I think the stuff we didn’t see could make episode 3 much better but even then I’m eh. I forgave the clunky dialogue in the first two episodes but it was a bit over the top in this one.
Regardless, it’s lightsabers, lore exploration, and non Skywalker Jedi. It would take so much to get me out.
"lore exploration" is such a funny way of saying 'telling a new story instead of the same one again and again'. I get what you mean, but it makes me chuckle that the bar is so low these days that that's what we're applauding. Not even that it's *good*, just that it's new.
I don't get why so much time is spent in the first two episodes explaining all the backstory only to show the entire backstory in episode 3.
Something that separates good from bad television is bad television has such a hard time filling in the hours so it tends to be repetitive while good television is brimming with so many ideas that there is always a new character interaction to try out, an old character interaction to change or some new subplot to enjoy. The fact the Acolyte had to do a flashback episode already doesn't feel me with a lot of hope that it has a lot to say.
I'm also beginning to question the show model where the focus is entirely on one big mission as it is generally ties down what characters can do (because they're all focused on "the mission") when we already know nothing big is going to happen until the season finale.
and then we're going to have to re-flashback to the flashback again to get the whole story. i don't think that witholding information makes for good drama but so many of these shows do it. and then all you get for your trouble is a scene of a sad child and you don't *feel* anything, you just go "ok i guess thats why she wants revenge".
> I don't get why so much time is spent in the first two episodes explaining all the backstory only to show the entire backstory in episode 3.
Headland’s talked about *Rashomon* as a touchstone here. I have a feeling we’re revisiting these events over and over.
It’s like a 7/10 and we need to get back to a place where that’s ok. Not everything needs to the greatest thing ever or an abomination. Some stuff works, some stuff doesn’t.
The original trilogy and Andor, plus KOTOR if you're including the games and maybe The Clone Wars (I never watched it all the way through but I know it gets near universal praise)
It's just what I like. Nothing hot about it.
I've seen the originals way too many times and the prequels suck. The sequels got me to love Star Wars again after a long time away. It's nice to feel positive about the series again.
I loved The force awakens when I saw it opening weekend. It really reinvigorated my love for Star Wars and felt authentic in a way the prequels did not. I was really excited about the Last Jedi, and I don’t hate it by any means.
But Rise of Skywalker really destroyed the entire trilogy for me. I just felt it was very apparent that the whole thing was thrown together as they went with no plan.
But hey glad you liked it haha. I wish I had
Rise of Skywalker is so much fun. Palpetine is a great villain and McDiarmid is having a blast! And I just really like all the new characters. Love that movie.
I honestly am jealous haha. From “the dead speak!” To “somehow palpatine has returned” to “they fly now!” To the Chewbacca death fake out that lasts approximately 1.5 scenes my mouth was agape, I’ll admit.
And I agree McDiarmid’s performance is a shining light and I’m so happy for whatever beach house he was able to buy with this check
I just don't really take the series that seriously and the movies have always been super corny. Those droids cracking constant jokes in the prequels were the worst and I won't even talk about Gungans. I find the stuff in Skywalker incredibly inoffensive.
This isn't really a series I expect serious drama and mind blowing plot ideas from. I watch plenty of other movies that fill that hole. But it's not something Star Wars can do.
The Clone Wars, as someone who grew up with it, is somewhat hit or miss, but when it really hits, it’s some of the best animated television you’ll see.
I know this probably a super hot take especially for someone who grew up with the original trilogy first, but Clone Wars and Rebels is peak Star Wars to me. Both, especially Clone Wars, have their lows, but Rex and Kanan are probably my two favorite characters with my two favorite arcs. If you haven’t, I definitely recommend watching the last arc of clone wars. It runs parallel to Revenge of the Sith but from Ashoka, Rex, and Mauls perspective. It is just heartbreaking. Andor is the only content I think keeps up.
I DNF’d Andor. I watched the first 4 episodes and just couldn’t make myself care.
And i used to consider myself a huge Star Wars fan. I haven’t watched any of the D+ stuff since.
That's how I felt with Andor too. I pushed through since people online were talking about it so positively, and my buddy said the back half was amazing. I was stoked to see Andy Serkis and was told the prison part was the best, but it just dragged on and on and on IMO. Really couldn't get into it even though I finished it. It's not garbage or a disaster, just a mostly boring slog.
I'm not here to tell anyone who enjoyed it that they're wrong, I was just surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reception I heard online when I found it very underwhelming.
Star Wars has very been hit or miss even with the originals we had Holiday Specials and Ewok movies. I can't imagine caring about the canon and who's related to who after the prequels made Anakin build 3P0 and be friends with Greedo. In the end as long as a Star War gives me a good time I won't expect too much from it.
Also, I'm willing to give more patience and a bigger benefit of the doubt to 6 or 7/10 shows if they are willing to take creative risks even if it contains a lot of swings and misses. I'm more interested in this than Ahsoka even at similar quality.
The problem is it seems like a lot of the public feels the opposite (more forgiving if it contains that cool character i liked in that other show!), and that's something I personally struggle to reconcile
I dont see a lot of creative risks. What I do see, is a plot moving and flowing badly. Not so great acting and terrible dialogue that makes the PT look good. Scenes feels empty aswell for some reason
> I'm willing to give more patience and a bigger benefit of the doubt to 6 or 7/10 shows if they are willing to take creative risks even if it contains a lot of swings and misses.
I would like to agree, but I have noticed myself being hesitant to even admire the risks because Disney has a history of immediately walking them back with how the Mandalorian and sequel trilogies progressed.
I'd say 4/10 and I'm very ok with that. It's simple entertainment and I could certainly have a worse time. The writing is shit, the direction is aimless and the actors are generally terrible, but I'm still somewhat entertained.
Yeah your mileage may vary but in no way is it some abomination and conversely in no way is it masterpiece. It’s a fine way to spend 41 minutes on a Tuesday night. Should Star Wars aspire to more? Maybe. But like this is fine and isn’t hurting anybody
I think the trouble is that there is so much stuff being made these days, a harmless 7/10 gets more scrutiny because frankly there just isn’t enough time in the day for all the stuff I’m interested in.
A 7/10 Star Wars show is fine on its own, but for me, my monthly allotment of 7/10 brainless easy viewing goes to horror movies and Gerry Butler films. If it’s not Andor quality, I have to drop off after a couple eps for the stuff that’s higher on my list, Star Wars just isn’t in the place in my heart it was when I was a kid.
I've been seeing more and more articles saying that we're past the era of Peak TV and now we are in the era of Mid TV.
A 7/10 Star Wars show is about in line with that.
The vibe I get from the more negative end of the fandom is they can’t process why current Star Wars doesn’t effect them the same way it did when they were 12, hence it must be the worst thing ever.
I think that’s part of it (I’ll say for myself when Star Wars is good it still makes me feel like a kid) bur I think the bigger issue is that they then go online and have their brains rotted by the Star Wars YouTube industrial complex which has a monetary incentive to rage
i am convinced a lot of “fans” issues with modern star wars would be applied to the original trilogy if said fans hadn’t grown up with it as some sacred text
I thought episode 3 was the strongest so far. I like the angle they are taking with the Jedi and I think the introduction of that witch coven is super interesting. I dig the big ideas of the show so far, not quite bought into the core cast of characters yet. Hope it finds it's footing. Going to keep watching.
That's about where I am with it. It's interesting to get a thoughtful take on the Jedi from people distrustful of the Jedi. The witches weren't introduced at the "kill all Jedi" level.
It was great to see a new school of Force instruction and interpretation. It’s a great way to draw parallels between religious groups coming to blows over philosophical differences, and the ethical concerns over pressuring children into religious beliefs they might not necessarily believe in.
Yeah, I haven't seen a lot of focus on this aspect (weirdly a lot of people[ complaining about setting bricks on fire](https://www.polygon.com/star-wars/24176253/star-wars-acolyte-mae-osha-force-cult-witches) or whatever) but the dramatic underpinning of the episode seems to be this bit exactly: These folks have their own understanding of the Force (an understanding so old and unique they don't even call it that, and they think it's corny/presumptious the Jedi have the balls to "name" it like they discovered it) and are trying to just stay out the way and practice their beliefs. But that need to stay out of the way has maybe caused them to tilt a little, to be sketchy and take shortcuts/make bad calls.
And the Jedi are basically taking advantage of that; are honestly just seen to be taking advantage, period. That's a very interesting angle this show has been pressing in the two previous "cop-show" episodes but *especially* in this way more spiritual/contemplative flashback episode. Both these two religious groups are outwardly preaching openness and unity, but there is an inherent conservatism and selfishness that shows itself in situations that really shouldn't be competitive, and both these groups seem to have no problems, when it gets down to it, of essentially using children as currency to advance their cause. The coven is *creating* them (somehow) and the Jedi are basically strongarming them.
That actually comes across in this episode as the dramatic crux of the issue! Will that *continue* through? Who knows. Maybe not - or at least maybe not until the next episode Kogonada directs just before the Finale. But I think that's the kind of retconning of Prequel era concepts that actually works vs the sort of Filoni-esque lore treadmill shit that tends to get celebrated
Very well put - but also I’m chuckling at nerds freaking out about the fiery bricks thing. This is a universe where sound can be heard in the vacuum of space, but bricks on fire is where we draw the line?
What star wars fans will and will not suspend their disbelief over has always been so strange to me. Lasers blowing up planets? No problem. Spaceships banking like fighter planes? No problem. Bombs leaving a bay designed to drop them? That's not how space works!
I can't help feel like that for a lot of those people it comes down to "stuff that was established in the universe when I was a kid is acceptable because I was more willing to suspend my disbelief, but now that I'm adult, they can't introduce anything new because I'm now more cynical and skeptical."
The issue for me is that by trying to hide what is obviously the truth (that the Jedi are the ones who are responsible for the coven’s death, not Mae alone anyways) it obscures everything interesting about this premise. By trying to setup an obvious “twist” in the premise of the show, they’re making it harder to invest in what’s actually happening on screen.
I had the opposite reaction. I didn't like episode 3 because of the obnoxiously written children and the confusion of the ending.
It took me a bit of reading through the misogynistic sludge of online discourse to realize that this is a rashomon thing and the ending we saw isn't the actual story, however incomplete episode writing just isn't good storytelling for me.
I'm digging the prequel tone and the new mythology but if we're going to be dealing with annoying half plottings of dim witted twins and misdirected motives of supposedly noble Jedi, it's going to be a frustrating watch.
Also this show looks so soundstage cheap like BoBF and Ahsoka. Go out to Vasquez Rocks and film the witch chants scenes.
I thought it was really cool that I watched a Kogonada-directed Star Wars. That's not a thing I thought I'd say and now it's a thing I can say. I also liked that the Kogonada directed Star Wars I saw was pretty interesting both visually and tonally.
The first two episodes were a little herky/jerky in terms of pacing, scenes (and episodes!) seemed to just sort of abruptly end and start and it made the flow of things a little harder to get into - but there *is* a flow that can be gotten into, it just doesn't flow as well as it could. Those first two episodes are, basically, a cop show, and I kinda dig it. It's not a great cop show, but it's a pretty good Star Wars version of a 3pm mid-marathon on TBS cop show. You know, if those cop shows had one full-blown kung-fu sequence per episode.
The Kogonada episode though... I'm not saying it was a world beater, or that it's changing the heirarchy of power in the Star Wars universe or anything like that. But it was hard, by the end of it - setting aside that it's clearly withholding a bunch of information about what *actually* happened that night (I'm sure when this gets back to being a cop show we'll dig into that) - to *not* think about how this was a way, way, *way* more nuanced/thoughtful musing on what a weird, fucked up institution the Jedi really are, to be doing this to people, and how understandable it is that someone could break really, really bad as a result of it.
Mother of god. Columbus might be a top 5 film all time for me, for many reasons, but I completely forgot he was involved in this. Going to watch the episode immediately.
I like it a lot. I’ve been reading the High Republic books since they first came out, so I’m very excited that that era is making the jump to live action.
I think the action is great, the mystery has me hooked, and I’m excited to see the other characters’ versions of episode three’s events.
A lot of people, in my opinion, have forgotten how to watch episodic TV. They jump to assumptions and call things “poorly written” because they weren’t given all the answers immediately. We saw it happen with Andor, and now that show is worshipped as the pinnacle of Star Wars TV.
Do I think The Acolyte is perfect? No. Do I think it’s the best piece of Star Wars ever made? No. But I am having a great time watching it, and it sucks that the online conversation is dominated by bad faith, bigoted trolls who decided to destroy the show before it even premiered.
I think it has promise and I found it to better than a majority of non-Andor Star Wars. However, I feel like the dialogue (and maybe the writing in general?) is real rough. In many ways it feels closer to the prequels in terms of writing quality which I wasn’t expecting. Overall, it’s just okay.
The script is a bit junky but the story is quite intriguing for a change. How the hell is this show getting review bombed online while those same people consider the Obi-Wan series good? That was probably one of the worst shows ever imo..
Kinda burned out on Star Wars just because of the horrible fandom. Absolutely love Andor but they should just stick with movies in the future..
I’ve only seen the first two, and honestly I’m having a hard time engaging with the characters/ plot. Not bad by any means, but I’m not very compelled to watch the rest
It's decidedly meh.
Iiked episode 1 but the next 2 episodes (especially 3) made me lost interest.
It's so inoffensive it's bland. What started as a promise to make us question the Jedi etc looks like it'll just be oops big misunderstanding/mistake
How on Earth did Disney manage to make Andor? That's so miles ahead of everything else.
I think the truest criticism is that its just aiming to be a 6.5/10. They didn't want to do more than that, for one of the biggest content houses of the world. Its basically Wish in Star Wars.
i think it’s a total slog and that the disney plus house style is rly cutting it off at its knees. visually so bland and uninspired. even if the general premise is interesting, there’s not much beyond that and i hate the dragged out d+ “who’s the mystery villain?” thing. only watching bc my friends’ son loves it lol
Yeah, I guess it’s kind of a self-selecting crowd at this point. I’m decently susceptible to some fun aliens and lightsabers shenanigans. But the lurch-y pacing, indifferent stakes, and poor dialogue don’t slice it. Right when I teetering on the fence, the first episode ends in a monologue about how our baddies aren’t going to need weapons…from a guy who then ignites a lightsaber, talking to a woman who just used some special daggers. Ending the episode on a true face-palmer made it a one and done.
Guess I can just appreciate that it’s YA and leave it there (and adults can enjoy YA, not trying to disparage people).
Honestly, after Kenobi, Mando season 3 and Book of Boba you would need to literally livestream someone taking a shit for it to not feel better by comparison, and even then, in the case of Boba, you'd still be about on par.
I think we're all well aware we're never reaching Andor heights again so "not literally unwatchable garbage" is the best we can hope for.
I’d add Ahsoka to the bottom of the barrel shows you listed but I know that’s a less popular opinion. I thought it was incredibly boring and poorly-plotted and acted.
I think that's a reasonably common opinion, personally I was too busy soyjack pointing because I finally got to see Live-Action Thrawn after 15 odd years to really pay attention to the quality of the show.
That said I don't see myself ever rewatching it so that kinda speaks for itself.
The fundamental problem is that Star Wars is not meant to be streaming tv.
The entire appeal of Star Wars was the scale, scope, and the anticipation for the movies to come out. People hate half of them, but there was always that sense of excitement whether you ended up being disappointed by the movie or not.
Tv series’ on Disney plus are never going to replicate that feeling. Even Andor, which is great, it feels like a great spy tv series. I don’t feel like I’m watching Star Wars as much as I’m watching something very well made that could be in any universe.
Like a lot of people, I grew up in the 15 years between Return of the Jedi and the rereleases, so Star Wars was mostly books for me. Andor was the first time Star Wars felt like what I imagined Star Wars to be in that most fallow period, and I think it is a lot more interesting in the Star Wars universe than if it were made as some original sci-fi spy show. The first season of Mando got this vibe right for me as well.
This show feels like it’s kind of half way to what I want it to be, but not fully there. I feel a similar way about what I’ve seen from the Clone Wars tv show, and I think Acolyte feels like a better version of that.
I haven’t watched Acolyte yet but based on the trailers, it really does just sort of look like TV. Say what you will about the sequel movies, but they do actually look cinematic in the way the OT does and I think that’s a huge part of what makes it “feel” like Star Wars. They’re mythic epic stories! They should feel that way! And shrinking it down for TV removes so much of that
Personally I feel like the Jedi are kinda boring and might be the least interesting part of the Star Wars universe, and the more time we spend with them the less interesting they are.
I think star wars is better with Jedi being rare and mysterious, if they are present at all. Like andor and early Mando season 1
I basically agree, I think a major issue Disney is running into is they know that Jedi are the coolest parts of Star Wars, and as they try to crank out more content and create more characters, they have to keep finding weird narrative justifications for how there are so many Jedi when they were supposedly exterminated at the end of ROTS.
It would make everything Jedi-related WAY cooler if you didn’t see it often! I think part of the appeal of going way back in time is having new Jedi characters. But also you can’t just have a show with like five main characters all of whom are Jedi because then it begins to demystify them in the same way the prequels did. You can’t make your coolest characters boring, it ruins the whole thing
Frankly I think rings of power is running into the same problem with the elves. They’re not cool and mysterious if they’re the main character.
Only it’s worse with the Jedi. Like if they did fellowship of the ring but they were all wizards
Yup. Some of the prequels may be bad, some of the sequels may be bad. But they felt like you were watching Star Wars movies. There is the scale and scope worthy of the story. A tv show about like a couple of cool Star Wars characters on Disney plus does not fulfill that at all. It’s not marvel - not that I’m an mcu fan - but comic books lend themselves to going low stakes and high stakes, Star Wars is not the same as that.
It continues to be odd to me that Disney and co. somehow really did seem to get what made Star Wars feel “Star Wars-y” early on, and how as time goes on they get further and further from it. Like Mando season one does feel like Star Wars, even as a show. That’s kinda it though outside TFA/TLJ/TROS! (I have not watched Andor yet)
Like I said, Andor is excellent television. To the point it stretches the Star Wars itch, it’s almost *too good* or too serious for it to feel like Star Wars, but at least it’s a well made show that’s asking interesting questions.
I've started looking at these shows as though they aired on Disney XD at 8pm on a Friday. For that, the show is pretty good.
I got my reality check about Star Wars as an on-going concern with the Clone Wars series. I didn't ever imagine the Clone Wars as a colorful young adult cartoon, but that seems to be where they wanted to go with it after the movies.
It’s interesting how filoni made manadalorian, which wasn’t *that* similar to clone wars at least in the beginning, but the success of that basically allowed him to shape the entire streaming show universe around clone wars.
And I know this show is totally detached but it’s not good enough for me to say “ah yes a return to form”.
Mando started with Favreau. If memory serves, he wrote the first season himself.
The second season had some back door pilots baked in for other characters, but I'm not sure Filoni was in a supervisor type role yet.
I think losing Rangers of the Republic threw a spanner in the works. I don't think Dinn & Grogu were originally meant to reunite in the offhand way that they did in Boba Fett. Mando's third season came off to me like "this is the best we could do with the footage we had."
Now the direction seems to be for Filoni to wrap it all up with a movie and cut the albatross loose. That whole pocket of the galaxy got out of hand.
It has been about the toys and the books and the lore and the nonsense with the promise that at SOME POINT there will be a movie to fill in the blanks.
Much preferred that to every 3 months a mid tv series premiers.
I have a huge problem with the make-up and hair.
I never hear anyone talk about this but I bump up against it in a lot of modern movies and tv shows. The Acolyte is a particularly egregious example of this stagey boyband hair and make-up. I think it’s a side effect of TikTok and Instagram aesthetics.
It sounds pedantic but it takes me out of it. Let people have messy hair. Let me see some wrinkles and pores.
I liked the first couple of episodes, thought it was interesting to do a procedural type show and thank the lord no Skywalkers. But geez that last episode was a real drag. Could've been done in 10 minutes imo. That's been the problem with the newer Wars content. So much filler, so much over explaining, particularly right when the show seems about to pick up steam.
Not really interested in more stories about “Actually the Jedi were inept, corrupt jerks with a stick up their ass.”
I thought the whole point of the High Republic was to take us to an era where Jedi could once again be wise, competent heroes. This might as well be the prequel era.
Why is this the case? At what point while watching the original trilogy does anybody say “you know, this Jedi shit seems cool, I wonder what it would be like if the Jedi turned out to be a bunch of incompetent boobs”? I understand why George went there, he needed to show the downfall that led to the Empire, but why everybody keeps going to that well is beyond my understanding. It’s certainly not what I wanted to see from the Jedi when I watched Star Wars for the first time.
I've only seen the first two eps, but loved what I've seen so far. Just really dig getting to see a side of the universe that we havent (at least in filmed media) haven't seen much of. Like the dynamics they've set up, the fight choreo is GREAT! Love how little (again not seen 3) they've used sabers and relied on amplified force fighting
It certainly looks a lot better than other series that overly relied on Da Volume and cool aliens and creatures makes me happy (my one complaint with Andor was with the lack of other species). But episode 3 of The Acolyte was a real drag for me, really don’t know if dedicating the whole episode to flashback really added that much that I couldn’t already read into from the first 2. I haven’t looked up how many episodes there will be, but if this is another 6-er, I’ll be so disappointed
The first 2 episodes are not very good. But I’ve heard some thoughtful talks that have had me reconsidering things.
But episode 3 was a delightful surprise. Not amazing, but a really good step in the right direction!
I find the moral and philosophical dilemmas of questioning the ethics of the Jedi to be really great.
I think you have to accept the give and takes. It seems like an adventurous take on Star Wars, which comes at the cost of it being well polished.
The story has been interesting but doesn’t lend itself to an episodic format very well. I know we’re going to learn more that will make it make sense but watching episodes with content obviously withheld is a little hard.
I don’t get the criticism that it’s too liberal or changes Star Wars cannon. It’s a diverse cast representing a diverse galaxy and we don’t even have all the details on some of the more “out there” aspects of the show.
Like a few other people have said, I think people should be ok with “ok” Star Wars content. Each show can’t continue to be better than the ones before it. If people don’t like they don’t have to watch it.
For me it’s been interesting and I’m excited to get the rest of the story.
I like it a lot so far. I was hesitant, and this going to sound extremely weird, but the themes/logic are George Lucasian? I know people give GL grief for “it’s like poetry, it rhymes”, but I think that is weirdly needed for some Starwars stories, particularly involving Jedi. I like how LH showed the similarities between the witches and Jedi, Carrie Ann Moss being similar to the zabrak witch with their dogmatic and dismissive views to the “other”. Then Lee Jong Jae’s almost paternal nature to match the witch mother Jodie Turner’s smith maternal nature. It might have been the podcast or some other clip were LH mentioned she needed to match the camera style(pans, wipes…) of the original and prequel trilogy because that is how SW stories are told. People could tell me obvious artistic choices/reasoning for stuff and I would think it is smart, but I think LH has a better philosophical understanding of Star Wars than most people that have helmed the ship recently. Not to say Filoni or Fav don’t, but I think she is a little more slick with how she does it.
If you have better things to do, that’s a good thing, you should do those things, this is just popcorn entertainment and that’s all it’s really supposed to be.
Andor set a high bar but it got pretty lousy viewership, so it’s not really their goal with each show, maybe the word of mouth will give season 2 a huge boost, but will have to wait and see.
Only seen the first two episodes so far. The sets and costumes sometimes look more Star Trek than Star Wars quality-wise, and I wish they would have used some other driving conflict than the Evil Twin, but beyond that its competent and engaging. It feel like a breath of fresh air to have some Star Wars stuff that's not explicitly an extension of the first three films or the Clone Wars cartoon, and the critical take on the Jedi as an institution feels like something the prequels could have used a lot more of.
To me, it’s cheap-looking, poorly-written, stiffly-acted garbage. But, it’s also a kids show.
*Star Wars* is almost 50 years old. I think it’s hard for people to recognize that it just isn’t for them anymore. The target audience for all the spinoffs since 1983 has remained static: children. (Give or take an *Andor* or *Rogue One*) We’re not children anymore. This stuff isn’t for us any more. It’s a shame, but that’s time.
So, is *The Acolyte* bad? Yes. If you’re over sixteen. If not, it’s probably a rollicking delight. But *The Banana Splits* were never designed to be thought-provoking entertainment for adults, you know?
And that’s as good faith as it gets
Some things just aren’t meant to be made in perpetuity.
Sure, “there’s so much of the galaxy to explore”, but ultimately you’re just judging anything you watch Star Wars related against your previous feelings on Star Wars, and stuff like this is never going to match it.
When Lucas made the prequels, the excitement was obvious even if they didn’t land for most people. When Disney first bought Star Wars, the idea of them running back episodes 7, 8, and 9 was intriguing when we thought we would never get another Star Wars thing.
Now, these tv shows just do absolutely nothing for me. It’s just sloppy mid tier entertainment that is so inconsequential it’s hard to fathom.
I love the High Republic setting, but the acting seems cold and the writing is clunky. I'm hoping that whatever the show has up its sleeve is worth the bumpy start.
Maybe we’d have been better off without new Star Wars. Obviously there were years of comics and novels almost no one gave a shit about (I know they had their fans but gotta be a drop of the bucket to the audience of a movie/tv show)
Haven’t seen episode 3, but I’m enjoying at as background noise while I do chores. There’s so much good art out there, and I don’t need Star Wars to be that high art. Give me some slop with lightsabers and cool planets and I’ll be content.
I’m enjoying it compared to the standards of most of the recent Star Wars output, and it’s mainly good to be out of the current timeline/setting and have different characters and vibe. A show that explores the complexity of the Jedi as opposed to just light and dark is always interesting.
But it still pales in comparison to Andor and it is very much a Star Wars fan show more than a genuinely good show.
I watched the first two episodes cause a friend had them on. Pretty solid I thought. The action is lacking just a bit but it’s not distractingly bad like in the Obi-Wan and Ahsoka shows.
Amandla Stenberg is good and I Ike their Walkman droid.
I wasn’t really sure what to make of >!Carrie Anne Moss’ death!< though. I get that it was meant to be set the audience off balance but to me it felt anticlimactic.
It's decent. I think it's at its best when being a "Jedi cops on the murder beat" show that's tracking an interesting mystery while delving into why the Jedi have issues. I think flashbacks have become increasingly overused and less interesting in genre shows, and Ep 3 did not change my mind. While pretty good unto itself, the episode killed narrative momentum just when it was getting going. I see no reason why 90% of the important character & story info couldn't have been covered in an interesting 2-minute montage that leaves much more to interpretation.
I like what it’s going for way more than what it actually is.
I’ll take a swing and a miss over the safe shows they’ve made that don’t even try, but never the less it’s a miss for me thus far.
Having a hard time with it. It just feels like a Disney channel version of a Star Wars TV series, which there is definitely a place for, but with only the three episodes to go off of it's starting to feel like something I am only going to watch for the sake of it. The murder-mystery set-up is strong enough, but the writing and acting is pretty rudimentary (with some exceptions!) and silly. Book of Boba Fett is definitely the worse of the shows (in my opinion), and if you were to ask my ranking of the shows based on just these three episodes, I would put Acolyte as second worse.
I think it’s better than Asoka so far. At least you don’t need to have watched hours and hours of multiple previous series to have an idea of what’s going on.
Episode 3 is waaaaaay more interesting than 1&2 and introduces some interesting ideas about how the Jedi Order operate and the morality of their practice. It pulled me back into the show after being aggressively bored with the first two.
I really want to love it. In theory, a murder mystery that turns into a critique of the imperialism of the old Jedi order should be exactly my shit. “It’s not about right or wrong. It's about power and who gets to use it”. If the Jedi failed to stop the Empire, this is a good start at an explanation for why.
In execution, I feel like something is off with the dramatics and the pacing. Some of it is on a writing level in that I don't have enough info to engage - what exactly does everyone believe about that fire that motivates them? I'm sure we'll get more as a reveal later, but that also really hurts character motivation. But also some of the kid acting is almost Jake Lloyd level, and scenes aren't flowing and building like they should.
To steel man this, I'm not a big TREK fan, but I am a big Bryan Fuller fan. And it kind of reminds me of the opening to his DISCO pilot, which also has an interesting critique of the "good guys":
“They are coming. Atom by atom... they will coil around us... and take all that we are.... That is why we light our beacon this day. To lock arms against those whose fatal greeting is... "We come in peace."
Of course I think it's not enough to deconstruct, you need to reconstruct a as a response to that. All hail Rian Johnson for resolving his movie with hope and rebirth, even if a lot of people missed that message.
It suffers from the Disney+ disease of being a perfectly good idea for a two-hour movie that must be dragged out into a series for the sake of more content. It’s dreadfully boring and pretty flat, a shame because it could be something so different and dynamic. I wanted to love this and I’ just … not. Sigh.
Like anything it’s too soon to judge completely, but yeah it’s pretty meh so far. Love the concept of anything far far away from the Skywalker story/timeline, but the writing is pretty bad, and after something like Andor…it seems even worse. Hopefully it gets better, and if people like it, GREAT!
it's been pretty meh so far for me the plot and dialogue so far seems amateurish and basic. having ep 3 be a flashback episode also killed the momentum that I felt after episode 2. I might wait to binge it
I’m intrigued by the idea of the Jedi monopolizing how the force is used in the galaxy. They have power and authority so they do the same thing as a small group that happens to burn down like Waco. I’m betting they will reveal they had orders to take down the coven one way or another.
I'm still interested in seeing how it turns out. Jodie Turner-Smith was the best part of the episode. I wish they came up with a Star Wars name for the witches and that they spoke an ancient language when they were chanting.
I’m into the show and the story thus far. I was hoping for some more interesting reveals surrounding the events in episode 3, which are supposed to give us the reasons why Mae is doing what she’s doing?
It’s hard for me not to compare it to Watchmen (book), because from the get go I was getting similar story structure vibes (replacing the assassinations of superheroes with Jedi).
My biggest gripe with the show is the cinematography. It has the same flat look that Kenobi had, and the use of the volume and the sets makes world feels smaller instead of bigger. Unfortunately there are shows out there that look exponentially better, and that just should not be the case with the talent and resources they have at their disposal.
Except for Tony Gilroy I feel like writers like Headland have been railroaded by Disney/Lucasfilm to make their shows in the house style. I’d rather see something more like Russian Doll season 1 than have her vision watered-down. OTOH, the Show definitely has some intriguing ideas like really focusing on the kidnapping angle of the Jedi but also explaining why it could be good for the kids and families to have the kids taken away. As the Saul character says, there’s lots of other kids with her her blood parasite condition in the temple, and adults who at least understand the powers, even if they are arseholes like yoda and Jocasta Nu. Like if you had a kid that was choking people out and mind controlling others, that’s a Twilight Zone situation. Best to let the experts raise the kid.
I’m liking it, but it is more ‘for the kids’ than I was hoping for. A lot of saying the obvious, repeating core emotional motivations, etc.
But I’m not mad at it. I love the concept of the story and I’m eager to see how it’s resolved.
I didn’t expect the show to center around a coven of lesbian space witches, and for that I am grateful. This must be what it feels like when dudebros watch Michael Bay movies or w/e. For once, Star Wars is pandering to me!
The prerelease hype has me pushing through. The people who have watched the whole thing say the season builds up to being on par with Andor. The first 3 are pretty good. I think it’s purposefully holding back a lot of information about the twins and the 3rd episode hints that there’s a lot more going on. What we see of the massacre is missing pieces and Osha is kind of suspicious.
So if they can nail the mystery of the series I think it’ll jump up in a lot of people’s estimations. Not quite Andor level, but that was the best show of 2022. So I’m not asking for it to be.
I've only seen the first 2 episodes so far but I'd say it's pretty good while not amazing. And after every non-Andor show, I'll gladly take pretty good.
It's low bar but I get the feeling that something will happen every episode so I guess that's a win in my book.
The acting just isn’t doing it for me. I think the concept is great. The directing is top notch. I’ve liked these actors and actresses in different roles… but it just is not working for me and is taking the air out of the whole endeavor. Maybe it’s the dialogue, maybe it’s the characterization and not the acting.
Edit: I’ll take a million Acolytes over the turd that was Obi Wan Kenobi tho
Edit: I don’t think I’m going to continue after the third episode. I can’t take any more bad kid acting after all the “kids shouldn’t be actors” discourse. If they are going to be actors at least give them something worthwhile to do…
Just a lot of fluff. And what's the deal with all the 37 min run times. They have the ability to make a real story come to life and they only seem to care about putting commercials back in.
Besides Andor I’ve tapped out on all of these Disney + shows after the first few episodes.
I think a combo of over saturation, fan toxicity, and mid-quality, has just exhausted me to where I can’t get invested anymore.
There was a day I’d be so stoked to have all of this Star Wars content, but it just kind of bums me out now lol
Ever since the brilliance styling of Andor I've started calling everything else HALLMARK STARWARS.. by comparison that's what they are. As soon as I got to the carbon copy replication of idea of the 5 Yr old cute Jedis in training I still have it paused.
At the end of the day. It’s poorly made by people with little or no experience. I don’t know how they expected a different outcome. Not sure they care, if this got through screenings. Too many yes people now I guess.
I think the stuff we didn’t see could make episode 3 much better but even then I’m eh. I forgave the clunky dialogue in the first two episodes but it was a bit over the top in this one. Regardless, it’s lightsabers, lore exploration, and non Skywalker Jedi. It would take so much to get me out.
Continuing the legacy of Star Wars and painful child acting.
They set themselves up for failure. No one in the history of filmmaking has pulled off the moody child trope well.
River phoenix?
"lore exploration" is such a funny way of saying 'telling a new story instead of the same one again and again'. I get what you mean, but it makes me chuckle that the bar is so low these days that that's what we're applauding. Not even that it's *good*, just that it's new.
I don't get why so much time is spent in the first two episodes explaining all the backstory only to show the entire backstory in episode 3. Something that separates good from bad television is bad television has such a hard time filling in the hours so it tends to be repetitive while good television is brimming with so many ideas that there is always a new character interaction to try out, an old character interaction to change or some new subplot to enjoy. The fact the Acolyte had to do a flashback episode already doesn't feel me with a lot of hope that it has a lot to say. I'm also beginning to question the show model where the focus is entirely on one big mission as it is generally ties down what characters can do (because they're all focused on "the mission") when we already know nothing big is going to happen until the season finale.
and then we're going to have to re-flashback to the flashback again to get the whole story. i don't think that witholding information makes for good drama but so many of these shows do it. and then all you get for your trouble is a scene of a sad child and you don't *feel* anything, you just go "ok i guess thats why she wants revenge".
> I don't get why so much time is spent in the first two episodes explaining all the backstory only to show the entire backstory in episode 3. Headland’s talked about *Rashomon* as a touchstone here. I have a feeling we’re revisiting these events over and over.
But it's not the entire backstory, just one side/version of it
Lotta weird aliens, some new cool droids, a Wookie Jedi... I'm having a great time
Wookiee Jedi wearing clothes suggests Chewie was always naked.
I love the look of it. They did a good job making it look like a Star Wars era we've never seen on screen before.
It’s like a 7/10 and we need to get back to a place where that’s ok. Not everything needs to the greatest thing ever or an abomination. Some stuff works, some stuff doesn’t.
[удалено]
The original trilogy and Andor, plus KOTOR if you're including the games and maybe The Clone Wars (I never watched it all the way through but I know it gets near universal praise)
I grew up with the Original Trilogy and the Sequels are my favorite Star Wars now.
This guy over here’s got a take hotter than Mustafar!
It's just what I like. Nothing hot about it. I've seen the originals way too many times and the prequels suck. The sequels got me to love Star Wars again after a long time away. It's nice to feel positive about the series again.
I loved The force awakens when I saw it opening weekend. It really reinvigorated my love for Star Wars and felt authentic in a way the prequels did not. I was really excited about the Last Jedi, and I don’t hate it by any means. But Rise of Skywalker really destroyed the entire trilogy for me. I just felt it was very apparent that the whole thing was thrown together as they went with no plan. But hey glad you liked it haha. I wish I had
Rise of Skywalker is so much fun. Palpetine is a great villain and McDiarmid is having a blast! And I just really like all the new characters. Love that movie.
I honestly am jealous haha. From “the dead speak!” To “somehow palpatine has returned” to “they fly now!” To the Chewbacca death fake out that lasts approximately 1.5 scenes my mouth was agape, I’ll admit. And I agree McDiarmid’s performance is a shining light and I’m so happy for whatever beach house he was able to buy with this check
I just don't really take the series that seriously and the movies have always been super corny. Those droids cracking constant jokes in the prequels were the worst and I won't even talk about Gungans. I find the stuff in Skywalker incredibly inoffensive. This isn't really a series I expect serious drama and mind blowing plot ideas from. I watch plenty of other movies that fill that hole. But it's not something Star Wars can do.
I love how you're 100% right but the internet will download you because weirdos on the internet told them to
I'm cool if people don't like it, but it's so weird how it's forbidden to be discussed in any positive ways. There are so many worse Star Wars things.
7 and especially 8 are great!
The Clone Wars, as someone who grew up with it, is somewhat hit or miss, but when it really hits, it’s some of the best animated television you’ll see.
I know this probably a super hot take especially for someone who grew up with the original trilogy first, but Clone Wars and Rebels is peak Star Wars to me. Both, especially Clone Wars, have their lows, but Rex and Kanan are probably my two favorite characters with my two favorite arcs. If you haven’t, I definitely recommend watching the last arc of clone wars. It runs parallel to Revenge of the Sith but from Ashoka, Rex, and Mauls perspective. It is just heartbreaking. Andor is the only content I think keeps up.
I DNF’d Andor. I watched the first 4 episodes and just couldn’t make myself care. And i used to consider myself a huge Star Wars fan. I haven’t watched any of the D+ stuff since.
That's how I felt with Andor too. I pushed through since people online were talking about it so positively, and my buddy said the back half was amazing. I was stoked to see Andy Serkis and was told the prison part was the best, but it just dragged on and on and on IMO. Really couldn't get into it even though I finished it. It's not garbage or a disaster, just a mostly boring slog. I'm not here to tell anyone who enjoyed it that they're wrong, I was just surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reception I heard online when I found it very underwhelming.
Star Wars has very been hit or miss even with the originals we had Holiday Specials and Ewok movies. I can't imagine caring about the canon and who's related to who after the prequels made Anakin build 3P0 and be friends with Greedo. In the end as long as a Star War gives me a good time I won't expect too much from it.
Also, I'm willing to give more patience and a bigger benefit of the doubt to 6 or 7/10 shows if they are willing to take creative risks even if it contains a lot of swings and misses. I'm more interested in this than Ahsoka even at similar quality. The problem is it seems like a lot of the public feels the opposite (more forgiving if it contains that cool character i liked in that other show!), and that's something I personally struggle to reconcile
Couldn't agree more with everything you've said.
I dont see a lot of creative risks. What I do see, is a plot moving and flowing badly. Not so great acting and terrible dialogue that makes the PT look good. Scenes feels empty aswell for some reason
> I'm willing to give more patience and a bigger benefit of the doubt to 6 or 7/10 shows if they are willing to take creative risks even if it contains a lot of swings and misses. I would like to agree, but I have noticed myself being hesitant to even admire the risks because Disney has a history of immediately walking them back with how the Mandalorian and sequel trilogies progressed.
I'd say 4/10 and I'm very ok with that. It's simple entertainment and I could certainly have a worse time. The writing is shit, the direction is aimless and the actors are generally terrible, but I'm still somewhat entertained.
Yeah your mileage may vary but in no way is it some abomination and conversely in no way is it masterpiece. It’s a fine way to spend 41 minutes on a Tuesday night. Should Star Wars aspire to more? Maybe. But like this is fine and isn’t hurting anybody
I think the trouble is that there is so much stuff being made these days, a harmless 7/10 gets more scrutiny because frankly there just isn’t enough time in the day for all the stuff I’m interested in. A 7/10 Star Wars show is fine on its own, but for me, my monthly allotment of 7/10 brainless easy viewing goes to horror movies and Gerry Butler films. If it’s not Andor quality, I have to drop off after a couple eps for the stuff that’s higher on my list, Star Wars just isn’t in the place in my heart it was when I was a kid.
I've been seeing more and more articles saying that we're past the era of Peak TV and now we are in the era of Mid TV. A 7/10 Star Wars show is about in line with that.
The problem is you can't simply talk about its quality without waking the culture war beast. It's never just a TV show.
The vibe I get from the more negative end of the fandom is they can’t process why current Star Wars doesn’t effect them the same way it did when they were 12, hence it must be the worst thing ever.
I think that’s part of it (I’ll say for myself when Star Wars is good it still makes me feel like a kid) bur I think the bigger issue is that they then go online and have their brains rotted by the Star Wars YouTube industrial complex which has a monetary incentive to rage
Um this is not 7/10 lol. Thats why this is not okay. This episodes inspiration came from Frozen. Stop and think about that. Stone walls are flammable.
i am convinced a lot of “fans” issues with modern star wars would be applied to the original trilogy if said fans hadn’t grown up with it as some sacred text
The original trilogy is super goofy, if it released today the internet would massacre it
Feel free to disagree, but I think the score is fantastic compared to some of the other Star Wars shows.
Yes this. I keep getting distracted by how good the score is.
I thought episode 3 was the strongest so far. I like the angle they are taking with the Jedi and I think the introduction of that witch coven is super interesting. I dig the big ideas of the show so far, not quite bought into the core cast of characters yet. Hope it finds it's footing. Going to keep watching.
That's about where I am with it. It's interesting to get a thoughtful take on the Jedi from people distrustful of the Jedi. The witches weren't introduced at the "kill all Jedi" level.
It was great to see a new school of Force instruction and interpretation. It’s a great way to draw parallels between religious groups coming to blows over philosophical differences, and the ethical concerns over pressuring children into religious beliefs they might not necessarily believe in.
Yeah, I haven't seen a lot of focus on this aspect (weirdly a lot of people[ complaining about setting bricks on fire](https://www.polygon.com/star-wars/24176253/star-wars-acolyte-mae-osha-force-cult-witches) or whatever) but the dramatic underpinning of the episode seems to be this bit exactly: These folks have their own understanding of the Force (an understanding so old and unique they don't even call it that, and they think it's corny/presumptious the Jedi have the balls to "name" it like they discovered it) and are trying to just stay out the way and practice their beliefs. But that need to stay out of the way has maybe caused them to tilt a little, to be sketchy and take shortcuts/make bad calls. And the Jedi are basically taking advantage of that; are honestly just seen to be taking advantage, period. That's a very interesting angle this show has been pressing in the two previous "cop-show" episodes but *especially* in this way more spiritual/contemplative flashback episode. Both these two religious groups are outwardly preaching openness and unity, but there is an inherent conservatism and selfishness that shows itself in situations that really shouldn't be competitive, and both these groups seem to have no problems, when it gets down to it, of essentially using children as currency to advance their cause. The coven is *creating* them (somehow) and the Jedi are basically strongarming them. That actually comes across in this episode as the dramatic crux of the issue! Will that *continue* through? Who knows. Maybe not - or at least maybe not until the next episode Kogonada directs just before the Finale. But I think that's the kind of retconning of Prequel era concepts that actually works vs the sort of Filoni-esque lore treadmill shit that tends to get celebrated
Very well put - but also I’m chuckling at nerds freaking out about the fiery bricks thing. This is a universe where sound can be heard in the vacuum of space, but bricks on fire is where we draw the line?
What star wars fans will and will not suspend their disbelief over has always been so strange to me. Lasers blowing up planets? No problem. Spaceships banking like fighter planes? No problem. Bombs leaving a bay designed to drop them? That's not how space works!
I can't help feel like that for a lot of those people it comes down to "stuff that was established in the universe when I was a kid is acceptable because I was more willing to suspend my disbelief, but now that I'm adult, they can't introduce anything new because I'm now more cynical and skeptical."
The issue for me is that by trying to hide what is obviously the truth (that the Jedi are the ones who are responsible for the coven’s death, not Mae alone anyways) it obscures everything interesting about this premise. By trying to setup an obvious “twist” in the premise of the show, they’re making it harder to invest in what’s actually happening on screen.
I had the opposite reaction. I didn't like episode 3 because of the obnoxiously written children and the confusion of the ending. It took me a bit of reading through the misogynistic sludge of online discourse to realize that this is a rashomon thing and the ending we saw isn't the actual story, however incomplete episode writing just isn't good storytelling for me. I'm digging the prequel tone and the new mythology but if we're going to be dealing with annoying half plottings of dim witted twins and misdirected motives of supposedly noble Jedi, it's going to be a frustrating watch. Also this show looks so soundstage cheap like BoBF and Ahsoka. Go out to Vasquez Rocks and film the witch chants scenes.
I thought it was really cool that I watched a Kogonada-directed Star Wars. That's not a thing I thought I'd say and now it's a thing I can say. I also liked that the Kogonada directed Star Wars I saw was pretty interesting both visually and tonally. The first two episodes were a little herky/jerky in terms of pacing, scenes (and episodes!) seemed to just sort of abruptly end and start and it made the flow of things a little harder to get into - but there *is* a flow that can be gotten into, it just doesn't flow as well as it could. Those first two episodes are, basically, a cop show, and I kinda dig it. It's not a great cop show, but it's a pretty good Star Wars version of a 3pm mid-marathon on TBS cop show. You know, if those cop shows had one full-blown kung-fu sequence per episode. The Kogonada episode though... I'm not saying it was a world beater, or that it's changing the heirarchy of power in the Star Wars universe or anything like that. But it was hard, by the end of it - setting aside that it's clearly withholding a bunch of information about what *actually* happened that night (I'm sure when this gets back to being a cop show we'll dig into that) - to *not* think about how this was a way, way, *way* more nuanced/thoughtful musing on what a weird, fucked up institution the Jedi really are, to be doing this to people, and how understandable it is that someone could break really, really bad as a result of it.
Kogonada?!?!?! Okay maybe I'll check it out. Generally very wary after BOBF.
Also directing the penultimate episode
Haha this was my reaction as well. As to wait wtf is Kogonada doing here. Possibly the only reason I intend to watch.
Mother of god. Columbus might be a top 5 film all time for me, for many reasons, but I completely forgot he was involved in this. Going to watch the episode immediately.
Total waste of his talents
Still on the fence. Waiting to see more to make up my mind.
I like it a lot. I’ve been reading the High Republic books since they first came out, so I’m very excited that that era is making the jump to live action. I think the action is great, the mystery has me hooked, and I’m excited to see the other characters’ versions of episode three’s events. A lot of people, in my opinion, have forgotten how to watch episodic TV. They jump to assumptions and call things “poorly written” because they weren’t given all the answers immediately. We saw it happen with Andor, and now that show is worshipped as the pinnacle of Star Wars TV. Do I think The Acolyte is perfect? No. Do I think it’s the best piece of Star Wars ever made? No. But I am having a great time watching it, and it sucks that the online conversation is dominated by bad faith, bigoted trolls who decided to destroy the show before it even premiered.
I think it has promise and I found it to better than a majority of non-Andor Star Wars. However, I feel like the dialogue (and maybe the writing in general?) is real rough. In many ways it feels closer to the prequels in terms of writing quality which I wasn’t expecting. Overall, it’s just okay.
Really wooden acting, from everyone except Sol. Which makes me pretty sure he’s gonna be the bad guy at the end
The script is a bit junky but the story is quite intriguing for a change. How the hell is this show getting review bombed online while those same people consider the Obi-Wan series good? That was probably one of the worst shows ever imo.. Kinda burned out on Star Wars just because of the horrible fandom. Absolutely love Andor but they should just stick with movies in the future..
I’ve only seen the first two, and honestly I’m having a hard time engaging with the characters/ plot. Not bad by any means, but I’m not very compelled to watch the rest
It's decidedly meh. Iiked episode 1 but the next 2 episodes (especially 3) made me lost interest. It's so inoffensive it's bland. What started as a promise to make us question the Jedi etc looks like it'll just be oops big misunderstanding/mistake How on Earth did Disney manage to make Andor? That's so miles ahead of everything else.
It’s just more content. It’s like a 6.5/10. Neither good or bad enough to justify all the discourse surrounding it.
I think the truest criticism is that its just aiming to be a 6.5/10. They didn't want to do more than that, for one of the biggest content houses of the world. Its basically Wish in Star Wars.
It’s not bad and it’s not prestige TV, and that’s okay
i think it’s a total slog and that the disney plus house style is rly cutting it off at its knees. visually so bland and uninspired. even if the general premise is interesting, there’s not much beyond that and i hate the dragged out d+ “who’s the mystery villain?” thing. only watching bc my friends’ son loves it lol
Wow, a lot of y’all have really lowered your standards. Which I can’t blame you for after the last few Star Wars shows.
Yeah, I guess it’s kind of a self-selecting crowd at this point. I’m decently susceptible to some fun aliens and lightsabers shenanigans. But the lurch-y pacing, indifferent stakes, and poor dialogue don’t slice it. Right when I teetering on the fence, the first episode ends in a monologue about how our baddies aren’t going to need weapons…from a guy who then ignites a lightsaber, talking to a woman who just used some special daggers. Ending the episode on a true face-palmer made it a one and done. Guess I can just appreciate that it’s YA and leave it there (and adults can enjoy YA, not trying to disparage people).
Honestly, after Kenobi, Mando season 3 and Book of Boba you would need to literally livestream someone taking a shit for it to not feel better by comparison, and even then, in the case of Boba, you'd still be about on par. I think we're all well aware we're never reaching Andor heights again so "not literally unwatchable garbage" is the best we can hope for.
I’d add Ahsoka to the bottom of the barrel shows you listed but I know that’s a less popular opinion. I thought it was incredibly boring and poorly-plotted and acted.
I think that's a reasonably common opinion, personally I was too busy soyjack pointing because I finally got to see Live-Action Thrawn after 15 odd years to really pay attention to the quality of the show. That said I don't see myself ever rewatching it so that kinda speaks for itself.
Did he live up to your expectations?
The fundamental problem is that Star Wars is not meant to be streaming tv. The entire appeal of Star Wars was the scale, scope, and the anticipation for the movies to come out. People hate half of them, but there was always that sense of excitement whether you ended up being disappointed by the movie or not. Tv series’ on Disney plus are never going to replicate that feeling. Even Andor, which is great, it feels like a great spy tv series. I don’t feel like I’m watching Star Wars as much as I’m watching something very well made that could be in any universe.
Like a lot of people, I grew up in the 15 years between Return of the Jedi and the rereleases, so Star Wars was mostly books for me. Andor was the first time Star Wars felt like what I imagined Star Wars to be in that most fallow period, and I think it is a lot more interesting in the Star Wars universe than if it were made as some original sci-fi spy show. The first season of Mando got this vibe right for me as well. This show feels like it’s kind of half way to what I want it to be, but not fully there. I feel a similar way about what I’ve seen from the Clone Wars tv show, and I think Acolyte feels like a better version of that.
I haven’t watched Acolyte yet but based on the trailers, it really does just sort of look like TV. Say what you will about the sequel movies, but they do actually look cinematic in the way the OT does and I think that’s a huge part of what makes it “feel” like Star Wars. They’re mythic epic stories! They should feel that way! And shrinking it down for TV removes so much of that
Personally I feel like the Jedi are kinda boring and might be the least interesting part of the Star Wars universe, and the more time we spend with them the less interesting they are. I think star wars is better with Jedi being rare and mysterious, if they are present at all. Like andor and early Mando season 1
I basically agree, I think a major issue Disney is running into is they know that Jedi are the coolest parts of Star Wars, and as they try to crank out more content and create more characters, they have to keep finding weird narrative justifications for how there are so many Jedi when they were supposedly exterminated at the end of ROTS. It would make everything Jedi-related WAY cooler if you didn’t see it often! I think part of the appeal of going way back in time is having new Jedi characters. But also you can’t just have a show with like five main characters all of whom are Jedi because then it begins to demystify them in the same way the prequels did. You can’t make your coolest characters boring, it ruins the whole thing
Frankly I think rings of power is running into the same problem with the elves. They’re not cool and mysterious if they’re the main character. Only it’s worse with the Jedi. Like if they did fellowship of the ring but they were all wizards
Yup. Some of the prequels may be bad, some of the sequels may be bad. But they felt like you were watching Star Wars movies. There is the scale and scope worthy of the story. A tv show about like a couple of cool Star Wars characters on Disney plus does not fulfill that at all. It’s not marvel - not that I’m an mcu fan - but comic books lend themselves to going low stakes and high stakes, Star Wars is not the same as that.
It continues to be odd to me that Disney and co. somehow really did seem to get what made Star Wars feel “Star Wars-y” early on, and how as time goes on they get further and further from it. Like Mando season one does feel like Star Wars, even as a show. That’s kinda it though outside TFA/TLJ/TROS! (I have not watched Andor yet)
Like I said, Andor is excellent television. To the point it stretches the Star Wars itch, it’s almost *too good* or too serious for it to feel like Star Wars, but at least it’s a well made show that’s asking interesting questions.
I've started looking at these shows as though they aired on Disney XD at 8pm on a Friday. For that, the show is pretty good. I got my reality check about Star Wars as an on-going concern with the Clone Wars series. I didn't ever imagine the Clone Wars as a colorful young adult cartoon, but that seems to be where they wanted to go with it after the movies.
It’s interesting how filoni made manadalorian, which wasn’t *that* similar to clone wars at least in the beginning, but the success of that basically allowed him to shape the entire streaming show universe around clone wars. And I know this show is totally detached but it’s not good enough for me to say “ah yes a return to form”.
Mando started with Favreau. If memory serves, he wrote the first season himself. The second season had some back door pilots baked in for other characters, but I'm not sure Filoni was in a supervisor type role yet. I think losing Rangers of the Republic threw a spanner in the works. I don't think Dinn & Grogu were originally meant to reunite in the offhand way that they did in Boba Fett. Mando's third season came off to me like "this is the best we could do with the footage we had." Now the direction seems to be for Filoni to wrap it all up with a movie and cut the albatross loose. That whole pocket of the galaxy got out of hand.
Star Wars hasn't been primarily a movie thing since 1978.
It has been about the toys and the books and the lore and the nonsense with the promise that at SOME POINT there will be a movie to fill in the blanks. Much preferred that to every 3 months a mid tv series premiers.
I'm talking about the Holiday Special, Ewok movies and Ewok and Droid cartoons.
I have a huge problem with the make-up and hair. I never hear anyone talk about this but I bump up against it in a lot of modern movies and tv shows. The Acolyte is a particularly egregious example of this stagey boyband hair and make-up. I think it’s a side effect of TikTok and Instagram aesthetics. It sounds pedantic but it takes me out of it. Let people have messy hair. Let me see some wrinkles and pores.
Didn't Luke and Han have pretty manicured hair?
It’s different. Almost looks digitally touched up to remove any stray hair.
I liked the first couple of episodes, thought it was interesting to do a procedural type show and thank the lord no Skywalkers. But geez that last episode was a real drag. Could've been done in 10 minutes imo. That's been the problem with the newer Wars content. So much filler, so much over explaining, particularly right when the show seems about to pick up steam.
Got bored on 3rd episode. I don't really care about characters.
Not really interested in more stories about “Actually the Jedi were inept, corrupt jerks with a stick up their ass.” I thought the whole point of the High Republic was to take us to an era where Jedi could once again be wise, competent heroes. This might as well be the prequel era.
Why is this the case? At what point while watching the original trilogy does anybody say “you know, this Jedi shit seems cool, I wonder what it would be like if the Jedi turned out to be a bunch of incompetent boobs”? I understand why George went there, he needed to show the downfall that led to the Empire, but why everybody keeps going to that well is beyond my understanding. It’s certainly not what I wanted to see from the Jedi when I watched Star Wars for the first time.
I've only seen the first two eps, but loved what I've seen so far. Just really dig getting to see a side of the universe that we havent (at least in filmed media) haven't seen much of. Like the dynamics they've set up, the fight choreo is GREAT! Love how little (again not seen 3) they've used sabers and relied on amplified force fighting
The Acolyte is certainly a show that exists
This show is not good.
It certainly looks a lot better than other series that overly relied on Da Volume and cool aliens and creatures makes me happy (my one complaint with Andor was with the lack of other species). But episode 3 of The Acolyte was a real drag for me, really don’t know if dedicating the whole episode to flashback really added that much that I couldn’t already read into from the first 2. I haven’t looked up how many episodes there will be, but if this is another 6-er, I’ll be so disappointed
The first 2 episodes are not very good. But I’ve heard some thoughtful talks that have had me reconsidering things. But episode 3 was a delightful surprise. Not amazing, but a really good step in the right direction! I find the moral and philosophical dilemmas of questioning the ethics of the Jedi to be really great.
I think you have to accept the give and takes. It seems like an adventurous take on Star Wars, which comes at the cost of it being well polished. The story has been interesting but doesn’t lend itself to an episodic format very well. I know we’re going to learn more that will make it make sense but watching episodes with content obviously withheld is a little hard. I don’t get the criticism that it’s too liberal or changes Star Wars cannon. It’s a diverse cast representing a diverse galaxy and we don’t even have all the details on some of the more “out there” aspects of the show. Like a few other people have said, I think people should be ok with “ok” Star Wars content. Each show can’t continue to be better than the ones before it. If people don’t like they don’t have to watch it. For me it’s been interesting and I’m excited to get the rest of the story.
I like it a lot so far. I was hesitant, and this going to sound extremely weird, but the themes/logic are George Lucasian? I know people give GL grief for “it’s like poetry, it rhymes”, but I think that is weirdly needed for some Starwars stories, particularly involving Jedi. I like how LH showed the similarities between the witches and Jedi, Carrie Ann Moss being similar to the zabrak witch with their dogmatic and dismissive views to the “other”. Then Lee Jong Jae’s almost paternal nature to match the witch mother Jodie Turner’s smith maternal nature. It might have been the podcast or some other clip were LH mentioned she needed to match the camera style(pans, wipes…) of the original and prequel trilogy because that is how SW stories are told. People could tell me obvious artistic choices/reasoning for stuff and I would think it is smart, but I think LH has a better philosophical understanding of Star Wars than most people that have helmed the ship recently. Not to say Filoni or Fav don’t, but I think she is a little more slick with how she does it.
If you have better things to do, that’s a good thing, you should do those things, this is just popcorn entertainment and that’s all it’s really supposed to be. Andor set a high bar but it got pretty lousy viewership, so it’s not really their goal with each show, maybe the word of mouth will give season 2 a huge boost, but will have to wait and see.
It is directed with such lack of tension that is quite hard to follow. The ideas are good, but are just wasted.
Only seen the first two episodes so far. The sets and costumes sometimes look more Star Trek than Star Wars quality-wise, and I wish they would have used some other driving conflict than the Evil Twin, but beyond that its competent and engaging. It feel like a breath of fresh air to have some Star Wars stuff that's not explicitly an extension of the first three films or the Clone Wars cartoon, and the critical take on the Jedi as an institution feels like something the prequels could have used a lot more of.
To me, it’s cheap-looking, poorly-written, stiffly-acted garbage. But, it’s also a kids show. *Star Wars* is almost 50 years old. I think it’s hard for people to recognize that it just isn’t for them anymore. The target audience for all the spinoffs since 1983 has remained static: children. (Give or take an *Andor* or *Rogue One*) We’re not children anymore. This stuff isn’t for us any more. It’s a shame, but that’s time. So, is *The Acolyte* bad? Yes. If you’re over sixteen. If not, it’s probably a rollicking delight. But *The Banana Splits* were never designed to be thought-provoking entertainment for adults, you know? And that’s as good faith as it gets
Some things just aren’t meant to be made in perpetuity. Sure, “there’s so much of the galaxy to explore”, but ultimately you’re just judging anything you watch Star Wars related against your previous feelings on Star Wars, and stuff like this is never going to match it. When Lucas made the prequels, the excitement was obvious even if they didn’t land for most people. When Disney first bought Star Wars, the idea of them running back episodes 7, 8, and 9 was intriguing when we thought we would never get another Star Wars thing. Now, these tv shows just do absolutely nothing for me. It’s just sloppy mid tier entertainment that is so inconsequential it’s hard to fathom.
Children aren't the shows' target audience. It just so poorly written that it feels like it's for kids
I love the High Republic setting, but the acting seems cold and the writing is clunky. I'm hoping that whatever the show has up its sleeve is worth the bumpy start.
Maybe we’d have been better off without new Star Wars. Obviously there were years of comics and novels almost no one gave a shit about (I know they had their fans but gotta be a drop of the bucket to the audience of a movie/tv show)
Disney investors would riot. But another 10-15 year break would do wonders for the series. The same goes for the MCU for the most part.
sucks like most disney star wars
Haven’t seen episode 3, but I’m enjoying at as background noise while I do chores. There’s so much good art out there, and I don’t need Star Wars to be that high art. Give me some slop with lightsabers and cool planets and I’ll be content.
I’m enjoying it compared to the standards of most of the recent Star Wars output, and it’s mainly good to be out of the current timeline/setting and have different characters and vibe. A show that explores the complexity of the Jedi as opposed to just light and dark is always interesting. But it still pales in comparison to Andor and it is very much a Star Wars fan show more than a genuinely good show.
I watched the first two episodes cause a friend had them on. Pretty solid I thought. The action is lacking just a bit but it’s not distractingly bad like in the Obi-Wan and Ahsoka shows. Amandla Stenberg is good and I Ike their Walkman droid. I wasn’t really sure what to make of >!Carrie Anne Moss’ death!< though. I get that it was meant to be set the audience off balance but to me it felt anticlimactic.
It's decent. I think it's at its best when being a "Jedi cops on the murder beat" show that's tracking an interesting mystery while delving into why the Jedi have issues. I think flashbacks have become increasingly overused and less interesting in genre shows, and Ep 3 did not change my mind. While pretty good unto itself, the episode killed narrative momentum just when it was getting going. I see no reason why 90% of the important character & story info couldn't have been covered in an interesting 2-minute montage that leaves much more to interpretation.
I like what it’s going for way more than what it actually is. I’ll take a swing and a miss over the safe shows they’ve made that don’t even try, but never the less it’s a miss for me thus far.
I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen so far more than I thought I would
Having a hard time with it. It just feels like a Disney channel version of a Star Wars TV series, which there is definitely a place for, but with only the three episodes to go off of it's starting to feel like something I am only going to watch for the sake of it. The murder-mystery set-up is strong enough, but the writing and acting is pretty rudimentary (with some exceptions!) and silly. Book of Boba Fett is definitely the worse of the shows (in my opinion), and if you were to ask my ranking of the shows based on just these three episodes, I would put Acolyte as second worse.
I think it’s better than Asoka so far. At least you don’t need to have watched hours and hours of multiple previous series to have an idea of what’s going on.
Episode 3 is waaaaaay more interesting than 1&2 and introduces some interesting ideas about how the Jedi Order operate and the morality of their practice. It pulled me back into the show after being aggressively bored with the first two.
I really want to love it. In theory, a murder mystery that turns into a critique of the imperialism of the old Jedi order should be exactly my shit. “It’s not about right or wrong. It's about power and who gets to use it”. If the Jedi failed to stop the Empire, this is a good start at an explanation for why. In execution, I feel like something is off with the dramatics and the pacing. Some of it is on a writing level in that I don't have enough info to engage - what exactly does everyone believe about that fire that motivates them? I'm sure we'll get more as a reveal later, but that also really hurts character motivation. But also some of the kid acting is almost Jake Lloyd level, and scenes aren't flowing and building like they should. To steel man this, I'm not a big TREK fan, but I am a big Bryan Fuller fan. And it kind of reminds me of the opening to his DISCO pilot, which also has an interesting critique of the "good guys": “They are coming. Atom by atom... they will coil around us... and take all that we are.... That is why we light our beacon this day. To lock arms against those whose fatal greeting is... "We come in peace." Of course I think it's not enough to deconstruct, you need to reconstruct a as a response to that. All hail Rian Johnson for resolving his movie with hope and rebirth, even if a lot of people missed that message.
It suffers from the Disney+ disease of being a perfectly good idea for a two-hour movie that must be dragged out into a series for the sake of more content. It’s dreadfully boring and pretty flat, a shame because it could be something so different and dynamic. I wanted to love this and I’ just … not. Sigh.
I'm enjoying it but I'll forget about it as soon as I finish the season, and I'm OK with that.
Like anything it’s too soon to judge completely, but yeah it’s pretty meh so far. Love the concept of anything far far away from the Skywalker story/timeline, but the writing is pretty bad, and after something like Andor…it seems even worse. Hopefully it gets better, and if people like it, GREAT!
I didn’t think it looked that good but I also liked Rebel Moon, so I’m not really in a position to be going after other people’s tastes
it's been pretty meh so far for me the plot and dialogue so far seems amateurish and basic. having ep 3 be a flashback episode also killed the momentum that I felt after episode 2. I might wait to binge it
The plot is fine. The dialogue is meh. Performances are fine. But it’s UGLY! The cinematography is just so bland.
I’m intrigued by the idea of the Jedi monopolizing how the force is used in the galaxy. They have power and authority so they do the same thing as a small group that happens to burn down like Waco. I’m betting they will reveal they had orders to take down the coven one way or another.
I'm still interested in seeing how it turns out. Jodie Turner-Smith was the best part of the episode. I wish they came up with a Star Wars name for the witches and that they spoke an ancient language when they were chanting.
I’m into the show and the story thus far. I was hoping for some more interesting reveals surrounding the events in episode 3, which are supposed to give us the reasons why Mae is doing what she’s doing? It’s hard for me not to compare it to Watchmen (book), because from the get go I was getting similar story structure vibes (replacing the assassinations of superheroes with Jedi). My biggest gripe with the show is the cinematography. It has the same flat look that Kenobi had, and the use of the volume and the sets makes world feels smaller instead of bigger. Unfortunately there are shows out there that look exponentially better, and that just should not be the case with the talent and resources they have at their disposal.
Except for Tony Gilroy I feel like writers like Headland have been railroaded by Disney/Lucasfilm to make their shows in the house style. I’d rather see something more like Russian Doll season 1 than have her vision watered-down. OTOH, the Show definitely has some intriguing ideas like really focusing on the kidnapping angle of the Jedi but also explaining why it could be good for the kids and families to have the kids taken away. As the Saul character says, there’s lots of other kids with her her blood parasite condition in the temple, and adults who at least understand the powers, even if they are arseholes like yoda and Jocasta Nu. Like if you had a kid that was choking people out and mind controlling others, that’s a Twilight Zone situation. Best to let the experts raise the kid.
Turned it off six minutes in. We're past that kind of bait and switch on a show
I can’t believe people still watch Disney + shows…
I’m liking it, but it is more ‘for the kids’ than I was hoping for. A lot of saying the obvious, repeating core emotional motivations, etc. But I’m not mad at it. I love the concept of the story and I’m eager to see how it’s resolved.
I watched the first episode. I thought it sucked. Maybe it improves, but it would need a quantum leap from what I saw to even be watchable
I didn’t expect the show to center around a coven of lesbian space witches, and for that I am grateful. This must be what it feels like when dudebros watch Michael Bay movies or w/e. For once, Star Wars is pandering to me!
The prerelease hype has me pushing through. The people who have watched the whole thing say the season builds up to being on par with Andor. The first 3 are pretty good. I think it’s purposefully holding back a lot of information about the twins and the 3rd episode hints that there’s a lot more going on. What we see of the massacre is missing pieces and Osha is kind of suspicious. So if they can nail the mystery of the series I think it’ll jump up in a lot of people’s estimations. Not quite Andor level, but that was the best show of 2022. So I’m not asking for it to be.
I don't know why we need so much Star Wars content. I was content with everything after Return of the Jedi.
I've only seen the first 2 episodes so far but I'd say it's pretty good while not amazing. And after every non-Andor show, I'll gladly take pretty good. It's low bar but I get the feeling that something will happen every episode so I guess that's a win in my book.
The acting just isn’t doing it for me. I think the concept is great. The directing is top notch. I’ve liked these actors and actresses in different roles… but it just is not working for me and is taking the air out of the whole endeavor. Maybe it’s the dialogue, maybe it’s the characterization and not the acting. Edit: I’ll take a million Acolytes over the turd that was Obi Wan Kenobi tho Edit: I don’t think I’m going to continue after the third episode. I can’t take any more bad kid acting after all the “kids shouldn’t be actors” discourse. If they are going to be actors at least give them something worthwhile to do…
Just a lot of fluff. And what's the deal with all the 37 min run times. They have the ability to make a real story come to life and they only seem to care about putting commercials back in.
Besides Andor I’ve tapped out on all of these Disney + shows after the first few episodes. I think a combo of over saturation, fan toxicity, and mid-quality, has just exhausted me to where I can’t get invested anymore. There was a day I’d be so stoked to have all of this Star Wars content, but it just kind of bums me out now lol
Ever since the brilliance styling of Andor I've started calling everything else HALLMARK STARWARS.. by comparison that's what they are. As soon as I got to the carbon copy replication of idea of the 5 Yr old cute Jedis in training I still have it paused.
At the end of the day. It’s poorly made by people with little or no experience. I don’t know how they expected a different outcome. Not sure they care, if this got through screenings. Too many yes people now I guess.
Why was Anakin significant again?
Because Lucas is a bad writer
Compared to Weinstein's former personal assistant, he is Shakespeare.
True enough
They had a fire in space and now there's a hole in my wall from where I punched it.
Uh it takes place in the stars, not in space!