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Mandalorian, The Season 2

Chapter 16: The Rescue

Star Wars: The MandalorianWith the help of Boba Fett, Bo-Katan, Cara Dune, and Fennec Shand – and with a little bit of information gleaned from the Imperial scientist captured en route to continue his experiments on Grogu – the Mandalorian plans a two-pronged attack on Moff Gideon’s cruiser. His objective is to rescue Grogu, while Bo-Katan wants to recapture the Darksaber and regain control of Mandalore. Standing in their way is an entire platoon of Darktroopers – droid stormtroopers impervious to the weaknesses of either Imperial recruits or clones – and taking out even one of them is almost more than the Mandalorian can handle on his own. Bringing Moff Gideon to heel is somewhat easier, but once the entire team is trapped on the cruiser’s bridge with Gideon and Grogu, with Darktroopers crowding on the other side of the blast door, it seems a new hope is needed.

The Mandalorianwritten by Jon Favreau
directed by Peyton Reed
music by Ludwig Goransson

Cast: Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Omid Abtahi (Dr. Pershing), Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett), Gina Carano (Cara Dune), Mercedes Varnado (Koska Reeves), Katee Sackhoff (Bo-Katan Kryze), Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand), Giancarlo Esposito (Moff Gideon), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Thomas E. Sullivan (Co-Pilot), Luke Baines (Pilot), Gabriel Ebert (Gunnery Officer), Katy O’Brian (Comms Officer), Matthew Wood (Bib Fortuna)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 1 Star Wars

Part I

Star Wars: Obi-Wan KenobiTen years after the fall of the Republic and the birth of the Skywalker twins, exiled Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi ekes out a minimal existence on Tatooine under the assumed name of Ben, working an ordinary job and keeping as low a profile as possible. When Imperial Inquisitors land in Mos Eisley in search of any Jedi Knights who survived the Empire’s purge of the Jedi order, they immediately finds not Kenobi, but a former youngling who has been using his abilities with the Force to aid a local saloon owner in exchange for shelter. The young Jedi seeks out Obi-Wan to ask for assistance, but Kenobi’s advice is to forget the Jedi order and survive by leading a normal life. The young Jedi does not heed this advice, and is killed by the Inquisitors in a grisly public display. The Inquisitors continue their search, with the Third Sister, Reva, threatening to kill moisture farmer Owen Lars if the whereabouts of other Jedi are not revealed. Owen doesn’t divulge Kenobi’s presence, though he harbors little affection for the Jedi. Reva, obsessed with finding Kenobi, is brought to heel by the Grand Inquisitor, but she simply changes her tactics. Reva hires a bounty hunter to abduct the young princess of Alderaan, Leia Organa, whose father is a known associate of Kenobi from the days of the Republic. Bail Organa pays Obi-Wan a visit to ask for the Jedi’s help to recover his daughter, leaving Obi-Wan little choice but to reluctantly resume his role as a guardian of peace and justice from a more civilized age.

teleplay by Joby Harold and Hossein Amini and Stuart Beattie
story by Stuart Beattie and Hossein Amini
directed by Deborah Chow
music by Natalie Holt
Obi-Wan Theme by John Williams / adapted by William Ross

Obi-Wan KenobiCast: Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Rupert Friend (Grand Inquisitor), Sung Kang (Fifth Brother), Moses Ingram (Reva), Benny Safdie (Nari), Joel Edgerton (Owen Lars), Bonnie Piesse (Beru Lars), Simone Kessell (Breha Organa), Vivien Lyra Blair (Princess Leia Organa), Flea (Vect Nokru), Jimmy Smits (Senator Bail Organa), Ming Qiu (Jedi Master Minas Velti), Aiden Arnold (Jedi Youngling), Jonathan Ho (Jedi Youngling), Yonas Asuncion Kibreab (Jedi Youngling), Mila Lavin (Jedi Youngling), Ayaamii Sledge (Jedi Youngling), Derek Basco (saloon Owner), Kingsley Hao (Local Mos Eisley Boy), Heath McGough (Foreman Groff Ditcher), Chad Parker (Worker Padu Chend), Leilani Shiu (Teeka), Grant Feely (Luke Skywalker), Molly Miller (Handmaiden Agira), Hossein Mardani (Dardin Shull), Karen Constantine (Local Anchorhead Woman), Gabe Fonesca (Duke Kayo Organa), Roberta Sparta (Duchess Celly Organa), Ian Inigo (Cousin Niano Organa), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Aviel Ayoung (Mercenary #1), Amy Sturdivant (Mercenary #2), Sonia Jackson (Attendant)

Obi-Wan KenobiNotes: Based on, and expanded from, what was originally intended to be a future entry in the curtailed series of self-contained Star Wars “anthology” films, this series brought back numerous familiar faces from the prequel trilogy, most notably star and executive producer Ewan McGregor, Jimmy Smits, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Simone Kessell, and – in later episodes – Hayden Christensen. The ties to the prequel trilogy are strong with this one, including a flashback to younglings attempting to escape from the Order 66 purge of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, but the ties to the animated series Rebels are also numerous, including the first live-action Inquisitors.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 1 Star Wars

Part II

Star Wars: Obi-Wan KenobiObi-Wan arrives on Daiyu, searching for the kidnapped young Princess Leia Organa. He learns on the street of a Jedi who helps those in need, but, following that lead, finds a con man named Haja posing as a Jedi, his help to the downtrodden costing his marks everything they have. Obi-Wan turns the tables on Haja to get his help at a substantial discount. This leads him to a building where illegal substances are prepared for sale on the street – and, in a secluded room within, he finds two things: the missing Princess, and bounty hunter Vect Nokru and his thugs. Leia doesn’t know or trust Obi-Wan, and runs from him – and runs face-first into trouble, until Obi-Wan proves that he truly is a Jedi Knight. But this only brings more attention to him, and reveals to the Grand Inquisitor that Reva is pulling the strings to draw Kenobi out for reasons of her own. With an entire city of stormtroopers bearing down on them, Obi-Wan and Leia are unexpectedly given a new escape route by Haja, but Reva is waiting to try to cut off their escape – and reveals to Obi-Wan that Anakin Skywalker still lives, though not in a form that his old teacher would recognize.

teleplay by Joby Harold
story by Stuart Beattie and Hossein Amini
directed by Deborah Chow
music by Natalie Holt
Obi-Wan Theme by John Williams / adapted by William Ross

Obi-Wan KenobiCast: Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Kumail Nanjiani (Haja Estree), Marisé Álvarez (Nyche), Flea (Vect Nokru), Moses Ingram (Reva), Vivien Lyra Blair (Princess Leia Organa), Rupert Friend (Grand Inquisitor), Sung Kang (Fifth Brother), Rya Kihlstedt (Fourth Sister), Hayden Christensen (Darth Vader), Dan Considine (Deck Officer Densin Clord), Temuera Morrison (Veteran Clone Trooper), Esther-Rose McGregor (Tetha Grig), Jecobi Swain (Jayco), Indie Desroches (Corran), Tom O’Connell (Spice Den Guard #1), Cha-Leen Yoon (Spice Den Guard #2), Aviel Ayoung (Mercenary #1), Amy Sturdivant (Mercenary #2), Mackensi Emory (Spice Runner #1), Phong Giang (Spice Runner #2), Mario Filippi (Spice Runner #3)

Notes: The young woman who tries to sell Obi-Wan spice – who was “someone’s daughter once too” – is in fact played by Ewan McGregor’s daughter.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 1 Star Wars

Part III

Star Wars: Obi-Wan KenobiFleeing from Daiyu aboard an automated cargo freighter, Obi-Wan finds himself on the receiving end of questions from Leia about the Force. They arrive on a planet in the Mapuzo system, heavily mined by the Empire, where Haja said help would be waiting, though the exact coordinates are behind an Imperial checkpoint, and Obi-Wan’s furtive behavior is enough to raise suspicion and start a firefight. When a second contingent of stormtroopers arrives, they are cut down by blaster fire from their own commanding officer, Tala, who is the contact Obi-Wan and Leia have been looking for. Tala introduces them to the Path, a clandestine network of waypoints and safe houses that have been used to conceal surviving members of the Jedi order. But before they can leave, a new Imperial presence arrives – the Inquisitors and Darth Vader himself, making a spectacle of tormenting to locals in order to draw Obi-Wan out. He tells Leia to go to the next transport on her own, and charges Tala with ensuring the girl’s safety. Obi-Wan sets out to distract Vader from the girl, but even with that as his only goal, the confrontation does not go well for the out-of-practice Jedi. Reva, in the meantime, having engineered her ascension within the ranks of the Inquisitors, finds that her “sisters” and “brothers” are not as accepting of her tactics.

written by by Joby Harold & Hannah Friedman and Hossein Amini and Stuart Beattie
directed by Deborah Chow
music by Natalie Holt
Obi-Wan Theme by John Williams / adapted by William Ross

Obi-Wan KenobiCast: Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Vivien Lyra Blair (Princess Leia Organa), Moses Ingram (Reva), Sung Kang (Fifth Brother), Rya Kihlstedt (Fourth Sister), Zach Braff (Freck), Indira Varma (Tala Durith), James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader), Hayden Christensen (Darth Vader), A.J. Troup (Stormtrooper #1), Shane Hartline (Stormtrooper #2), Ardeshir Radpour (Checkpoint Stormtrooper), Melanie Mosley (Safehouse Stormtrooper #1), Will Westwater (Safehouse Stormtrooper #2), Dimitrious Bistrevsky (Darth Vader performance artist), John Rosengrant (Freck performance artist), Dustin Ceithamer (NED-B performance artist)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 1 Star Wars

Part IV

Star Wars: Obi-Wan KenobiSmuggled away from Mapuzo by Tala and her reprogrammed mining droid, Obi-Wan awakens in a bacta tank on Jabiim, at one of the safehouses on the Path. But Leia has been taken to an Imperial complex on Nur, an ocean moon of Mustafar, where Reva shows little restraint in interrogating her, despite the fact that her prisoner is a ten-year-old girl. Obi-Wan tries to convince Tala and a pilot named Roken to assist him in recovering Leia, with Tala noting that Leia knows enough about the Path to destroy the entire underground operation keeping the last few Jedi alive. A small rescue mission is approved, but the entire plan depends on Tala’s cover as an Imperial officer still being intact, and Obi-Wan being able to muster enough of his former prowess with the Force to keep both of them, and Leia, alive long enough to escape.

written by by Joby Harold & Hannah Friedman
directed by Deborah Chow
music by Natalie Holt
Obi-Wan Theme by John Williams / adapted by William Ross

Obi-Wan KenobiCast: Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Indira Varma (Tala Durith), Vivien Lyra Blair (Princess Leia Organa), Moses Ingram (Reva), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Roken), Maya Erskine (Sully), Sung Kang (Fifth Brother), Rya Kihlstedt (Fourth Sister), James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader), Hayden Christensen (Darth Vader), Ryder McLaughlin (Wade Resselian), Joss Glennie-Smith (Fortress Inquisitorius Security Guard), David Will No (Fortress Inquisitorius Terminal Officer), Jonathan Ho (Jedi Youngling), Oliver Ho (Jedi Youngling), Helen Day (Fortress Inquisitorius Officer), Dimitrious Bistrevsky (Darth Vader performance artist)

Notes: The disturbing sight of various captured Jedi – including younglings – being kept in the bowels of Fortress Inquisitorius like biological specimens may hint at the Empire’s secret project to harvest midichlorians, which continues as far in the future as The Mandalorian and Moff Gideon’s repeated attempts to capture Grogu, Obi-Wan Kenobiand possibly as far forward as the creation of Snoke and the rebirth of Emperor Palpatine in the sequel trilogy. The vehicles that have been known for over 40 years as Rebel snowspeeders may have been incorrectly identified, as we see them operating in a decidedly non-winter-weather environment here.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 1 Star Wars

Part V

Star Wars: Obi-Wan KenobiObi-Wan, Tala, and Roken arrive back on Jabiim with Leia, unaware that Reva has planted a tracking device on Leia’s droid, L0-LA. Vader and Reva are already en route to Jabiim, and this particular safehouse on the Path will need to be evacuated in short order…except that Obi-Wan’s pursuers have already anticipated that. L0-LA, under Reva’s control, seals the launch doors, leaving the transports unable to lift off, and trapping countless civilian refugees in the middle of what seems like an ensuing battle between Vader and Kenobi. Leia works to undo L0-LA’s damage, while Obi-Wan finally realizes that Reva herself was a Jedi padawan who survived Order 66; her grudge is not just with him, but with Vader. In order to use Vader’s impatience against him, Obi-Wan plans to give everyone time to escape, while also evading a confrontation with Vader himself. But the cost of this plan, for many, will be very high.

written by by Joby Harold & Andrew Stanton
directed by Deborah Chow
music by Natalie Holt
Obi-Wan Theme by John Williams / adapted by William Ross

Obi-Wan KenobiCast: Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Moses Ingram (Reva), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Roken), Vivien Lyra Blair (Princess Leia Organa), Maya Erskine (Sully), Indira Varma (Tala Durith), Kumail Nanjiani (Haja Estree), Marisé Álvarez (Nyche), Rupert Friend (Grand Inquisitor), James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader), Jimmy Smits (Bail Organa), Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader), Crispian Belfrage (Devastator Captain), Indie Desroches (Corran), Aiden Arnold (Jedi Youngling), Jonathan Ho (Jedi Youngling), Oliver Ho (Jedi Youngling), Yonas Ascuncion Kibreab (Jedi Youngling), Mila Lanin (Jedi Youngling), Ayaamii Sledge (Jedi Youngling), Grant Feely (Luke Skywalker), Dimitrious Bistrevsky (Darth Vader performance artist), Dustin Ceithamer (NED-B performance artist)

Obi-Wan KenobiNotes: Apparently, surviving being run through with a lightsaber, without any apparent immediate medical attention, is a thing that can be done now. It may or may not depend on damage done to major organs. This episode contains flashbacks both to Vader’s assault on the Jedi Temple in Revenge Of The Sith as well as sparring matches between Anakin and Obi-Wan that most likely happen shortly before Attack Of The Clones.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 1 Star Wars

Part VI

Star Wars: Obi-Wan KenobiHaving narrowly escaped Jabiim, the transport ship of refugees is trailed closely by Vader in the Devastator. But there is a further wild card in the situation – Reva has barely survived her fight with Vader and has discovered the locations and identities of Vader’s children. Having lost Leia, Reva now goes to Tatooine to find young Luke Skywalker. Her unsubtle questioning of the locals gives Owen and Beru time to prepare to fight her when she arrives. Obi-Wan leaves the transport in a dropship, certain that Vader will break off his pursuit to follow him rather than the refugees. A furious lightsaber battle ensues, during which Obi-Wan is able to do critical damage to Vader’s life support suit. Perhaps realizing that, while Vader is dangerous, he remains vulnerable to his feelings and capable of major tactical errors as a result, Obi-Wan leaves him alive but unable to fight. The Jedi then races to the aid of Luke, whose peril he senses through the Force, but it is Reva who brings the boy back to Owen and Beru of her own accord. Ben tries to absolve her of her past, and tells her that her future is for her to decide now; her inability to kill a child as casually as Vader once did is a strength rather than a weakness. After ensuring that Leia has been returned to Alderaan, Obi-Wan returns to Tatooine, agreeing to keep his distance from the Lars homestead, but is surprised when Owen introduces him to ten-year-old Luke despite that promise. And with the recent reawakening of his mastery of the Force, Obi-Wan has one further surprise waiting for him as he goes back into exile.

teleplay by by Joby Harold & Andrew Stanton and Hossein Amini
story by Stuart Beattie and Joby Harold & Andrew Stanton
directed by Deborah Chow
music by Natalie Holt
Obi-Wan Theme by John Williams / adapted by William Ross

Obi-Wan KenobiCast: Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Moses Ingram (Reva), Vivien Lyra Blair (Princess Leia Organa), Kumail Nanjiani (Haja Estree), Marisé Álvarez (Nyche), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Roken), Maya Erskine (Sully), Joel Edgerton (Owen Lars), Bonnie Piesse (Beru Lars), Rupert Friend (Grand Inquisitor), Simone Kessell (Breha Organa), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine), James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader), Jimmy Smits (Bail Organa), Hayden Christensen (Darth Vader), Hossein Mardani (Dardin Shull), Heath McGough (Foreman Groff Ditcher), Indie Desroches (Corran), Crispian Belfrage (Devastator Captain), Grant Feely (Luke Skywalker), Aiden Arnold (Jedi Youngling), Jonathan Ho (Jedi Youngling), Oliver Ho (Jedi Youngling), Yonas Ascuncion Kibreab (Jedi Youngling), Mila Lanin (Jedi Youngling), Ayaamii Sledge (Jedi Youngling), David St. Pierre (Supply Store Clerk performance artist), Dimitrious Bistrevsky (Darth Vader performance artist), Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn)

Obi-Wan KenobiNotes: The “unmasking of Vader” scene is very similar to a scene that occurs in the Star Wars: Rebels episode Twilight Of The Apprentice Part 2 (2016), in which it is Anakin Skywalker’s former padawan, Ahsoka Tano, who destroys half of Vader’s mask in a lightsaber duel. (At least each of Anakin’s old friends destroyed different sides of the helmet.) The original storyline for Obi-Wan Kenobi featured Darth Maul, not Darth Vader, though it fell to Dave Filoni to point out that a final duel between Kenobi and Maul had already been depicted in the Rebels episode Twin Suns (2017), and there was therefore no need to depict it again (or create a conflicting version of events, something that happened frequently in the early days of the Clone Wars animated series and the related publishing program). Twin Suns, as with most of Rebels, occurs much closer to the events of Rogue One and Star Wars than those of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Mandalorian, The Season 3

Chapter 17: The Apostate

Star Wars: The MandalorianWhen a Mandalorian initiation rite is interrupted by an enormous, omnivorous creature, even an entire legion of armed Mandalorians is unable to bring it down. The arrival of another one of their number – and a well-timed shot from his ship – ends the danger. Afterward, the Mandalorian informs the Armorer of his plan to redeem himself in the waters of the mines of Mandalore, though she exhibits little optimism that he can actually achieve this. A visit to the revitalized planet Nevarro reunites the Mandalorian with Greef Karga, but when they try to revive IG-11, they discover it has reverted to its original bounty hunter programming and poses a danger to Grogu. The Mandalorian next tries to enlist the help of Bo-Katan, but she rules an empty palace, her followers having abandoned her cause when she did not return with the darksaber. She does, at least, offer a clue as to where the Mandalorian can achieve his goal… with a warning that Mandalore itself has been poisoned.

The Mandalorianwritten by Jon Favreau
directed by Rick Famuyiwa
music by Joseph Shirley

Cast: Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Katee Sackhoff (Bo-Katan Kryze), Emily Swallow (The Armorer), Carl Weathers (High Magistrate Greef Karga), Brendan Wayne (Mandalorian Warrior), Lateef Crowder (Mandalorian Warrior), Tait Fletcher (Paz Vizsla), Wesley Kimmel (Ragnar), Parvesh Cheena (Nevarro Copper Droid voice), Taiki Waititi (IG-11 voice), Marti Matulis (Vane), Shirley Henderson (Anzellan Crew voices), Nonso Anozie (Gorian Shard), Mat Fraser (Pirate Coxswain), Chris Bartlett (Nevarro Copper Droid performance artist), Carey Jones (Gorian Shard performance artist), Misty Rosas (Pirate Coxswain performance artist), Ian Goodwin (Warthog Pirate performance artist), Barry Lowin (Klatoonian Pirate Pilot performance artist), David St. Pierre (Trandoshan Pirate Pilot performance artist), Kelly Cruz (Mandalorian Drummer), Joey Gandolfo (Mandalorian Drummer), Andrew Lederman (Mandalorian Drummer), Joe Martone (Mandalorian Drummer), Daniel Mills (Mandalorian Drummer), Robert Murray (Mandalorian Drummer), Lyndon Rochelle (Mandalorian Drummer), Gregory Sadler (Mandalorian Drummer), Ian Wurfl (Mandalorian Drummer)

The MandalorianNotes: It’s a really good idea to have watched The Book Of Boba Fett prior to this season of The Mandalorian, specifically episodes 5 through 7, as this is where the reunion between the Mandalorian and Grogu takes place (as well as the Mandalorian’s admission to the Armorer that he has removed his helmet, her suggestion of how he might redeem himself, and the acquisition of a new ship to replace the Razor Crest). We’ve met Anzellan droidsmith Babu Frik already in The Rise Of Skywalker (2019), although that movie happens many years later than The Mandalorian.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Mandalorian, The Season 3

Chapter 18: The Mines Of Mandalore

Star Wars: The MandalorianThe Mandalorian visits Peli Motto on Tatooine to try to buy the parts needed to repair IG-11; instead she sells him R5-D4 at a reduced rate, over the droid’s objections. He needs a droid to sample atmospheric toxicity on Mandalore, scouting ahead to see if it’s safe to seek the living waters in the subsurface mines. But Mandalore is neither toxic nor uninhabited; R5 is sent back to wait with the ship while the Mandalorian and Grogu explore the former capitol city. A bio-robotic hunter captures the Mandalorian, and it’s up to Grogu to make his way back to the ship alone, get R5 to pilot the ship to Bo-Katan’s sacntuary, and seek her help. She returns with R5 and Grogu, freeing the Mandalorian with his own darksaber and leading him to the mines. Even bathing in the water in the mines is a treacherous thing to do, and Bo-Katan has to rescue him again, but beneath the water, she catches a glimpse of something alive – possibly the mythosaur at the heart of Mandalorian folklore.

The Mandalorianwritten by Jon Favreau
directed by Rachel Morrison
music by Joseph Shirley

Cast: Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Katee Sackhoff (Bo-Katan Kryze), Amy Sedaris (Peli Motto), Brendan Wayne (Mandalorian Warrior), Lateef Crowder (Mandalorian Warrior), Dawn Dininger (Rodian Customer), Leilani Shiu (Jawa), Ariel Shiu (Jawa)

The MandalorianNotes: Peli claims that R5-D4 served the Rebellion during the galactic civil war and was then sold to her, possibly by Jawas. Despite R5’s nervous demeanor suggesting that he’s not made of the same tyranny-fighting stuff as R2-D2, this story of R5’s post-Tatooine exploits is given some confirmation a few episodes later. The Mandalorian’s visit to Tatooine falls on Boonta Eve, a major holiday on that planet (which also coincided with the podrace that young Anakin Skywalker won in Star Wars Episode I).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Mandalorian, The Season 3

Chapter 19: The Convert

Star Wars: The MandalorianAs they leave Mandalore in Bo-Katan’s ship, Bo-Katan and the Mandalorian are attacked by a squadron of TIE interceptors. Once the Mandalorian uses his jetpack to bail out of the ship and retrieve his starfighter, he’s able to offer backup, but another waves of fighters arrives, bombs Bo-Katan’s sanctuary, leaving the two Mandalorians without a home base. There’s only one place to which they can run: to rejoin the Mandalorian covert.

On Coruscant, former Imperial geneticist Dr. Pershing has become the very model of a reformed Imperial citizen of the New Republic. After an evening of being in the public spotlight as a promising specimen of the amnesty program, he returns to the amnesty housing building, where rehibilitated former Imperials are retrained for life in the Republic. He’s surprised to see a familiar face from Moff Gideon’s ship – Elia Kane, Gideon’s former communications officer – and over time, she drops hints that Pershing could continue his cloning research in private, even if the Republic forbids him from doing so as his full-time occupation. All he has to do is follow her lead and break some rules, with a very real risk of being caught and forced back into rehabilitation. Kane seems to be very comfortable breaking the New Republic’s rules, but Pershing is still arrested. But will he be punished for defying the rules of the New Republic, or those of the Empire?

The Mandalorianwritten by Noah Kloor & Jon Favreau
directed by Lee Isaac Chung
music by Joseph Shirley

Cast: Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Katee Sackhoff (Bo-Katan Kryze), Omid Abtahi (Dr. Pershing), Katy M. O’Brian (Elia Kane), Emily Swallow (The Armorer), Brendan Wayne (Mandalorian Warrior), Lateef Crowder (Mandalorian Warrior), Valarie Pettiford (Aristocrat 1), Stephen Keearin (Aristocrat 2), Norwood Cheek (Aristocrat 3), Veanne Cox (Aristocrat 4), Dylan Firshein (Taxi Droid), Matthew Bellows (Amnesty Office M40), James Chen (Amnesty Officer G27), Max Fowler (Amnesty Officer M34), Danny Jabobs (Lab Tech), Regina Hermosillo (Parole Droid), John Ott (Technician), Sunkrish Bala (Amnesty Affairs Commissioner), Tait Fletcher (Paz Vizsla), Arden Briar Voyles (Rodian Child performance artist)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Mandalorian, The Season 3

Chapter 20: The Foundling

Star Wars: The MandalorianThe training of foundlings and adult warriors alike continues in the Mandalorian covert, and this includes Grogu, who bests Paz Vizsla’s son Ragnar in dart training. Ragnar wanders off from the others in embarrassment, only to find a large flying creature bearing down on him. It picks him up and carries him away, followed by Vizsla and other with their jetpacks; they exhaust their fuel trying to chase the creature and rescue the boy. Bo-Katan has a different idea, following the creature in her ship and mapping the way back to its nest. She, Vizsla, the Mandalorian and others mount an attempt to rescue the boy before he becomes the creature’s next meal. Grogu is left in the care of the Armorer, and suddenly remembers how he escaped the Jedi purge: a Jedi named Kelleran Beq saved him and, in a ship from Naboo, got Grogu away from Coruscant.

The Mandalorianwritten by Jon Favreau & Dave Filoni
directed by Carl Weathers
music by Joseph Shirley

Cast: Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Katee Sackhoff (Bo-Katan Kryze), Emily Swallow (The Armorer), Ahmed Best (Kelleran Beq), Brendan Wayne (Mandalorian Warrior), Lateef Crowder (Mandalorian Warrior), Wesley Kimmel (Ragnar), Jason Chu (Mandalorian Judge), Tait Fletcher (Paz Vizsla), Temuera Morrison (Clone Troopers), Juan Javier Cardenas (Senate Guard Captain)

The MandalorianNotes: Kelleran Beq was introduced in the short-lived Star Wars-themed game show Star Wars: Jedi Challenge, which premiered on YouTube in 2020. In that respect, Beq bearing resposibility for the safety of younglings does match up with what had been seen in that show, though whether this makes the game show canonical is left open. As in Jedi Challenge, the role of Kelleran Beq is played by actor Ahmed Best, who played Jar Jar Binks in the prequel trilogy.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Ahsoka Season 1 Star Wars

Master And Apprentice

Star Wars: AhsokaRecently apprehended Imperial sympathizer (and ally of the missing Grand Admiral Thrawn), Morgan Elsbeth, is being transported back to the New Republic for trial. Unexpectedly, a shuttle of former Imperial design drops out of hyperspace. Its occupants identify themselves as Jedi and claim they are here to see the prisoner. The captain of the New Republic transport, skeptical, welcomes the “Jedi” aboard with a full security contingent. While his two visitors prove not to be Jedi, they are still well versed in the ways of the Force; they draw lightsabers, kill the captain, and make quick work of his security detail. They eventually accomplish their goal: freeing Morgan Elsbeth and escaping.

The former Jedi apprentice who captured Elsbeth in the first place, Ahsoka Tano, investigates the ruins of a temple, following up on information Elsbeth gave her under interrogation. She cautiously activates a series of puzzle-like pedestals until she finds what she has been looking for: a star map that will supposedly lead her to the whereabouts of exile Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn. Though most in the New Republic believe Thrawn fell in the final battle to free Lothal, Ahsoka has run across rumors that he still lives and may be trying to rebuild his power base, and ultimately reconstitute the Empire. Ahsoka’s rendezvous with the Republic cruiser reunited her with General Hera Syndulla. When told that the map has been found, Hera’s thoughts turn immeidately to finding their lost comrade, Jedi apprentice Ezra Bridger. She also recommends that Ahsoka find Sabine Wren, another former Rebel, because she’ll need backup if she’s now hunting down Thrawn, Elsbeth, and two Force-wielders trained in the use of the dark side. But Sabine doesn’t want to be found. She has set up shop in Ezra’s abandoned home in a communication tower on Lothal, having begun training in the ways of the Jedi under Ahsoka, but never finished that training. Ahsoka needs Sabine’s more artistic eye to help decode the locked map to Thrawn, and against Ahsoka’s express instructions, Sabine takes the map and returns home with it. This leaves her without protection when Elsbeth’s Force-wielding enforcers track her down.

written by Dave Filoni
directed by Dave Filoni
music by Kevin Kiner
additional music by Sean Kiner, Deana Kiner, and David G. Russell
“Igyah Kah” written by Kevin Kiner, Ludwig Goransson, Deana Kiner and Noah Gorelick / vocals by Sarah Tudzin

AhsokaCast: Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka Tano), Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Sabine Wren), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (General Hera Syndulla), Ray Stevenson (Baylan Skoll), Ivanna Sakhno (Shin Hati), Diana Lee Inosanto (Morgan Elsbeth), David Tennant (Huyang), Eman Esfandi (Ezra Bridger), Mark Rolston (Captain Hayle), Shakira Barbera (First Office Jensen Corbyt), Clancy Brown (Governor Ryder Azadi), Matt Law (Captain Porter), Bonnie Wild (Navigator Droid), Kat Kuei Chen (Helm Officer), P.J. Johal (Comms Officer), Helen Sadler (HK Assassin Droid Leader), David W. Collins (Home One Comms Officer), Vinny Thomas (Senator Jai Kell), Michele Weaver (Lieutenant Callahan), Chris Bartlett (Navigator Droid performance artist), Paul Darnell (Marrok performance artist), Barry Lowin (Home One comms officer performance artist), Nicole Botelho (Home One power droid performance artist), Leeanna Vamp (Lothal Protocol Droid performance artist), Terri Douglas (additional voices), Robin Atkin Downes (additional voices), Michael Ralph (additional voices), Sam Witwer (additional voices), Matthew Wood (additional voices), Shelby Young (additional voices)

AhsokaNotes: Perhaps more than any other live-action Star Wars series to date, Ahsoka is steeped in lore from The Clone Wars and especially Rebels, and effectively serves as the fifth season of the latter series, picking up many of its loose ends, and as with the final season of Rebels, Ahsoka also inherits the character of Grand Admiral Thrawn, originally created by author Timothy Zahn in the early ’90s trilogy of post-original-trilogy novels still held dear by many Star Wars fans of a certain age. Ahsoka’s apprehension of Morgan Elsbeth and her quest to find Grand Admiral Thrawn were first seen in The Mandalorian (The Jedi, 2020), as was Ahsoka’s reluctance to take on an apprentice of her own. Returning actors from the various animated series include David Tennant, who voiced Huyang in the fifth season of The Clone Wars, and Clancy Brown, now playing his Rebels character of Governor Ryder Azadi in live action. Lars Mikkelsen, who voiced Thrawn in Rebels, plays that character in live action here as well, though he does not appear in the first episode. There are also some Ahsokafamiliar names credited as “additional voices”.

Irish-born actor Ray Stevenson, who plays Baylan Skoll, died in 2023 prior to the premiere of the series; the episode is dedicated to his memory.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Ahsoka Season 1 Star Wars

Toil And Trouble

Star Wars: AhsokaAs Sabine recovers from her near-fatal encounter with Shin Hati, Ahsoka does very little to conceal her disappointment that Sabine allowed the map to fall into Elsbeth’s hands. She returns to Sabine’s home in the communications tower and, as expected, one of the assassin droids that tried to kill Sabine has stayed behind to kill whoever shows up there. Ahsoka destroys it, delivering its intact head to Sabine, who is able to find out that it came from Corellia – now serving as the hub of shipbuilding activity in the New Republic. Ahsoka meets Hera there to conduct an investigation of the shipbuilding operation formerly owned by Morgan Elsbeth, where they see an enormous hyperdrive under construction, far larger than any current ship design used by the Republic. The Imperial sympathizers within the operation quickly break their cover and attempt to kill Hera and Ahsoka, but fail miserably. Ahsoka faces off against a lightsaber-wielding opponent while Hera, in the Phantom, follows the transport moving the hyperdrive engine to an unknown location. Hera’s capable but cantankerous astromech droid, Chopper, manages to plant a homing device on the transport before it escapes; Ahsoka’s assailants also escape, having intended only to distract her. In the Seaton system, Morgan Elsbeth awaits the arrival of the hyperdrive as she prepares to launch a gigantic ship that will help her retrieve Thrawn, who the map has revealed is in another galaxy. On Lothal, fully recovered, Sabine once again dons her Mandalorian armor and her lightsaber, ready to resume her training.

written by Dave Filoni
directed by Steph Green
music by Kevin Kiner
additional music by Sean Kiner, Deana Kiner, and David G. Russell

AhsokaCast: Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka Tano), Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Sabine Wren), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (General Hera Syndulla), Ray Stevenson (Baylan Skoll), Ivanna Sakhno (Shin Hati), Diana Lee Inosanto (Morgan Elsbeth), David Tennant (Huyang), Eman Esfandi (Ezra Bridger), Peter Jacobson (Myn Weaver), Shelby Young (C1-D1), Kelly Phelan (Command Crew #1), Chris Bartlett (C1-D1 performance artist), Leeanna Vamp (Corellia Protocol Droid performance artist), Paul Darnell (Marrok performance artist), Daniel Bohman (Protocol Droid performance artist), Justin Sonfield (Protocol Droid performance artist), David W. Collins (additional voices), Terri Douglas (additional voices), Robin Atkin Downes (additional voices), Michael Ralph (additional voices), Sam Witwer (additional voices), Matthew Wood (additional voices)

AhsokaNotes: Much like Coruscant, Corellia – not seen since Solo – seems to have a problem with Imperial sympathizers operating within the New Republic. This is not the first time Chopper has been seen in live action Star Wars; he also made a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in Rogue One (2016).

LogBook entry by Earl Green