Star Wars 7x7: A Daily Bite-Sized Dose of Star Wars Joy

Is the whole Jedi Order to blame for the terrible events on Brendok 16 years ago? Or does the fault fall squarely on the shoulders of any one Jedi? Probably only Kelnacca gets away clean on this one, as we discuss this and reflect on Anakin parallel's, too. Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been making it for nearl...

The big Disney D23 event takes place August 9-11. So far, there's precious little in terms of Lucasfilm/Star Wars representation there. We'll discuss what we know, and speculate about how a lone person's appearance really stands out...  Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been making it for nearly ten years: https://...

Did The Acolyte really fall out of the Top 10 shows? Depends on who you ask, and how you measure. I'm bringing all the receipts in our first Jedi Business episode related to The Acolyte, and the results indicate that the show's doing just fine. Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been making it for nearly ten years:...

Overall I'm enjoying The Acolyte and I'm excited for the finale. But episode 7 cemented a concern I've had since episode 3, with how the show was described for us in pre-release interviews versus how it's unfolded so far. I'm examining this in light of how Lucasfilm handled previous live-action TV seasons today...  Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can sup...

"Choice" is the 7th and penultimate episode of The Acolyte season 1, and as expected, we revisit the events on Brendok 16 years ago. Our 7-takeaway breakdown will focus on the new and tragic things we learn about what went down that fateful night...  Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been making it for nearly ten y...

"The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire" by Dr. Chris Kempshall is not just a compelling examination of its topic. It's also an unexpectedly moving portrait of its in-universe author, Beaumont Kin, grappling with his place in galactic history. Our book review is on tap today...  Punch it! (Thanks very much to the nice folks at DK who sent me a copy of the book to read in advance of its publicati...

It's one thing for Qimir to refer to himself as a "Sith." But is he, potentially, a full-on "Sith Lord"? There's evidence for that, which we'll consider on today's show. And if that's the case, then there's even more trouble to come for the Jedi...   Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been making it for nearly ten y...

10 years ago today, Star Wars 7x7 went live on iTunes (now Apple Podcasts) and a few other podcast apps you'd never heard of. Today, we're looking back at this crazy journey for just a few minutes... (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been making it for nearly ten years: https://patreon.com/sw7x7) ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subsc...

The interactions between Osha and Qimir don't start off as a seduction, but by the end of "Teach/Corrupt," it's pretty clear that it's more than just the dark side of the Force that Qimir is working - and the audio description for this Acolyte episode only emphasizes that aspect. Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's b...

Ohsa says Force powers fade without Jedi training. Qimir says not if you tap into emotions like anger and desire. They're both telling half-truths, and only from certain points of view. Let's dig into this on our Acolyte-related deep dive episode. Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been making it for nearly ten year...

"Teach/Corrupt" is episode six of The Acolyte, and it's setting us up for a retelling of the Brendok events, as well as some startling reveals and reversals in advance of the season finale. Our 7-takeaway breakdown is here...  Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been making it for nearly ten years: https://patreon.co...

The first scenes with Amidala and Palpatine together on Coruscant bring the politics of the Galactic Republic to light. But in truth, the entirely of The Phantom Menace - from a certain point of view, at least - is the most political of all of George Lucas' Star Wars movies. Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been m...

The Jedi have been catching a bit of heat on the podcast recently because of The Acolyte. In thinking about The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon Jinn was pretty cavalier about not being on Tatooine to free slaves. But does he deserve the heat, too? Maybe not...  Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been making it for nearly te...

The Acolyte ends, and we look forward to what's next! It's our monthly preview of what's to come in Star Wars storytelling, and though July 2024 is a comparatively light month, there are a couple big things to look out for. Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been making it for nearly ten years: https://patreon.com/s...

We're pulling another of Kelly Knox's Star Wars Conversation Cards, and this one is an uncomfortable one, but I'm not shying away from it. Imagine you're in the Cave of Evil on Dagobah - what will you see in there? I'll go first...  Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been making it for nearly ten years: https://patr...

Maybe, from a certain point of view, the Jedi are in fact the bad guys of The Acolyte. Certainly "The Stranger" is, any which way you look at it. But as far as the Jedi go, the case is building on the foundation George Lucas laid out in the prequel trilogy and the Clone Wars. Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been...

A mystery revealed, and yet a mystery deepens! What does it mean that Qimir has been revealed as - Darth Qimir, maybe? Is he actually a Sith, or just an adherent to the philosophy? Does he have a master, or is he a rogue agent? We'll consider the possibilities on today's deep dive show related to The Acolyte episode 5, "Night." Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month...

It was shocking, action-packed, and paid off a month of build-up. "Night" is the second half of the Khofar episodes of "The Acolyte," and I think I didn't breathe for half of it. Our 7-takeaway breakdown episode is on tap today...  Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been making it for nearly ten years: https://patre...

We're reached the midway point of The Acolyte Season 1, which is creating a compelling portrait of the Jedi Order at the brink of its 100-year descent into ruin. And while the plot seems to have already revealed most of its surprises, a couple of twists and the Stranger's appearance suggest there's a lot of excitement left. Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, yo...

The Jedi Order as a politically aware group, with political (non-Sith) "enemies" and a desire to cover up events and situations that reflect badly on them, is not a new idea in Star Wars. On today's deep dive related to The Acolyte, we'll discuss previously depicted Jedi cover-ups in the prequels and previous High Republic media. Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each mon...

"Day" divides the first half of The Acolyte season one from a likely "Night" start to the second half. It's an in-betweener episode where we set up the chess pieces for the next big move, while sharing character developments, conflicts, and reversals. Our 7-takeaway show is here... Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's...

In the last of seven episodes where I've been reflecting on my journey as a Star Wars podcaster over the last ten years, I'm considering the idea of whether we have been, and are still, living in a golden age of Star Wars storytelling. Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the independent creator who's been making it for nearly ten years: https://p...

The old Expanded Universe covered tens of thousands of years of Star Wars history - and then got rebooted out of existence. Now, after ten years with the new canon, Star Wars storytelling has finally moved outside its previous 60-ish year window - and it's led to some of the most dynamic new storytelling in the franchise. Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you...

I'm continuing to reflect on 10 years of Star Wars podcasting, this time considering the topic of family. Family - found family especially - has been at the heart of Star Wars, and has been an area where I could have done more, been more, and experienced more with fellow podcasters and fans over the years. Punch it! (Enjoy the show? For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can support the...

Star Wars was largely a white cishet game in the OT era, and although some strides were made in the PT era, they weren't that significant. The ST era, on the other hand, has been leaps and bounds better, and although there's still a ways to go, the new voices, perspectives, and representation in Star Wars has been incredibly refreshing, and helped reinvigorate the franchise. Punch it!  (Enjoy the...