are a glorious callback to everything Clone Wars. We spend both episodes on Coruscant (including in Trace and Rafa Martez’s garage), hang out with Senator Chuchi and disgraced Senator Burtoni, see bureaucrats...

There’s nothing in common between “Entombed” and “Tribe” (The Bad Batch S2, Episodes 5–6) except for the adults being great role models, and that’s okay. “Entombed” charts us a path through an Indiana Jones homage, complete with puzzle rooms, treasure maps, and unethical archaeology, plus some DEEP Star Wars lore. We get to spend time with pirate queen Phee, and see Omega become the #1 best treasu...

“The Solitary Clone” and “Faster” (The Bad Batch S2, Ep. 3–4) are such beautiful love letters to the prequel era that we forgot we weren’t watching The Clone Wars for a second.  In our recap, we talk about the many blasts from the past we get in these episodes: podracing (!!!!), callbacks to the Funding the War Arc with Mina Bonteri, hanging out with Commander Cody, more emotional trauma in front...

The Batch is back, back again! In the SEASON 2 PREMIERE (!!!) we talk about war, peace, love, death, capitalism, exploitation, and Count Dooku’s tragic backstory. Also, everybody’s sweet new character designs. “Spoils of War” and “Ruins of War” smash-open Season 2 of The Bad Batch with business as usual. Except…business is about to get unusual. In a few months, Cid predicts that the Empire will be...

It’s finale time! The final episode of Bad Batch Season 1 sees the Batch literally (or, well, at least figuratively) reborn in fire and blood, shot straight out of the test tubes that grew them back into the world for a second chance at life. We talk about the finale, “Kamino Lost,” and also discuss Season 1’s themes: purpose, togetherness, liberty vs. order, fascism, and whether or not you unders...

The first two episodes of the Bad Batch Season 1 finale (“War-Mantle” and “Return to Kamino,” Episodes 14–15) are just as thrilling as you might expect. What you might not expect is to be a little heartbroken by their revelations. These episodes pit Hunter and Crosshair together like two magnetic poles, each fighting for the direction the Bad Batch will go. We see a new kind of Imperial army formi...

We said “Reunion” was the best episode of S1 of The Bad Batch. Then we said it about “Devil’s Deal.” And now we’re saying it again about “Rescue on Ryloth” (S1, Episode 12) because holy shiznibblets!! This week, we’re recapping “Rescue on Ryloth” and “Infested,” which is pretty unfair to “Infested,” tbh. (But it does have some thoughts on trust fund babies, which are always appreciated.) We follow...