Talking Star Wars

In this episode, our hosts explore the unique character of Qui-Gon Jinn - a powerful, wise, and multifaceted Jedi who believes in justice but distrusts all authority figures; who was the Padawan of Count Dooku, a future Sith, and was the Master of Obi-Wan Kenobi, one of the most powerful and loyal Jedi of his age; and who combined a firm pragmatism with a true belief in Jedi prophecy. Qui-Gon was always quick to ignore the Jedi Council to do what he thought was right, employed the Jedi Mind Trick frequently, and was unerringly committed to the light side of The Force. Join us for this episode diving into the complex and engaging character of Qui-Gon Jinn.

This episode contains spoilers for: Episode I, Episode II, Episode III, Episode VIII, Tales of the Jedi, Master and Apprentice, Tales of the Jedi and Sith (short story collection), The Clone Wars, Kenobi, and Padawan.

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Connor and Alex continue their ongoing series exploring various Force powers utilized by the Jedi, Sith, and other Force users in the Star Wars universe. Today, the focus is on the Force Choke, the power most famously used by Darth Vader on any officers who displeased him. The hosts discuss other figures who utilize Force Choke - from Count Dooku, to Asajj Ventress, to Luke Skywalker himself - and use this as a lens to explore the morality of using the Force for violence in general. Is Force Choke inherently more evil than stabbing someone with a lightsaber? Is Luke’s morality more in question (or in question at all) for Force Choking two Gamorrean guards than for killing millions of people aboard the Death Star? Alex and Connor delve into the philosophy of the Force and try to answer this question.

This episode contains spoilers for: Episode III, Episode IV, Episode V, Episode VI, Episode VII, Episode VIII, Episode IX, Rogue One, The Clone Wars, Fallen Order, Jedi Outcast, Knights of the Old Republic, The Force Unleashed, Star Wars (2015 comic), and Kenobi.

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Connor and Alex give an episode by episode breakdown of Star Wars: Visions, an anthology series where every short was animated by a different studio, and with each telling a standalone and unique story. The hosts take the listeners through each episode of the first season of Visions and explore the story, themes, animation style, connections to the larger Star Wars canon, and whether each story calls out for a continuation or sequel.

This episode contains spoilers for: Visions (season 1).

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In this episode, Connor and Alex take a broad look at a small portion of the various sentient alien species in Star Wars and explore the narrative space each alien race occupies, their unique and interesting characteristics, and notable members of that race in the Star Wars canon. Discussed today include the Twi’leks, Zabrak, Wookiees, Pantorans, Duros, Chiss, Rodians, Mon Calamari, Quarren, Tuskens, and Neimoidians. In addition to a review of their features and history, Connor and Alex also delve into deeper themes of identity and culture. From Twi’lek code-switching, to the tension between the Mon Calamari and Quarren peoples, to the way both Wookiees and Tuskens are victims of colonization, and to the ingrained cultural shame of the Chiss and their use of Force-sensitive child soldiers, Alex and Connor discuss the way Star Wars uses its expansive galaxy and proliferation of alien races to explore themes relevant to real-world multiculturalism, and what the melting pot of a galaxy far, far away can say about identity, culture, and conflict.

This episode discussed content from: Episode I, Episode II, Episode III, Episode IV, Episode VI, Episode VII, Rebels, The Aftermath Trilogy, Dr. Aphra, The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch, Poe Damerson (comic), the Thrawn and Thrawn: Ascendancy trilogies, Star Wars (2015 comic run), The Book of Boba Fett, and Brotherhood.

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In a twist on their previous episodes, Alex and Connor take the opportunity to highlight the positives of the sequel trilogy. They dive into the character work, the scenes, and the plot points in Episodes VII, VIII, and IX that do work well and are a compelling part of the Star Wars canon. From the Dyad connection between Rey and Kylo Ren, to Finn’s relationships with both Poe and Rey, to the stunning visuals of Admiral Holdo’s death, the hosts refrain from their normal critique to highlight the good and great aspects of this back third of the Skywalker Saga. Also, Connor and Alex tried a new mic setup that wasn’t perfect, so excuse the experiment audio quality.

This episode contains spoilers for: Episode VII, Episode VIII, and Episode IX.

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Concluding this initial series of episodes providing a broad survey of Star Wars visual media, Connor and Alex delve into three of the more recent shows that have expanded the Star Wars Universe:Kenobi, Tales of the Jedi, and Andor. For Kenobi, our hosts outline the somewhat-unexpected plot and discuss which scenes felt a bit uneven and which absolutely shone, all while lauding Ewan McGregor’s performance. For Tales of the Jedi, which is a tightly-plotted series of short-story-style episodes that investigate key character moments in the lives of Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku, Alex and Connor try to contain their glee at the quality of the storytelling. And for Andor - just go watch it, right now!

This episode contains spoilers for: Kenobi, Tales of the Jedi, Andor, The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch, Ahsoka (novel), The Clone Wars, Episode I, Episode II, Episode III, and Episode IV.

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After the losing their recording about The Mandalorian, Alex and Connor commiserate by continuing their survey of the Star Wars visual media outside the films with other series. They start with an exploration of the themes, timeline, and characters in The Bad Batch, following the story of a group of non-normal clones and their survival in a post-Order-66 world; continue with a discussion of the concept and execution of the anthology series Star Wars: Visions (the first season); and conclude with an exploration of The Book of Boba Fett (or, as they call it, The Mandalorian, Season 2.5).

This episode contains spoilers for: The Bad Batch, The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Visions (season 1), The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian, Darth Vader (2015 comic), and Doctor Aphra (2015 comic).

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Alex and Connor continue their survey of the Star Wars visual media outside the films by tackling two additional animated series: Star Wars: Rebels and Star Wars: Resistance. The first, a story of a motley crew and Rebel Alliance cell becoming a found family and engaging with antagonists that include Agent Kallus, The Grand Inquisitor, and Grand Admiral Thrawn himself receives high marks; the second has a more mixed reception but receives a report on what virtues it does possess.

This episode contains spoilers for: Rebels, The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch, The Clone Wars, Andor, and Star Wars: Resistance.

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In this episode, Connor and Alex begin a survey of non-film visual media in Star Wars, including all animated and live-action shows. They start by discussing the original microseries Clone Wars by Genndy Tartakovsky (now in the Legends continuity), and then move into a discussion on the long-running Star Wars show, The Clone Wars. The hosts discuss how the show contextualizes and rehabilitates characters and plot points between Episodes II and III, and includes impressive character development for characters old and new, including Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, Darth Maul, Tarkin, and Padmè Amidala.

This episode contains spoilers for: Star Wars: Clone Wars (Legends), The Clone Wars, The Mandalorian, Episode II, Episode III, The Bad Batch, and Star Wars (comic, 2015 run).

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For their first-ever bonus episode, Connor and Alex take time this May the Fourth to celebrate all the positives of Star Wars. They survey their personal favorites in several categories, including: films, heroes, villains, television show episodes/arcs, scenes, duels, battles, inter-character relationships, visuals, and endings. Looking across the full spectrum of Star Wars media, from the movies to the shows, the books to the comics (and more), we hope you enjoy today’s opportunity to revel in the best parts of Star War (and please also say hello to guest star Michael the cat, who had strong opinions of his own!).

This episodes contains spoilers for: Episode I, Episode IV, Episode V, Episode VI, Episode VII, Episode VIII, Episode IX, Rogue One, Rebels, Andor, Bloodline, The Clone Wars, The Thrawn Trilogy, The Thrawn: Ascendancy Trilogy, The Mandalorian, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Visions, Kenobi, Doctor Aphra (2015 run), and Alphabet Squadron: Victory’s Price. 

Thank you for listening to Talking Star Wars with Connor and Alex!

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