Growing Up Skywalker

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...

We finish Revenge of the Sith — the sweeping conclusion to the Prequel Era — with big feelings on Order 66 and the end of the Jedi Order, big love for beloved characters, and big thoughts on the cyclical story of Star Wars. As the Empire takes power in Revenge of the Sith, the galaxy is plunged into darkness. But is the sun setting or rising for our favorite characters? In our character study, we...

Another happy landing! This week, we’re army-crawling to the finish line of the Prequel Era. In our recap of Revenge of the Sith (Part One), we talk about the gorgeous visuals, tight plotting, absolutely delightful banter and compelling themes of Star Wars’ final prequel film. We talk about Anakin and Obi-Wan vanquishing their ultimate foes, R2 disassembling Grievous’s droid army, Palpatine’s comp...

Begun, the Clone War has! This week, we’re rewatching Attack of the Clones in all of its magnificent sprawl. We talk all about the rewards of a second watch-through after seeing the Clone Wars TV show, the huge differences in production between The Phantom Menace and Attack, the weirdness between Anakin and Obi-Wan, the iconic Yoda/Dooku duel. We have lots of thoughts about Padme and Anakin. And y...

Start your engines! Just in time for the Boonta Eve Classic, we’re getting back to our roots with a rewatch of The Phantom Menace. A lot has changed since we watched Phantom on the first two episodes of Growing Up Skywalker (and we have, too!). Our recap centers on the viewers we used to be versus the watchers we are today. We talk about how our perceptions of the main quartet — Anakin, Qui-Gon, P...

The Siege of Mandalore has begun — not with a bang, but with many. And also, Ahsoka somersaulting into Sundari, backlit by the carnage she has caused. This is some of the best action of Star Wars, and it is DELIGHTFUL. “Old Friends Not Forgotten” and “The Phantom Apprentice” (TCW 7.9–10) form the first part of the Siege of Mandalore Arc, which blends the action in the Clone Wars with the events of...

Season 7 of the Clone Wars only has three arcs, and we finished up the second by recapping 7.3–4, “On the Wings of Keeradaks” and “Unfinished Business.” The second half of the Bad Batch arc isn’t nearly as much fun as the first. Echo has to regain the trust of everyone around him (and find trust in himself). Rex has to carry his guilt over leaving a man behind. And Anakin has to face the fact that...

The Bad Batch is the Best Batch and that’s canon. This week, we recapped the phenomenal first half of the Bad Batch Arc (The Clone Wars 7.1–2, “The Bad Batch” and “A Distant Echo”). Anna cried, Sam mused, and we laughed a LOT. The Bad Batch are an elite special forces squad of “defective” clones with “desirable mutations.” In other words, they are fantastic — and different from Rex and Cody, who t...

The second half of the Martez Sisters Arc (The Clone Wars 7.7–8, “Dangerous Debt” and “Together Again”) has us debating the thorniest ethics questions around. But like, in a fun way. This arc sees Ahsoka, Rafa and Trace escaping from the Pyke prison — again — and again — and again. While their dashing escapes are foiled, we get to catch up with some old faves: Bo-Katan and the Nite Owls, that rand...

Do you ever have days when you just want to be part of a cool trio of BIPOC female minor criminals, and it’s just not working out that great for you? Ahsoka does! In the Martez Sisters Arc, Part 1 (The Clone Wars 7.5–6, “Gone with a Trace” and “Deal No Deal”) we find out what Ahsoka’s been up to for the last minute or two — trying to keep a disreputable minor crime-lord and her sister out of troub...

Season 6 of The Clone Wars ends not with a bang, but with a sigh of surrender — and hope for a different kind of victory. In the Yoda’s Journey Arc (TCW 6.11–13, “Voices,” “Destiny,” and “Sacrifice”) we follow Yoda from Coruscant to Dagobah, to the heart of the universe, and then finally to Moraband, the ancient homeworld of the Sith. His quest takes him through every step of the Hero’s Journey in...

In which the Jedi Council remembers they never bothered to have a funeral for Sifo-Dyas. We jest. “The Lost One” (The Clone Wars 6.10) is a dense and beautiful foreshadowing for the events of Revenge of the Sith. It also gives us a seven-layer tiramisu of MYSTERIES. Why did Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas have to die? Why did Dooku care about him at all? And what was the relationship between them? Also, who...

In the glorious Disappeared Arc of the Clone Wars, Jar Jar gets to be a love interest…the hero of the galaxy…and the one who gets the girl. Oh, Mace Windu is there, too. The Disappeared Arc (The Clone Wars 6.8–9, “The Disappeared, Part One” and “The Disappeared, Part Two”) introduces us to the Dagoyan Masters of Bardotta, ancient mystics who are estranged from the Jedi Order. But their mystics are...

Guess who’s back, back again? The Right Honorable Rush Clovis — except he’s wrong, and dishonorable, and wrecking not just Anakin and Padmé’s marriage but also the GALAXY’S ENTIRE BANKING SYSTEM. In our recap of the Rush Clovis Arc (The Clone Wars 6.5–7, "An Old Friend", "The Rise of Clovis,” and "Crisis at the Heart”) we talk about why the Clone Wars chose to tell another economic story, and figu...

In which we discuss how Fives revealed the entire Sith ascension plan to some of the most powerful people in the galaxy…….and they didn’t listen. The end of the Conspiracy Arc (The Clone Wars 6.3–4, “Fugitive” and “Orders”) shows us how the truth dies: in a dark office, with Chancellor Palpatine gaslight/gatekeep/girlbossing you for all you’re worth. In this arc, we follow Fives’ desperate scrambl...

The first episodes of Season 6 of The Clone Wars (6.1–2, “The Unknown” and “Conspiracy”) tell us exactly why the Clone Wars exist. And that’s just the BEGINNING. In our recap, we talk about how Anna forgot Order 66 happened (but alas, social media exists). We deliver a treatise on why Fives is The Best, how this episode is a storytelling Russian nesting doll, and what the inhibitor chips really st...