Growing Up Skywalker

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...

The Bad Batch becomes the Syndulla Show in mid-to-late S1 and that is fantastic and we are fangirling so hard. “Common Ground” and “Devil’s Deal” (The Bd Batch Season 1, Episodes 10–11) are mirror images of each other, each giving us a front row seat to the Empire taking over the galaxy. But coups, curfews, military occupation, civilian disarmament, and forcible manipulation of political figures a...

This week, we're excited to bring you a Crossover Connection special. Instead of us, this week you can listen to the phenomenal FSF Popcast interview of Anna Graves (aka Duchess Satine from The Clone Wars). We are obsessed with Anna Graves and we are obsessed with the FSF Popcast: your one-stop shop for all things nerdy (and never dirty). Notes from The FSF Popcast: Episode 31 - The Duchess of Man...

Once you hit the middle of Season 1 of The Bad Batch (“Reunion” and “Bounty Lost,” episodes 8–9) the hits start coming and they don’t stop coming. We get revelations about Omega’s origins, a terrible run-in with a former friend, and a knock-down, drag-out fight between two legendary bounty hunters. The stakes are high, but we laughed a LOT and loved these episodes for their drama, their cinematic...

The Bad Batch is officially a show about parenting and we’re okay with that. In “Decommissioned” and “Battle Scars” (The Bad Batch Season 1, Episodes 6–7) we get the good, the bad, and the unintentional, as far as parenting goes. Good: Hunter rescuing Omega from a lava-fired slag pit in a droid decommissioning factory. Bad: Wrecker’s inhibitor chip finally snapping him into an Order 66-fueled fugu...

We cackled our way through a recap of “Cornered” and “Rampage” (The Bad Batch S1, Ep. 4–5) because the Bad Batch is FUN, y’all. This week, we talk about the new reality the Bad Batch faces: no snacks, no gas, no summer job. And also, their ship is on a watchlist and there’s a smoky-eyed bounty hunter after Omega. The Bad Batch has to play hot potato with their young protege across the entire city...

Good soldiers follow orders, but we’re just following the Bad Batch (with heart eyes) as we continue our Season 1 recap! “Cut and Run” and “Replacements” (The Bad Batch S1, Ep. 2–3) continue to illuminate a changing galaxy. The Empire is rolling out chain codes to register and track citizens, sending elite forces to wipe out insurrectionists, and scheming to make the former Republic’s clone troope...

And we’re back! We return from our holiday hiatus with a brand new phase for the podcast, a brand-new series, and a brand-new galaxy for our heroes to survive. The 70-minute pilot episode of The Bad Batch, “Aftermath,” smash-opens with another view of Order 66 (like we needed to suffer this pain again). Then we follow the Bad Batch as they navigate a changing galaxy — one that isn’t exactly giving...

In another glorious stroke of in-universe chronology meeting up with the Star Wars release schedule, we got to watch Tales of the Jedi (Ahsoka’s Tale) this week! We recapped Chapters 1, 5 and 6 (“Life and Death,” “Practice Makes Perfect,” and “Resolve”) and cried a LOT. In our discussion, we talked about how these episodes give Ahsoka a natural continuation of the Martez Sisters arc from S7 of The...

For the first time ever, Growing Up Skywalker’s chronological walkthrough lines up with something Star Wars recently released…Tales of the Jedi! This week, we talked about Dooku’s Tale: Chapters 2, 3 and 4 (“Justice,” “Choices,” and “The Sith Lord”). We go chapter-by-chapter, discussing Dooku’s genuine love for Qui-Gon, the trauma of being a young person having to watch out for the adults in your...

It’s really here — the end of The Clone Wars. In our recap of the final episodes of The Clone Wars (7.11–12, “Shattered” and “Victory and Death”) we talk about tragedy, betrayal, and the power move of asking a bunch of mischievous astromech droids to help you throw an entire cruiser into chaos. Most importantly, we talk about seeing Ahsoka fully mature into her powers — and deprogramming herself f...