Dave Filoni Talks The “Chosen One” and the Kenobi vs. Maul Duel in Rebels: Twin Suns!

SPOILERS FOR TWIN SUNS

 

The latest episode of Star Wars Rebels, was an incredible piece of canon, and has serious repercussions for the universe as a whole. We saw an end to an iconic character from the prequels, we finally saw an older Obi-Wan in the desert becoming stronger in the force. There are certainly a lot of questions, and there’s only one person who can provide some insight on what the motivations and background for the big changes, and obviously its the creator of Rebels, Dave Filoni. In a brand new interview with io9, Filoni dives deep into where Obi-Wan is at this point, the fight between Kenobi and Maul, who the “Chosen One is and a lot more, and its absolutely fascinating.

 

 

One of the most surprising aspects of the episode was just how short the actual showdown between old Ben Kenobi and Maul was. Every single preview for the episode built up to this epic moment between two old adversaries and many, like me, were expecting a long and epic battle in the desert. In about three short moves Kenobi kills Maul and the battle is over just like that. Filoni goes into great detail about the thought process behind the choice to make it the quick battle, as well as where he found inspiration for it. He compares Obi-Wan to the aster swordsman, Kyuzo, in the classic Japanese film Seven Samurai saying

 

“I felt strongly Obi-Wan, if he could help it, would really rather not kill Darth Maul. Obi-Wan is at a point, in my mind, where he’s become rather enlightened. He’s been in the desert discovering who he is, really evolving as a character. He’s not that young brash kid that went into a fight with Maul out of anger for the fact his master was killed. It can’t be that same situation this is so many years later. Maul, for his part, is pretty much hung up on that exact moment. That’s where his life went wrong. He can’t let it go.”

 

 

This battle between Obi-Wan and Maul also represents the main differences between the Jedi and the Sith

 

“It really is to express the difference between the Jedi and the Sith. Which is the Jedi become selfless and the Sith remain selfish. When pressed, because Obi-Wan is protecting someone else in the end, he does fight. But because he is so true and knows who he is in that moment, you can’t defeat that. So Obi-Wan is going to strike down Maul because Maul is such a broken and lost person, which I think is why in the end you see Maul being cradled by Obi-Wan.

This idea is that Obi-Wan is willing to forgive this person who is so cruel and terrible because he feels pity for him. To his dying breath Maul is hoping there will be some revenge exacted upon his enemies. And in my mind, Obi-Wan expresses sadness there because that means that Maul has never grown and will never be released from his suffering. So I felt that moment had to be beyond a lightsaber fight and had to be more an expression of their characters.”

 

 

One of my favorite revelations from the interview is the similarities between how Maul killed Qui-Gon, and how he attempted to kill Kenobi. It shows actual growth since they fought all those years ago on Naboo. Here Obi-Wan has become this enlightened Jedi who is ready to move on and forgive, while Maul is still using his old tricks to try and defeat him. It plays into the old school samurai movies that inspired George Lucas,

 

“Maul tries to get Obi-Wan with a very similar move as he gets Qui-Gon. Which is he blocks and uses the blunt of his hilt to smack Qui-Gon in the face. So I had Maul try to do the same thing to Obi-Wan but again, to show growth, Obi-Wan is ready for that and slices it right in half. That slicing of the lightsaber hilt is to represent Maul being sliced.”

 

While talking about the “Chosen One” line spoken by Kenobi, Filoni discussed the way they wanted to show that it is Luke. He never mentioned that this is according to Obi-Wan, but it has to be. As we know Filoni’s mentor George Lucas was pretty specific in the past that the Chosen One is Anakin. But at this point of the Saga Anakin is lost forever for Obi-Wan and it’s normal that he believes Luke is the “Chosen One”. Here are Filoni’s words on that:

 

“We have to look at every episode of Rebels as if you’ve never seen Star Wars before. So if you think of it that way whenever Maul and Obi-Wan are talking about ‘The Chosen One’ or ‘Who are you protecting?’ if you never see or we don’t give the context of that, there are a lot of people who won’t know whats going on there. The Star Wars fan will but the average person will not. So at the very least the scene establishes, in its simplest form, there’s Obi-Wan, he was protecting someone, and there’s a woman yelling ‘Luke,’ and we see what we think of as a young boy running. ‘Oh, so Obi-Wan is protecting a boy named Luke.’ It’s designed to give you that specific bit of information that you need in the story.

Now, if you’re a fan and you go ‘OH MY GOD that’s Luke Skywalker, that’s even better. Now you’re getting the whole thing… But from a sensible story point you have to have that scene at the end to give some idea of what this old man is doing in the desert. You can’t rely on the Star Wars films as if they’ve been universally watched even though we know they’re pretty popular.”

 

 

It’s so cool to see that there is so much thought, time, and effort put into these tiny little details and it really adds a lot to the canon. You can find the rest of the interview here and I really encourage you to read it, awesome insights with the man himself.

 

May the Force be with you!

 

All images property of Lucasfilm.

 

 

+ posts

157 thoughts on “Dave Filoni Talks The “Chosen One” and the Kenobi vs. Maul Duel in Rebels: Twin Suns!

  • March 21, 2017 at 12:14 am
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    Terrific explanations from Dave. And what he says here was almost perfectly relayed in the episode. I came away thinking many of these things just after viewing the episode. Fantastic episode!

    • March 21, 2017 at 12:43 am
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      I dont mind the duel being short.
      I just don’t like that Maul has done nothing siginficant in Rebels but blind Kanan. His only purpose for being reintroduced was to be killed off.

      Futhermore, I dont like that 2/3rds of the episode focused on Ezras persepctive. Since we now know this will be Mauls death episode, It should have focused on Maul and been a two parter. It should have been his journey through the desert ending with him walking up on Obiwan sitting by the fire.
      Obivously so the Rebels know Maul is dead, Obiwan could easily have used Mauls holocron fragment to inform Ezra of his demise.

      Im glad this isnt the end of Maul (as in from the stories they can tell). I would love the seige of Mandalore to made one day (even in Rebels animation).

      • March 21, 2017 at 2:32 pm
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        I think he had more of a purpose than that over the last 2 seasons. He was Ezra’s draw to the dark side, what caused Ezra to question the nature of the force, and played a hand in the culminating events of season 2. What other character could have embodied the dark side AND had contact with Ezra and Kanan? Vader is out of the question. And I agree that more Maul backstories would be great.

        • March 21, 2017 at 5:55 pm
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          I’d agree, except for the fact that Ezra seems to have gotten over his Dark Side temptation pretty easily.

          • March 21, 2017 at 7:19 pm
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            Did he, though? I mean, I’m quite sure they’re never going to show the main character of the show going full-psycho, mass murdering people and choking pregnant women, but… Ezra still shows a tendecy to make his own rules and to act out of pride – which, as far as cartoon made for kids can go, may definitely be a sign of an inclination towards the dark side

          • March 21, 2017 at 7:53 pm
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            Yeah, but it’s not any “darker” than he was in the show’s first episode. Ezra’s not emotionally distraught, confused, angry, and he’s not going overboard with his attacks. His “dark side-ish” behavior ended episodes ago.

      • March 21, 2017 at 5:53 pm
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        Agreed. I’d also like to get a comic or book about what Maul did between Episode III and Rebels.

  • March 21, 2017 at 12:25 am
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    He didn’t really explain the “chosen one” line though. Probably he didn’t think about it before shooting the episode or didn’t anticipate the reaction it would cause.

    • March 21, 2017 at 12:29 am
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      Why does he need to explain it? It is from Obi-Wan’s point of view, nothing more, and is a perfectly reasonable thing for Obi-Wan to believe at this point in his life (no matter if it is factually incorrect). If you were Obi-Wan, would you actually still believe Anakin ( now Vader) is the chosen one?? Not a chance. And knowing how he later talks of Vader “betraying and murdering” Luke’s father, this should be even more obvious.

      • March 21, 2017 at 12:54 am
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        Not to mention Obi-Wan explicitly says in ROTS, “You WERE the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them.” Pretty sure that’s when he changed his mind about Anakin…didn’t have to mull it over for 19 years in the desert really. lol

        • March 21, 2017 at 4:28 am
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          RIGHT – Anakin WAS the chosen one — PAST TENSE. He screwed up though — ya know — choking out his Wife (which stressed her pregnant body and killed her) and killing 8 years olds. Anakin = NOT MY CHOSEN ONE

    • March 21, 2017 at 12:31 am
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      The inability of so many people to be able to understand and see this from Obi-Wan’s perspective is indicative of our society lacking basic empathy.

      • March 21, 2017 at 5:52 pm
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        And intelligence.

    • March 21, 2017 at 12:54 am
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      If you have watched the prequels or Episode 3 ROTS specifically , you will learn that Obi Wan is being trained by Yoda to commune with Jedi that have passed and who have become one with the living force. With that said it opens the possibilities that Obi Wan knows for a fact that Luke is the chosen one. At least that is what I have gotten from it.

      • March 21, 2017 at 1:02 am
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        And that means the suddenly know exactly what the prophecy means? No.

        Anakin was the Chosen One. Luke didn’t defeat the Emperor. Watch ROTJ again.

        • March 21, 2017 at 1:22 am
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          Your missing the point Luke is the key, without Luke there is no redemption.

          • March 21, 2017 at 4:26 am
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            VOILA! LUKE = CHOSEN ONE

        • March 21, 2017 at 2:22 am
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          I’m not taking sides in this argument (because prophecies in storytelling often have double-meaning and I fart on the prequels), but to play Devil’s Advocate — India would never have won its independence without Ghandi, a man who never lifted a finger against anyone.

          • March 21, 2017 at 4:28 am
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            I love when you fart on the Prequels !

          • March 21, 2017 at 5:13 am
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            We all have our kinks, I suppose.

  • March 21, 2017 at 12:32 am
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    Harry Potter is the chosen one

  • March 21, 2017 at 12:34 am
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    Just to play devils advocate Maul asks “is IT” the Chosen One. He could be refering to Vader. Maul knows of Vader but he doesnt know who he is.

    But I do believe he is asking who is obi-wan protecting. So Obi-wan believes Luke is the Chosen One.

    Though Anakin was involved in the vreation of Luke, so then Anakin could still be the chosen one as his actions led to Luke destroying the sith (via Anakin)

    But the couldnt Pamde be the chosen one, or Shmi…

    • March 21, 2017 at 12:58 am
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      Vader is a sith, Maul like Obi Wan wants to destroy the sith. I don’t see what you mentioned making sense.

      • March 21, 2017 at 1:23 am
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        The Chosen One is destined to destroy the Sith.

        Even if Anakin/Vader is Sith, it doesnt mean he wont be their destroyer .

        To Maul the fact that Chosen One has been identified (say it is Vader) then the prohecy must come true.

        • March 21, 2017 at 1:30 am
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          nothing in that act points to vader, It’s all about Luke, I’m a bit iffy that Maul even should have known about the prophecy. The prophecy is a Jedi tale. Maul was never no Jedi, but all well…we will learn soon enough in the next few months.

          • March 21, 2017 at 4:31 am
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            Given that Maul’s primary agenda was to destroy the Sith, (and he sought out and found Sith relics like the holocron) it seems believable to me that he’d come across the legend of the Chosen One along his journey and be very interested in it.

  • March 21, 2017 at 12:36 am
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    I am fine with Luke being the chosen one, Especially after the prequels and seeing Anakin’s fall. It just made more sense for Anakin’s offspring to be the one’s to fulfill the prophecy.

    Quoting Ben Kenobi line “The Emperor knew, as well as I did. That if Anakin were to have any Offspring, they would be a threat to him.”

    With that line alone from the original trilogy hinted that Anakin’s offspring were to be special and would defeat the Dark Side. You can never really destroy the dark side, it’s the Yin and Yang, you need both for balance. With that said it’s no longer about Jedi and Sith, the new films are focusing on Light and Dark.

    • March 21, 2017 at 1:00 am
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      But he isn’t. Vader comes back to the light at the end and becomes Anakin once more, destroying the Sith when he chucks Sheev down the reactor shaft. If he hadn’t done that, Luke would have died. Luke is not and never was the Chosen One.

      • March 21, 2017 at 1:19 am
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        Take Luke out of the equation, then what do you have?
        Ponder that one for a while and let me know what your comeback is.

        • March 21, 2017 at 2:01 am
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          You are basing that around a “what-if” that is irrelevant.

          • March 21, 2017 at 4:25 am
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            The “Chosen One” doesn’t murder children. Sorry bro — LUKE SKYWALKER is the chosen one — who brings about the redemption of his FALLEN father.

          • March 21, 2017 at 12:09 pm
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            The Chosen One story is not as simplistic as you seem to want it to be. Also if you think Filoni honestly thinks Anakin is not the chosen one you never watched the Mortis Trilogy.

          • March 21, 2017 at 3:10 pm
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            I don’t know about Kent, but I did watch the Mortis Trilogy – that was Filoni’s best effort to give, at very least, some sort of meaning to that crap – but the point here is: Filoni is writer. As in “an actual writer”. Now, when you are a creative individual (as opposed to a single-minded fanboy), you don’t let this kind of petty details get in the way of the story you want to tell – you work around them.
            And, in this specific instance, the whole prophecy thing was (and still is, really) so vaguely written that, as a creative, you can pretty much do whatever you want it.
            You can say Anakin WAS the chosen one but failed and then Luke became the CO.
            You can say that Luke was the CO all along and Anakin was just the mean to an end.
            You can say that Palpatine (or Plagueis, or Shmi, or whoever created Anakin) was the CO – and so on and so forth.

          • March 21, 2017 at 1:59 pm
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            “The “Chosen One” doesn’t murder children”

            Who says? Nothing in the text says this except your fanboy wishes.

            Sorry, Lucas said the chosen one (God help us) is Anakin, so it remains and will always remain, Anakin.

          • March 21, 2017 at 3:28 pm
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            George spent the best part of 30 years lying and/or contradicting himself (mostly, when it was convenient to whatever his business plan was at the time). Also, this kind of “The Maker said it so it MUST be TRUE” is acritical, sectarian thinking at its best. Is this the reason why so many prequelites can relate to a character that flat out states his belief that a Nazi-like dictatorship works better than a democracy?

          • March 21, 2017 at 5:17 pm
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            When it comes to story stuff, things Lucas said are considered canon. So I am merely going by what we know is actual fact, inside the world of Star Wars.

            I don’t buy a lot of stuff George said, but when he explains his universe and states “This is how it is”, there is no real argument.

            “Is this the reason why so many prequelites can relate to a character that flat out states his belief that a Nazi-like dictatorship works better than a democracy?”

            Ask one of them. I care not for Anakin’s beliefs.

          • March 21, 2017 at 7:54 pm
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            I think Lucas wrote that scene with Socrates’ political philosophy in mind, and not necessarily with Anakin desiring a brutal dictatorship.

            Socrates saw the flaws in democracy by comparing society to a ship at sea. If you were going on an ocean voyage, who would you ideally want deciding who was in charge of the vessel, just anyone, or people educated in the rules and demands of seafaring?

            Could be naive thinking,,, or it could be brilliant, but at that point in the story, he’s still thinking conscientiously.

            (Good God, I think I just defended a scene from Attack of the Clones.)

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8T7rri1IsA

          • March 21, 2017 at 2:01 pm
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            Look, you guys can believe what you want, but the guy who created the damn thing already spoke on this, and if you think his protégé is going to retconn that, you are smoking some goooood ish.

          • March 22, 2017 at 1:57 pm
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            Fine. I’ll bite.

            Using your logic, Luke cannot be the CO, and here’s why:

            The CO was to bring balance to the force, correct? Taking that, we know now that true balance was not only the destruction of the Sith, but also the destruction of the Jedi.

            Anakin destroyed the Jedi, but he didn’t do it without a catalyst. That catalyst was Padmé. Without her, it is doubtful that Anakin would have fallen (or, rather, it leads us into a pointless hypothetical).

            Anakin also destroyed the Sith, but he couldn’t do that alone, either, and just like you said, without Luke, it wouldn’t have happened, and I absolutely agree with that.

            Luke was a catalyst, and nothing more. Just like his mother.

            Anakin is and always will be (despite the fact that the creator said so) the Chosen One.

            I concede the ST *may* change this… but we aren’t there yet.

          • March 21, 2017 at 4:27 am
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            No, he is basing it on a pretty solid fact: Luke is not just the “reason why” Anakin turns and kills the Emperor – Luke is the engine, of that redemption. Without him, without the “there’s still good in you”, without his decision NOT to fight, there is no redemption for Vader.
            I realize that PT-fans have this unreasonable attachment to all the crap Lucas stuffed in those movies, but the harsh reality is that half of that stuff is useless, the other half is inconsistent and Filoni (and now Abrams, Kasdan, Johnson, the story group and so on) spent years retconning everything they could just to make the overall story, at least, serviceable.

          • March 21, 2017 at 4:33 am
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            YOU ARE A HERO ! I am copy and pasting your post here to KEEP.

          • March 21, 2017 at 5:22 am
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            The “prophecy of one” idea is sort of odd to begin with. It’s like if ol’ Empy Palpy vacationed on Tatooine and said “I’m feeling a bit pasty — I’m gonna go sunbathe in the dunes, but I prophesize that I’ll be burned by just one sun.”

            Oh no, Palply… you’re gonna get toasted by *both* suns (or sons) of Tatooine. (I saw what I did there.) You can’t feel the effects of one without the other.

        • March 21, 2017 at 1:58 pm
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          Luke inspires Vader to act, but Vader is the one who kills the Sith.

        • March 21, 2017 at 5:49 pm
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          “Take Luke out of the equation, then what do you have?”

          “Alter the story, what do you have?”

          Yeah, that’s not an argument.

          • March 22, 2017 at 1:55 pm
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            Fine. I’ll bite.

            Using your logic, Luke cannot be the CO, and here’s why:

            The CO was to bring balance to the force, correct? Taking that, we know now that true balance was not only the destruction of the Sith, but also the destruction of the Jedi.

            Anakin destroyed the Jedi, but he didn’t do it without a catalyst. That catalyst was Padmé. Without her, it is doubtful that Anakin would have fallen (or, rather, it leads us into a pointless hypothetical).

            Anakin also destroyed the Sith, but he couldn’t do that alone, either, and just like you said, without Luke, it wouldn’t have happened, and I absolutely agree with that.

            Luke was a catalyst, and nothing more. Just like his mother.

            Anakin is and always will be (despite the fact that the creator said so) the Chosen One.

          • March 22, 2017 at 2:00 pm
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            This is getting ridiculous, really… Not sure how this isn’t getting through to people.

            Explains #45 well enough, I suppose.

    • March 21, 2017 at 4:28 am
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      In TPM we learned that according to the prophecy the Chosen One was conceived by Midichlorians so we know it’s not Luke.

      • March 21, 2017 at 4:36 am
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        We learn no such thing. In TPM there’s a vague mention of a prophecy about someone “bringing balance to the Force”. Then Qui Gon Jinn – who, at that point, has spent most of the movie making shit up as he goes along – mutters something about the boy being conceived by midichlorians, only to prove his point with the Council. There isn’t a single line of dialogue, in the whole PT, that expose “being conceived by midichlorians” as a requirement to be the “chosen one”.

        • March 21, 2017 at 4:42 am
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          Wrong, of course. You ought to watch it again.

          • March 21, 2017 at 4:45 am
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            Sick Boy nailed it. There is ZERO mention that the chosen one has to be a Bacterial Infection LOL

          • March 21, 2017 at 1:58 pm
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            One of the big factors is that he is a vergence in the Force, which stems from his being conceived by the midichlorians.

          • March 21, 2017 at 3:01 pm
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            @thehumanbeingandfish:disqus And now I have to waste my time and go watch that terrible load of crap, just to prove a point? Good thing I’ve some free-time, then 😉 So, here goes… (I’ll channel a bit of Plinkett, here, ’cause, you know… fuck the prequels 😀 ).

            QUI GON BOOZE (stern): With your permission, my master, I have encountered a vergence in the Force.
            YODA (just wakin’ up): A vergence, you say?
            SAMUEL L. JACKSON (befuddled): Located around… a person?
            QGB (stern, kind of bored): A boy. (utterly monotone) His cells have the highest concentration of midi-chlorians I have seen in a life-form. (muttering) It is possible he was conceived
            by the midi-chlorians.
            [Horned-guy and kinky-piercing lady look at each other in total confusion, OB1 looks away, embarassed like the son of the town drunkard when ol’ pop is about to go on one of his ramblings again]
            SLJ (bamboozled but, also, kind of angry, like he is about to take out some pepper-spray and mace the drunkard): You refer to the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force.

            Now, unless we want to assume that Windu’s character is supposed to be on drugs, the qualifiers here are “vergence in the Force” and “midichlorian count is OVER 9000!!!” since even Qui Gon Gin – despite his making-shit-up spree – has to aknowledge that is merely “possible” that the boy was conceived by non-sense.

            Also, on the same argument, is worth keepin’ in mind that, couple of movies later, Lucas realized he wrote himself into a hole and force (no pun intented) Expositional-Yoda to mumble something about “a prophecy that misread, could have been”. So, not even the prophecy itself knows what the prophecy is about.

            Last but not least, let’s be honest here: the implication that the only way to become The Hero is to be born “special” is somewhat alarming. It takes one of the most important concept in the OT – the idea that the “underdog” can rise up to the challenge and become the hero – and mountainously dump all over it.

          • March 22, 2017 at 1:57 pm
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            “Last but not least, let’s be honest here: the implication that the only way to become The Hero is to be born “special” is somewhat alarming. It takes one of the most important concept in the OT – the idea that the “underdog” can rise up to the challenge and become the hero – and mountainously dump all over it.”

            Except your “Hero” becomes the “Villain”. Obi-Wan is a hero. He wasn’t a chosen one. Same with Han.

            You gotta think this stuff through.

        • March 21, 2017 at 5:29 am
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          Sometimes, I think that was just Liam Neeson muttering to himself on camera like a madman, and George just decided to keep it in and go with it.

      • March 21, 2017 at 4:37 am
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        MASTER YODA has warned us against dreams and prophecies…….

      • March 21, 2017 at 5:32 am
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        UMMMMMM we are also learning here lately in the NEW canon that Midichlorians are just one interpretation of “how the Force works” and an interpretation that could be…. ERRONEOUS. Fuck Midichlorians and I REJOICE that we will never hear the STUPID & VILE WORD in a new Star Wars Movie….again. MARK MY WORDS and hold me to them come Episode 8.

        • March 21, 2017 at 2:03 pm
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          LOL, please share your sources on that one, buddy. I’ll wait.

          • March 21, 2017 at 9:32 pm
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            Pablo Hidalgo: “There’s more to
            potential than midis. Just like there’s more to genius than grades.” Right there. There are plenty of GENIUSES in this world who made horrid grades in school — but who’s vision shaped a nation. and MARK MY WORDS — you will NOT hear that VILE word “Midichlorians” in Ep 8. That terminology is DEAD in the films. Even JJ & Kasdan spat on it….. LOL

          • March 21, 2017 at 9:35 pm
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            MORE from Big Daddy Pablo: “The midi-prereq was to enter the prequel-era Jedi Order. It’s a
            rather soulless way to look at potential, by narrative design.” “The prequel Jedi have systemized their methods at the expense of spirituality and intuition. They are more ‘Order’ than ‘Jedi.’ Characters like Jocasta Nu and Ki-Adi-Mundi embody that. Others like Dooku, Qui-Gon and Anakin don’t.” There were DIFFERENT SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT within the Jedi — QUI GON thought that a DNA test makes you a Jedi. He was wrong, and got his ass whipped pretty pathetically so…….

          • March 23, 2017 at 2:32 am
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            No Qui-gon was right actually, in fact he’s essentially the most righteous and most wise character in the entire saga and is responsible for much of what happens afterwards, the good stuff directly and the bad stuff indirectly.

            Predictably enough you’ve also just shown you have no idea about the inner workings of the in movie universe, instead preferring to make believe your own nonsense and erroneously insist it works better that way, possibly because you imagine yourself capable of creating a work like Star wars. If you are then please bless us with your gift.

            Fact check. Jedi and potential Jedi have higher midichlorian counts than average folk. That’s just how it works, WITHOUT exception. This just gives them the ability to sense the Force, it is not the Force itself and they still have to learn to use it and listen to it so its not just gifted to them on a silver platter. Hence why Luke Skywalker still had to train as a Jedi. It wasn’t based purely on the idea that he wanted it more than anybody else because if everyone could clearly sense the force the way Jedi could then without a doubt everybody would be some kind of force user. They’re not however so there needs to be some device which explains that. Those are midi-chlorians. Its also completely logical that the Jedi Order would’ve researched and discovered all this. Just like in our universe many things may seem mysterious at first but ultimately there is an explanation for everything.

            It also make complete sense why this was not revealed in the Original Trilogy because there was no need to. Its also on record that Lucas had the midichlorians as a concept all the way back when he wrote the original 12 episode draft in the late 70’s so its always been a bedrock of everything that was established. Without them behind the scenes how can you explain why Rey is so powerful in the sequel trilogy for example. If you truly thought about your rationale for why you believe what you do you’d find you’re totally full of shit on the matter.

          • March 23, 2017 at 3:35 pm
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            Not a big fan of the Midichlorians; they remove a lot of the magic and mystique from the narrative. But listening to Qui-Gon, it’s not immediately clear that they’re actually organisms responsible for the Force. Qui-Gon calls them symbiotes. When I first watched E1, I immediately interpreted Qui-Gon to mean that Midichlorians were simply microorganisms that flourished inside those closely attuned to the Force. So, measuring someone’s midichlorian count became an indirect way to measure someone’s Force potential. Qui-Gon tells Anakin that it’s possible to hear the midichlorians speaking. So, I figured they had some close resonance to the Force that Jedi (or Sith) were able to detect.

            “Lucas had the midichlorians as a concept all the way back when he wrote the original 12 episode draft in the late 70’s so its always been a bedrock of everything that was established.”

            That’s not exactly true. Lucas kicked around this idea after the first Star Wars movie was released. But as most big projects like this typically go, a LOT of ideas were kicked around. And according to what we actually know, Lucas’s idea of midichlorians was actually a lot closer to mine. And this idea wasn’t revisited in any way until E1; so, yeah, not a bedrock in any sense of the word – just an abandoned idea that he dug up and revisited.

            “Predictably enough you’ve also just shown you have no idea about the inner workings of the in movie universe, instead preferring to make believe your own nonsense and erroneously insist it works better that way, possibly because you imagine yourself capable of creating a work like Star wars. If you are then please bless us with your gift.”

            Is it at all possible that you can discuss these topics without getting personal? How old are you? You’re making a colossal fool of yourself; especially since you’ve not been around here all that long. Discussion often thrives here – and sometimes these discussions get heated – but they rarely get personal although some good chops-busting occurs every so often. But trolls get roasted and make themselves scarce after not too long.

    • March 21, 2017 at 6:21 pm
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      I’m not entirely sure anybody knows for sure who the chosen one is. It is a vague prophecy and only some in the Jedi Order made a guess that it must be Anakin. Once Anakin turned I think Obi-wan assumed he was wrong and that it wasn’t Anakin and started to ponder what all of it really means. Obi-wan even says to Anakin in their last battle on Mustafar that Anakin was supposed to be the chosen one. The way he worded it meant he may no longer believe that. In some way Obi-wan is maybe hoping the son of Anakin is the real chosen one as a way to try to make sense of everything. It isn’t as if there is clear guidebook as to what the prophecy actually meant. The prequels just gave us one interpretation of the prophecy from a certain group of people. If Anakin was created by the Sith and not the will of the Force then he clearly wouldn’t be the chosen one. The Force however could have responded to the violation of nature creation of Anakin by providing his son as the real chosen one.

  • March 21, 2017 at 12:38 am
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    I just wish Disney didn’t sell this as the duel to end all duels, when in actuality it only lasted 2 seconds.

    • March 21, 2017 at 4:19 am
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      And yet – in a cartoon for little kids, no less – a 2-seconds-duel was more meaningful, had more impact and a deeper emotional layer than most duels in the PT 🙂

    • March 21, 2017 at 5:48 pm
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      To be fair, it was Disney XD that did this. I doubt any movie execs up at Disney are aware that Rebels even exists.

  • March 21, 2017 at 12:51 am
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    Dave Filoni is a brilliant, brilliant man. That bit about telling the story as if you haven’t seen Star Wars before…well done.

  • March 21, 2017 at 1:08 am
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    Such a great episode.

    I completely got that the sabre duel should be quick, obi wan is a Jedi master at the top of his game.

    The voice actor and writing for obi wan was spot on too.

  • March 21, 2017 at 1:12 am
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    I’m left wondering just how important Kenobi’s words to Ezra will be further on down the line. Will this be a turning point now that Maul is no longer there to lead him astray?

  • March 21, 2017 at 1:16 am
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    Why was Luke so little if this is only a few years before ANH??

    • March 21, 2017 at 2:30 am
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      He was a speck on the landscape…how could you tell?

    • March 21, 2017 at 10:06 am
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      Yes. I have to agree on that. Just entered here to say the same. He really looks so little. My opinion of what i saw, of course. Those details from the whole saga bothers me. Too much people working on the show to not have a “real vision” of the facts. I like more coherence with the facts. Hey, just me ;p
      And it was a good episode. Always tired of Maul apparences everywhere but loved the way it finished.

    • March 21, 2017 at 2:15 pm
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      He does look little. Maybe it’s a distance thing? The silhouette used is a S3 Ezra model, so he would even look small. I think they just got the sizing of the Vaporator and house wrong.

    • March 21, 2017 at 2:44 pm
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      Luke was always relatively short., even as an adult Sometimes short kids don’t grow significantly until they are 17 or 18 and are much shorter than other kids when they are 15 or 16.

  • March 21, 2017 at 3:14 am
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    I have written before how much I dislike the excesses of bringing Maul back after The Phantom Menace. But I have to say this was done very tastefully. And whoever is doing the Obi Wan voice is really amazing. It is still a crying shame that they “killed off” Maul so early in the prequel trilogy.

    • March 21, 2017 at 5:43 pm
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      Steven Stanton voices Obi-Wan, along with Tarkin and Admiral Raddus.

  • March 21, 2017 at 4:07 am
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    Amazing how probably the best Rebels episode could occur the week after the worst ever. To use the theme of Rogue One, I have “Hope” that season 4 will jettison the kiddie stuff and give us more solid story archs without the childish filler episodes.

    • March 21, 2017 at 4:16 am
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      This is a show that – by all means and ends – is made for kids. Very young kids, at that. They are never going to “jettison the kiddie stuff”: this is the very (and good, in my opinion) definition of “kiddie stuff”.

    • March 21, 2017 at 11:52 am
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      They will never jettison kid stuff in a show made for kids.

      • March 21, 2017 at 1:40 pm
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        I can dream.

        • March 21, 2017 at 8:24 pm
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          Or you can not watch it. There is plenty of stuff on TV for grown-ups. There’s nothing wrong with kids’ shows being for…you know…kids.

          • March 21, 2017 at 9:18 pm
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            Or people can voice their displeasure and hope that Dave Filoni and/or others read it.

    • March 21, 2017 at 4:18 pm
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      At its core, Star Wars is a kids’ property. A lot of adults like it, but lets not forget how old we were when we first got into Star Wars.

      • March 21, 2017 at 7:25 pm
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        That’s a total rewrite of history by Lucas. Rewatch ANH and tell me how much is kiddie stuff.

        • March 21, 2017 at 7:36 pm
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          All of it. It’s a spaghetti western set in space for kids with minimal sci-fi.

          Don’t get me wrong, I love it but be realistic. film critics of the time HATED it, parents HATED it, my mum still shoots me a weary look every time Star Wars is mentioned but then the family did have to watch ANH many many times throughout the eighties.

          I fracking love Doctor Who but I’ll readily admit, it’s for kids, don’t take it too seriously.

          • March 21, 2017 at 7:56 pm
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            Kids liked it more than adults but it was a generational thing. Lucas never intended to make a kids film. The kid friendly stuff only started in Jedi when he realized what was going on.

          • March 21, 2017 at 8:10 pm
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            R2D2 & C3PO disagree!

          • March 21, 2017 at 8:14 pm
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            So do the severed hands, charred corpses, drug running and mass genocide.

          • March 21, 2017 at 8:17 pm
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            I take it you’ve never considered the meaning of nursery rhymes.etc?

            Nasty horrible stuff is quite common in children’s tales it makes the goodies and the baddies easily identifiable.

          • March 21, 2017 at 8:59 pm
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            Was the 80’s G.I. Joe cartoon aimed at adults? That show dealt with international terrorism, advanced weaponry, mind-control, slavery, torture, and kidnapping.

          • March 22, 2017 at 12:30 am
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            but that was the 80’s… 😉 my only point is that the original star wars was a film made for everyone that kids latched on to way more than adults and then in hindsight became a “kids franchise”. i personally don’t think it was specifically directed toward that demographic until jedi or maybe even the prequels. (for the record there is nothing wrong with this, i just don’t like how much lucas used alternative facts when talking about the history of his creation).

          • March 22, 2017 at 2:59 pm
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            It makes no difference when the cartoon debuted. Why would that matter? The point is that Star Wars wasn’t nearly the first property developed for youngsters that tackled adult subjects. Dr. Seuss is another great example. His books were written for children and dealt with environmental destruction, the arms race, materialism, racism, and other “grown-up” subjects. The idea that stuff made for kids is by default devoid of serious topics doesn’t bear up to reality.

            I know a lot of Star Wars fans and you’re literally the first person I’ve ever heard claim that Star Wars wasn’t initially made for young people. Despite Lucas’s own words, despite his scrambling to get a flood of Star Wars toys to market before Star Wars hit theaters, despite what anyone that was a child during this time will tell you…

            Talk about “alternative facts”… : D

          • March 21, 2017 at 8:20 pm
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            Aisles full of Star Wars toys prior to Return of the Jedi might temper that idea. Kid-friendly Star Wars material existed from the get-go. Have you read Rinzler’s making of Star Wars? It’s a great, great read. Rinzler talks about Lucas’s wanting to create a cinematic experience for young people that mimicked the joy and excitement he found watching westerns and science-fiction serials he viewed as a child.

          • March 21, 2017 at 8:55 pm
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            I straight-up stole this quote from a post above, but…

            “The movies are for children but they don’t want to admit that. In the first film they absolutely hated R2 and C3-PO. In the second film they didn’t like Yoda and in the third one they hated the Ewoks… and now Jar Jar is getting accused of the same thing.”

            Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/

        • March 21, 2017 at 8:16 pm
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          Are you kidding me? Were you a kid when Star Wars first premiered? I was. It was a young person’s property. Take a look at the merchandising from ’77-’84. How much of the massive merchandising campaign was directed toward adults? Aside from a few belt buckles and t-shirts, not much. My parents (and my friends’ parents) could have cared less about Star Wars outside of catering to their kids’ interests.

          Now, that’s not to say that Star Wars is “kiddie” stuff, but to complain about a slice of the massive amount of Star Wars storytelling appealing to children is silly. Rebels is a cartoon for kids. There is no need to jettison the “kiddie stuff”. You could just as easily say that Rogue One should have jettison the “grown-up” stuff. I can only imagine how silly my dad would have looked complaining that there is too much “kiddie stuff” in Scooby-Doo.

          This is a huge brand. There’s no need to restrict the age demographic to paunchy dudes counting their white hairs.

          • March 23, 2017 at 5:20 pm
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            That’s also the magic of Star Wars, and film or any other media really. You see, as you grow older, you change, but the films do not (special editions aside). Your perception on film, books, ect… are different because you yourself are ultimately a different person as you gain new experiences.

            I love and have always loved Star Wars, but my love for it has only grown more complex. Back then when I was a little boy, it was about cool spaceships, lightsabers, cool sound effects but it has grown into so much more. We as grown adults can discuss something that many of us had when we were children, and in turn love the movies for different or expanded reasons.

          • March 23, 2017 at 5:40 pm
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            Totally. I think a lot of folks are irked by Star Wars material aimed at younger people because they’re missing that exact perspective. They’ve grown older, so they expect these properties to follow them. Because Star Wars was aimed at 12-year-olds (I’m being general here) in 1977, they want it to be aimed at 45-year olds in 2017. It just doesn’t work that way. If a property like Star Wars is to remain relevant and alive, it needs to expand in order to bring in new fans.

            Even so, I don’t understand some of the bitterness coming from older Star Wars fans. Even with the slice of the universe that has been crafted for a younger audience, there is an absolute wealth of material for those exact 45-year olds I’m talking about. Novels, new films, and collectibles aimed at grown-ups abound. And yet, you’re still going to have that guy whining that Rebels is too “kiddie”. It’s selfish as all get-out.

            I suspect that many of these people don’t have children. I have two boys that absolutely love Rebels. They look forward to it each week and I get to see them get excited about Star Wars in nearly the same way I did in the 80’s. Contrast that with the cranky nerd; shaking his head in disgust that his beloved property is being shared with children. Sad stuff.

        • March 21, 2017 at 8:16 pm
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          Star Wars is a celebration of old serials like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, which were decidedly aimed at a younger audience. Or, in Lucas’s own words:

          “The movies are for children but they don’t want to admit that. In the first film they absolutely hated R2 and C3-PO. In the second film they didn’t like Yoda and in the third one they hated the Ewoks… and now Jar Jar is getting accused of the same thing.”

          Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/394542.stm

          • March 21, 2017 at 8:24 pm
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            That’s a killer quote as far as this conversation goes for me!

        • March 21, 2017 at 8:30 pm
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          When I first watched it at age 4, it was all kid stuff to me.

          Still is.

      • March 21, 2017 at 8:17 pm
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        No, it’s not a kids’ property. The original Star Wars is the only measure you can go by for what the target audience is, and having the movie open with Darth Vader strangling and killing a rebel with his bare hands is most certainly not the hallmark of a “kids’ property”. Star Wars was and always should be a challenging property for kids, not a slapstick show aimed at small children.

        • March 21, 2017 at 8:28 pm
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          I disagree, traditionally nursery rhymes and children’s tales have always had their fair share of nasty horrible stuff, it makes the goodies and the baddies easy to identify.

          • March 21, 2017 at 8:56 pm
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            It is your right to disagree, but OMG, comparing SW to a nursery rhyme! LOL, I don’t think I would have fallen in love with SW if it resembled a nursery rhyme. As a 10-year-old, I loved that I had to figure stuff out, that the dialog was not like a cartoon, that the environment and violence was real (but without the gore of a movie like Alien), it felt like life-and-death (and there was indeed the death of a beloved character), and the it was fun without being stupid and slapstick. Every line was delivered seriously, and the comedy (mostly from the droids) was situational, dry, and sarcastic. It was not people and droids bonking each other over the head and spouting childish dialog.

          • March 21, 2017 at 9:04 pm
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            I wasn’t directly comparing them only using nursery rhymes to illustrate my point that what might seem quite dark adult themes crop up in many different forms of entertainment for children.

            I wasn’t inferring that when the bow breaks Vader will run the baby through with a Lightsaber! 😉

          • March 21, 2017 at 9:09 pm
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            lol, that would be a hell of a nursery rhyme! 🙂 Cheers.

        • March 21, 2017 at 8:50 pm
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          That’s foolish. I suppose all the action figures that flooded the market after Star Wars hit the theaters were for 40-year-old collectors? How about gum cards? Were those for my father? Why weren’t those Star Wars bed sheets made to fit queen-sized beds? I could go on and on.

          Nobody here is claiming that Star Wars was created exclusively for children, but to claim that it was a property for adults that kids just happened to latch onto is false. Sure, Darth Vader choked someone. The movie was also rated PG with minimal blood, and only very minor cursing. You’re being pretty selective in how you’re looking at this movie.

          You don’t get to hog Star Wars; no matter how old you are. There are feature films, novels, video games, and comic books for you to enjoy. Complaining about a single animated show aimed at children makes you sound rather childish yourself. I’m in my 40’s and grew up with the original films during their original run. And I’m okay with some Star Wars entertainment being aimed at children. Maybe it’s because I’m a father and I get to see how much my boys enjoy it.

    • March 21, 2017 at 5:42 pm
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      I’d like that too, but I get the feeling that a network exec somewhere is stopping that from happening.

  • March 21, 2017 at 5:03 am
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    The Sequel Trilogy ‘chosen one’ retcon begins – the sequel trilogy needs the ‘bring balance to the Force’ prophecy not to be fulfilled yet. Anakin/Vader unbalanced the Force one way by almost wiping out the Jedi, then unbalance the other by killing Palpatine. His effects are based on who he kills rather than any philosophical learning about the Force. Luke’s task is to find a more ‘ing and yang’ balance understand of the Force and pass it on to the new Jedi led by Rey.
    Ohh my one gripe with the episode is ObiWan’s swift, dextrous take down of Maul works with his Cantina elimination, but definitely makes his Vader duel ‘not even trying’.

    • March 21, 2017 at 5:28 am
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      The Kenobi vs Vader dual in a New Hope was not a “usual” dual. It was a conversation, a REUNION, and both men were STRUCK with the shock / emotion that came with seeing the other after so many years. They fought deliberately — feeling each other out but BOTH knew that a single wrong move would be their demise. It was a CALCULATED fight — no Prequel-Flip-Flop-and-Fly allowed —– and one of Star Wars’ greatest moments.

      • March 21, 2017 at 2:19 pm
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        ^^ This.

      • March 21, 2017 at 5:41 pm
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        Actually, it was a scene from a movie that was made in the 70s with glowing lightsaber props attached to power cables.

        Just so you know.

        • March 21, 2017 at 9:28 pm
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          I don’t know what your dismissive point is? Yes the movie was made in the 70’s. And Yes it is FAR MORE BELOVED and FAR BETTER than most Films made today. Without any “Flip Flop and Fly”, Vader vs Kenobi remains one of the MOST ICONIC moments in the history of cinema and remains a battle that has inspired multiple generations.

          • March 21, 2017 at 9:41 pm
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            Yes, what I’m saying is that as much we would all like to have a funny retcon for the battle, in the end, the true explanation will always be the same:

            ANH came out in the 70s. the technology did not exist for them to have crazy lightsaber battles.

          • March 21, 2017 at 9:46 pm
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            The Force Awakens had an amazing Lightsaber Battle that was intense, exhilarating, and realistic — without the Prequel-Era “FLIP FLOP & FLY” silliness. I like gritty realistic fights — when i want “FLIP FLOP & FLY”, I play Video Games. I dont want my Movies to be Video Games.

          • March 21, 2017 at 9:58 pm
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            I agree.

    • March 21, 2017 at 6:24 am
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      Vader couldn’t & didn’t win the duel because Kenobi had already transcended everything Vader sold his soul for. A Sith Lord just couldn’t understand ObiWans’s power. He really did become more powerful than Vader could possibly imagine. Kenobi controlled the duel right up to the moment when he raised his sword sword and let Vader “strike him down” so that Luke could escape.

    • March 21, 2017 at 10:50 am
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      Escape was not his plan.

    • March 21, 2017 at 2:23 pm
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      I like the theory that Rey is the Chosen One (as in Anakin reincarnated), I like the idea that each time the universe is unbalanced (sith, first order) the Chosen One is sent back.

      Plus it would explain why Anakins force ghost hasnt contacted Kylo Ren. Surely if your grandson was going down the same dark path you did, you would explain to him it is the wrong way.

      • March 21, 2017 at 4:42 pm
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        I’m with you on the Chosen One idea, I think it’s a cool concept to incorporate in the Star Wars universe that can keep the franchise fresh and going for awhile because it opens up the possibility to the Chosen One coming from essentially any species. I’m also hoping we get an answer to Anakin’s Force Ghost in TLJ because based on what Ben said in TFA it looks like he is conversing with Anakin, but perhaps since the only reason we’re given to believe that is he’s in the presence of Vader’s helmet it could be acting somewhat like Voldemort’s Horcruxes in the Potterverse. What I mean by that is maybe since it is a powerful sith artifact (more bad acts committed in its presence than good) it only presents him with dark side memories. But even then that’s just the residual memories of an artifact, and we still need a valid reason for why Anakin’s Force Ghost never once made contact with his grandson.

        Also it seems like Anakin, Obi Wan , and Yoda had an idea of what was going to come at the end of Return of the Jedi when they manifested. This was pulled from Wookiepedia and a children’s novel called “Beward the Power of the Dark Side” released as one of the novels on the Journey to the Force Awakens

        “All three at peace for balance had returned to the Force, they smiled at Luke—pleased to know that, despite the best efforts of the Emperor, the Jedi had returned. Each thought to warn the young Skywalker about the future, as each saw that there was yet much danger ahead for him and more darkness to overcome; instead, they decided not to burden him with this then. Skywalker, in turn, saw them and felt their approval and their sense of peace.”

        • March 22, 2017 at 1:39 am
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          Kylo is not conversing with Anakin. Kylo is conversing with his own demons, Snoke’s echo, and a Charred-Vader mask.

          • March 22, 2017 at 8:07 pm
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            I’d have to recheck my TFA novelization but I’m fairly certain the only thing that can be 100% confirmed is that based on the scene from the film which I remember he is having a monologue. And then it cuts to something completely different. Snoke isn’t speaking to him at the time, and based on the dialogue that would be expected because he’s venting an issue he knows Snoke has a problem with. What I said probably wasn’t clear enough but wasn’t trying to say I thought that he was speaking with Anakin but I believe that the helmet has Force-Residual energies/memories/flashes/what have you and is showing him something tied to when it was in use. Based on all the canon currently provided, we’re being lead to assume that Anakin has not yet spoken with Ben which is something that I’m interested in discovering. Considering Ben chose to turn from the Jedi ways, I’m guessing that somewhere in the years after RotJ and before TFA some dirt came up on the Jedi that would make him question everything about the Order and had to have been compelling enough to make him turn away. And if that were the case then I could see why he would refuse to even speak to the Force Ghost of his grandfather since Anakin returned to essentially being a Jedi. But it’s all speculation anyways.

    • March 21, 2017 at 2:36 pm
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      He could’ve spanked Vader at any moment, but he knew how to better keep Luke in the light. His death kept Luke’s eyes on the prize and out of trouble. Becoming one with the force enabled him to help Luke in ways that no other student of the force had experienced. Obi Wan was much stronger in the force after years of meditation and practice. Kinda makes you wonder what we have in store with Luke in episode VIII.

      • March 21, 2017 at 5:06 pm
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        I don’t know if I would like luke to become a forceghost, OK he is strong enough in the force and probably trained to become one but thats a little too much. Would like if he survived to the last movie and die there or not.

        • March 22, 2017 at 1:31 am
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          I say — NO LUKE DEATH at all. Keep him going. Hell put him in the NEXT Trilogy after this one or a Standalone.

      • March 21, 2017 at 7:19 pm
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        I doubt he could have stomped Vader, but I do think obi wan was stalling. By prolonging the fight all eyes were on him, allowing the team to get to the falcon.

        • March 23, 2017 at 3:06 am
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          I always saw Obi-wan’s death in many ways as a means to motivate Luke to defeat Vader. Because, really, what I wished ROTJ kept in the screenplay was Obi-wan and Yoda tricking Luke into defeating Vader by not knowing he was his father.

          Because, knowing that, Obi-wan’s death, while it is perfectly fine, would have actually added a lot to it. Still, Obi-wan is s scary man, because even with his Force and physical skills waned, his wisdom and intelligence were sharp.

          I could only imagine how the Rebel Alliance would have benefitted under him. I may be bold to say he would have been the Robert E Lee of the SWs mythos.

    • March 21, 2017 at 4:11 pm
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      If there was one ability of Obi-wan that I argue never faded, it was his swordsmanship skills. He is a talented duelist who in my view and someone who perfected form three Soresu.

      It is why he won against Anakin, because Obi-wan is the kind of guy who thinks two steps ahead, drawing out a conflict to weaken his enemy and defeat them. What I like about this battle was that Obi-wan couldn’t do that.

      He lacks the physicality to do so. So instead, he needed to end the battle. And knowing Maul’s method of attack(having fought him twice prior) made that easier. In fact, seeing this battle makes me appreciate Obi-wan’s fight with Vader in ANH.

      He is old, but very much is still dangerous. Heck, in Legends Vader very much was fearful of fighting Obi-wan. No doubt his injuries on Mustafar being a big role, but also knowing that Obi-wan isn’t someone you mess with.

      I may sound like I am fanboying over Obi-wan(he is my third favorite SWs character), but really this is just my observations of him as a character and the way he conducts himself. He’s like a Samurai of old, skilled and experienced, but prefers to use words over the blade. And fight if and only if necessary.

      • March 22, 2017 at 1:30 am
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        Preach Neil ! AGREED

    • March 21, 2017 at 6:44 pm
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      “Personal canon” is a near-meaningless phrase. Lucasfilm is the owner of the property rights and they determine what is canon. You don’t have to like it (I don’t like all the canon stories), but it’s still canon. The idea of canon isn’t subjective.

      It’s nothing more than “I like this and not this” really.

      • March 21, 2017 at 7:55 pm
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        Yep. Anyone can have preferences, head-canon, or an active imagination, but that doesn’t mean ANYTHING to anyone else. Unless your name is Pablo Hidalgo, I really don’t care what you have to say about Star Wars canon (I’m exaggerating, of course).

        • March 21, 2017 at 9:20 pm
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          Its cool to see Pablo feeling important — all those years fetching coffee for Rick McCallum paid off at last right?

      • March 21, 2017 at 9:17 pm
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        I’m Pro-Personal-Canon. For example, I don’t believe in the Midichlorians. and NEVER will. Thankfully that VILE bit of “C-C-C-CANON” will NEVER be verbalized in another SW Film and MARK MY WORDS on that for Episode 8. You will NEVER hear Luke say Midichlorians.

  • March 21, 2017 at 5:40 pm
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    “So I felt that moment had to be beyond a lightsaber fight and had to be more an expression of their characters.”

    This is why Dave Filoni is such a genius. He understands Star Wars more than George Lucas did when he made the Prequels.

    • March 21, 2017 at 7:39 pm
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      How can he understand Star Wars better than the one who created it, it’s his vision. Star Wars is whatever Luke wanted it to be, and in many ways, they are staying true to that.

      • March 21, 2017 at 7:52 pm
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        When making the Prequels, Lucas lost sight of what made Star Wars great (especially the lightsaber battles). Dave Filoni clearly hasn’t.

        • March 21, 2017 at 8:30 pm
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          While I agree with 95% of the statement I think it is very easy to correct mistakes after the fact, and also Filoni is very aware of how close this episode is to ANH and it has to fit style wise and story wise.

      • March 21, 2017 at 8:47 pm
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        Lucas made a few bad calls with the prequels and his execution was well off the mark. A pity because his vision is 2nd to none.

        So in regard to the lightsaber duel when comparing to the prequels, you could say the prequels are more flashy than stylish with substance.

      • March 27, 2017 at 9:44 pm
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        No Star Wars isn’t “whatever Lucas wants” —- no one considers all of his changes to the OT “real” —- we all cringe when BIG CGI JABBA comes out and acts like an inept idiot in Ep4. We all cringe when Vader yells “Noooooooooo” in Ep6. And we will all REJOICE when Disney eventually RECLAIMS the OT and released the original Versions — which is COMING and we all know it.

        Yes Lucas created it and I will always appreciate his CREATIVITY in his youth — but his poor decisions and revisionist history have lead to millions of fans abandoning him as their SW-Patriarch.

    • March 27, 2017 at 9:39 pm
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      You are RIGHT. Filoni does understand SW more than the current George Lucas.

      The whole “Chosen One” idea was not even George’s original vision of the
      Prequels. After sitting on Star Wars for well over a decade (and
      daily-donut-meetups with Rick McCallum), George suddenly decided the
      Prequels would be “The Darth Vader Story” starting with KIDDIE-vader at
      age 8 — which was absolutely horrendous, not to mention fundamentally
      DAMAGING to the character.

      A Prequel series with OBI WAN as the lead fixture of the story, with his personal struggle to build and then save Anakin from his fall, would have been FAR more compelling and ultimately would be far more beloved today.

      Instead, the Prequels remain (and always will be) the skid-mark on the SW legacy.

  • March 21, 2017 at 7:08 pm
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    Nothing wrong with not liking something, but this show IS canon and that isn’t just a fancy word: what they establish to be canon is the foundation on which they’ll keep building so, if you refuse parts of it, you’ll end up with a story build on things you don’t accept. But – if I remember correctly – you used to have a problem with the idea of a woman as the leading character, so I guess you are already there.

    • March 21, 2017 at 9:12 pm
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      The Cartoon Series ultimately amounts to nothing when it comes to the films. Sure they throw “The Ghost” in Rogue One that you can only see if you bring a telescope to the Movie Theater and somewhere “Chopper” passes by with the rest of the Background Extras. At the end of the day —- I feel like these Cartoon Series are COOL for grade-school-kiddos but otherwise they amount to little more than LucasFillm-Employee-Fan-Fiction……with little long-standing effect on the Films.

  • March 21, 2017 at 7:16 pm
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    “we look at every episode of rebels as if you haven’t seen star wars before.”

    I guessing this because of the kids that watch and that’s fine. But this show is also canon, some times I think they forget that.

    • March 21, 2017 at 8:05 pm
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      What? NO! Space whales and singing droids fit seamlessly within Star Wars canon. /s

      • March 22, 2017 at 3:33 pm
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        Didn’t they show space whales in TCW before? And I’m sure I remember a singing droid (L314) from the Holiday Special..

        • March 22, 2017 at 5:05 pm
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          1. No, Space Whales are new to Rebels.

          2. The Holiday Special is a non-canon travesty.

          • March 22, 2017 at 9:21 pm
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            I know buddy, I was making a – very half-assed – joke 😉 (read again the name I gave to the “singing droid”)

  • March 21, 2017 at 9:09 pm
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    I feel like these Cartoon Series are COOL for the grade-school-kiddos but otherwise they amount to little more than LucasFillm-Employee-Fan-Fiction…… If it doesnt happen in a SW ***MOVIE***, I take it with a LARGE grain of salt, more like a mountain of salt. The Films are “more canon” than any Cartoon Show and that’s fact-jack.

  • March 23, 2017 at 3:03 am
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    The Chosen One, argument; I’m not going to lie; I’m really indifferent. I’ll be upfront; I am NOT the biggest fan of Chosen one storylines in most fiction. I find them very one note and boring. Yeah, a big destiny, cool, but really I am a fan of characters who make their own destiny and aren’t defined by it. And even the shows, like Avatar the Last Airbender, who use this trope; I can at least appreciate that the character was an interesting one to follow.

    Plus, it also helped that Anakin in the movies sucked as a character.I don’t know if GL thought about this, but Anakin’s story is very similiar to an old Hindu myth about the Devas and Asuras. To make a long story short, one faction were gods the other were demons. Indra foresaw a child, a mortal, holding the power to vanish the Asura once and for all and bring peace. He brought the child in and trained him to use the Vajira(powerful weapon).

    The child would learn, but eventually would betray the Devas, siding with the Asura and taking the spear. He’d eventually stop the Asura, but much later. So, like Anakin, he fullfiled his destiny.

    If Anakin is retconned NOT to be the chosen one, okay I’m fine with that because I can see the symbolism in the idea of a false savior. BUT, if LucasFilm is smart, they’ll have the Chosen One be this lynchpin individual who appears in every era and in turn defines which side light or darkness will rule. And maybe, with the idea of grey Jedi this can turn the idea of the CO being on a side upside down.

    • March 27, 2017 at 9:35 pm
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      The whole “Chosen One” idea was not even George’s original vision of the Prequels. After sitting on Star Wars for well over a decade (and daily-donut-meetups with Rick McCallum), George suddenly decided the Prequels would be “The Darth Vader Story” starting with KIDDIE-vader at age 8 — which was absolutely horrendous, not to mention fundamentally DAMAGING to the character.

      The whole “He’s the Chosen One” —- “Oh wait now he’s KILLING all of us” — made the Prequel Era Jedi Council look like a sad joke.

      I prefer to associate myself with Jedi who consider LUKE the Chosen One. The Jedi’s inability to see that Anakin would MURDER THEM ALL shows me they have NO BUSINESS WHATSOEVER designating a Chosen One.

      Anakin = NOT. MY. CHOSEN ONE.

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