It’s a great time to be a Star Wars fan. There’s the High Republic, comics, books, and of course, TV shows. People have directed their hate towards the TV shows, but I don’t care. They all have their great moments, and here are a few of mine:
1. Luke Skywalker destroys droids in the finale of The Mandalorian season one, episode 8. This is the Luke Skywalker you grew up thinking about. A Jedi Master in his prime, just off from killing Vader and Palpatine. The minute the X-Wing landed and you saw a green lightsaber, you knew what was about to happen – something you never saw in Return of the Jedi!
2. Obi-Wan’s and Vader’s 2nd battle at the end of Obi-Wan Kenobi, episode 6. Just when you thought the lightsaber battle from Revenge of the Sith couldn’t get any better, it turns out Obi and Anakin had one final battle before the fatal one on the Death Star. Vader’s mask getting ripped open, playing with the red and blue lighting. The dialogue is just ripe with two brothers who know each other so well and one of them is torn open by hate. Incredible.
3. Boba Fett just wrecking Stormtroopers with a gafferdi stick in The Mandalorian, season 2, episode 6. Something I’d never expected from my Boba Fett action figure in the ‘80’s. A Maori barbarian, destroying Stormtrooper armor and brutally taking lives. Even the behind the scenes stuff with action figure animatics was cool.
4. Meeting Cobb Vanth in The Mandalorian, season 2, episode 1. A true gunslinger from the Old West, looking bad-ass in Mandalorian armor that we know belongs to somebody else. If you ever watched Justified and read the Jakku Aftermath novels, you know that Timothy Olyphant was perfect for this role.
5. Anakin meets Ahsoka in the World between Worlds / Clone Wars flashbacks in Ahsoka, episode 5. I never watched many episodes of the Clone Wars, but was intrigued by the idea of a Star Wars purgatory. I loved that we got to see Anakin again, and the imagery of him turning into Darth Vader before our very eyes was so cool. I loved the Clone Wars flashbacks with Captain Rex and the Siege of Mandalore. And true to mythology and Joseph Campbell, Ahsoka essentially turned into “Ahsoka the White” and was more zen throughout the rest of the series.
6. The Ballad of Deedra Mero and Syril Karn, Andor seasons 1 and 2. The relationship between two fascist control freaks should never work and it’s incredibly toxic and self-serving for both. The minute you saw Syril completely obsess over both Andor AND Deedra and the way he stalks them both, you knew he was in trouble. Then Deedra pulls a Stockholm syndrome thing and in Season 2 they’re in a relationship and living together? We all cheered when Deedra used her terrifying abilities to silence Syril’s mother! Then their relationship became transactional, with her using Syril to set up a Rebel Alliance on Ghorman and him knowing nothing of the final endgame. And, yes the relationship became hostile and abusive. Syril, coming across his arch-nemesis (who had no idea who the hell Syril was), developing sympathy for the Rebellion, is killed by his mark. In her zest for arresting Axis, Deedra cut corners and got sloppy. All her scavenging for intelligence left a huge back door open for Lonni Jung to steal all her data and tell the Rebellion all about it. The ultimate control freak ends up a cog in the machine she once worked for, turning against her and ending up in prison on Narkina 5, sobbing.
7. Boba Fetts Vs. Cad Bane in The Book of Boba Fett, episode 7. I became more of a fan by the live-action version rather than the longer running animated version. An alien Lee Van Cleef with the hat and quick draw. The history with Boba Fett as a little boy. The alien characters in this series were just top notch and fascinating.
8. Mon Mothma’s escape from the Senate in Andor season 2, episode 9. Full of tension and just damn exciting. The look on Mon’s face when Andor killed two people in front of her was priceless.
9. Qmir vs multiple Jedi in The Acolyte, episodes 4 and 8 . As cool as Osha turning the kyber crystal into a Sith red, this battle won out only because you’ve never seen anything like this before. And Qmir used cortosis in his helmet, and just DESTROYED Jedi left and right.
10. Wim and Fern Vs. Jod in Skeleton Crew, episode 8. The end shot of Wim with his ignited blue lightsaber and Fern standing by him just instantly reminded me of Rey and Finn in The Force Awakens (my favorite Sequel trilogy movie). Just triumphant. Goonies vs the evil adult!
Bonus Top 5 List: Star Wars animated!
1. The Ronin in Visions: The Duel. I love the style, I love the alternate Star Wars universe of it all. And with more comics (hopefully) and a confusing yet entertaining novel, The Ronin will be around for a while.
2. Obi-Wan vs. Maul Part XXIV in Rebels season 3, episode 20. I was sceptical when Maul came back from the dead, cut in half. While I wasn’t a huge Rebels fan, this one I watched specifically when it came out. Knowing what we know now about Obi-Wan’s time on Tatooine, he became a better Jedi Master and was able to defeat the angry and impulsive Maul in only a few moves. His younger self would have had a more acrobatic and fiery battle.
3. Dooku vs. Yaddle in Tales of The Jedi: The Sith Lord. The story I had no idea I wanted. We knew from the beginning who would win, but I didn’t see this duel happening. Dooku won from sheer brute force (no pun intended) and just killed her. And nobody knew, especially the Jedi! His reputation was intact up until the Clone Wars and he was never accused of a random Jedi disappearance (until Yoda figured it out decades later).
4. Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars series. I love this series. The animation style is so unique, great designs. The storylines were so short, you could watch the DVD of them in a short amount of time. You could tell the people making them were big Star Wars fans.
5. Visions: Sith from Season 2. The colors in this episode were incredible but I was especially drawn to her wheel-shaped speeder bike.
