some songs by The Score that I’ve been coming back to and loving ❤️🖤💙🩵

I was wondering if any [past or present] Jonerys, Pro-Daenerys fans like myself feel this way.....?

Firstly Id say please be nice i just enjoy analyzing the shit out of fandoms I like, (im a history/polysci major ((with an emphasis on Peace Justice and & Conflict Studies)) all i do is analyze and try to be diplomatic lmao) but considering all they petty drama between both ships as well as pro/anti Daenerys stans ON BOTH SIDES I’m going to be “That Person” and at least ask for people to be respectful/civil, I want to hear from everyone and their metas/what they think which is why i tagged like, all the tags, no matter if you love her/the ship or cant stand it, as long as everyone can keep civil So firstly I’ve loved Dany both books and show from the beginning. She’s gorgeous, wants to be the best person she can be, and her hair/fashion style game is always ON POINT.  That being said, somewhere around season 5 i think i’ve found my opinion on her cooling a little bit, ep after ep, till now. Like I still like her bc she was my first character love on the show but I’ve def soured in my opinion on her. Maybe it’s because I love learning about the subject that im more baised (im hoping thats the case) but she just seemed to have no interest in actual governance, just the reputation (esp of being the ‘rebel queen’)/the awe/the power/the thrill of the adoration that went along with it to the point where I feel like though she still wants to be a ‘good queen’ or at least wants to be seen that way, she doesnt want to do much work for the title. Like yeah she freed all the slaves and that was a def progressive and awesome move on her part (major props! slavery is sin and im glad someone recognized that who had the power to do something about it) but she didnt handle that aftermath or ensuing problems well at all nor really mulled heavily on the subject to find the best solution. She just got fustrated with pretty basic/common (albeit complex in themselves) issues of standard governance and kind of went agh! fuck this! (obv not actual quotes but that was the vibe I got). And then ESPECIALLY after season 7 her character has kind of nagged at me in the back of brain which i hate but its inherent like its just a feeling i cant help it?? I just dont know why to be honest that Im feeling so negative towards this character i used to love.  The whole ‘ bEnD thE knEe ‘ thing w/ Jon and yet pinning it on Jon’s pride not equally on his and her own was more than a little hypocritical, when hon they can discuss it later like at that point they have two common enemies the WW and Cersei they both want to do away with, and then again with the Bend the Knee or Die bit w/ the Lannister soldiers. In fact the whole sequence before that point felt kind of villinous I dearsay, I mean  deliberately burning the harvest that most of westeros needs for the winter or even strategically not willing to try, and well, nOOt intentionally burn the food considering its winter, the harvest is over (so likely not much is gonna grow in the time being) when she has a G I A N T ass army of her own to think of feeding???? Like i get it is war shit happens soldiers die but the F O O D ? Was that an impuslive in the moment mistake or did she just not give a fuck? And back to the aftermath scene/Bend the Knee 2.0, her speech was again quite hypocritical...and burning dickon?????? not willing to keep prisoners???? either bend or die??? I actually am glad she did away with Papa Tarly bc he was an awful human, but dickon????? a young idealistic man about to loose his father??? the heir to a major ally/house???? And honestly that bend or die strategy is soooooo dumb bc now she cant trust any of them like theyre only bending the knee out of self preservation homie, no one wants to die. they bend  the knee to survive and now they all of the sudden think youre their queen? Nah fam, prisoners were better, all you got are spies in your camps or people willing to backstab you at the smallest promise of coin. And i dont want that for my girl

IDK the whole “im gonna BREAK THE WHEEL,,,,,,,,yet im stating my claim mainly on my housename (aka the predominant force of said wheel for a literal dynasty) and the fact that i can scare people who otherwise are unconvinced bc lets be real westeros has had a bad run of rulers a lot of which were Targs in the past couple decades, into submission bc ill burn you otherwise???” doesnt sit well with me nor does it feel like the character ive been rooting for the past five-ish seasons. She just doesnt seem to put into effort on understanding Westeros, why things go wrong, being self-critical or sharing the blame,thinking on what a “good” ruler would do.... anyone else feeling this way and if so do you think this is just shitty writing? D&D butchering her character? or a new arc for her? perhaps the way shes always been? She just seems like a tantruming child bratty and entitled idk (a beautiful child but still)  As for jonerys...... im not gonna go into it much but how are other shippers happy????????? I honestly dont understand. I was SO looking forward to this season/this ship. like so much! But it felt so forced? And i know a lot of people claim its cause its rushed but tbh we’ve had a lot of romances in a similar time frame that felt like A C T U A L romances.....even Talisa/Robb who the Northerners will prob compare any of this too were so much better. THIS WAS MY EPIC SHIP DUDE. I feel the dany side of things (took a while but theres def heart eyes) and yet Jon???? He felt hollow. Still does even after sex. Im so disapointed but more than that I cant see the romance or the chemistry. He looks constipated. Hes never smiled like with his teeth around her the way hes done w others he cares deepily about (ygritte, toramund, sansa, even fkin gendry in the first scene they had together). He never reveals anything about himself. And between the “my queen” ep (and remember he was look warm when discussing her to toramund throughout it) and the previous the only thing that changed was that he saw the actual difference dragons made against WW. You could argue she saved them all too but that doesnt make you fall in love w someone out of the blue and also people have saved his ass before and??? Sansa w the vale anyone??? (Not an argument for jonsa js its happened) (though ill admit ive transitioned to loathing jonerys and loving jonsa more as a potential couple in the space of seven eps where if you asked me I wouldve been like PSH u cray. I never thought it would happen in a mill years but D&D ruined my ship and here i am! Shipping aside tho since its best too look at these things as neutral as possible).  Anyways the sigh of his after she left and when he pretended to be asleep.... idk. The only scene that felt genuine and where Jon smiled and it didnt look like a full on grimace and they actually kinda joked around was really nice and at the pit at the finale and if they do a LOT more of basic romance stuff like that I could ship it again but. It was followed by boatsex and boy.  I was hoping boatsex might rekindle my like for the two together. I could see the chemistry the passion. I was hoping the passion would overwhelm me and make up for the rest. But instead......like there was no foreplay, it lasted 2 seconds, and it was overplayed by brans voice and a reminder of future conflict or at the very least major angst b/w the two. i didnt see the parallel between regear and lyanna playing alongside their scene as anything romantic or that it should be taken as such. and the look they shared.... I was hoping jon would bring it bc Dany’s look in her eyes is like soooo smitten and adorable and say what you will I still have a space in my heart for her and still dont want her to suffer, but again Jon looks like oh shit/constipated. And not in a good oh shit way either.  There is a bunch more too but Imma stop there bc Im just tired at this point.  So many things were just....off this season. And it cant all be blamed on the “rushed” time frame. I’ve read the undercover lover theory and hon it makes the most sense (not perfect sense but still, more than what we’ve been poorly spoon fed) but im not willing to believe it just yet. Still, maybe D&D are just butchering a lot of things like making the romance believable and stuff for the sake of time that could be true i guess. But they like to go AHA GOT U so  Idk I dont find a lot of meta in the jonerys tag bc honestly (((((i think its bc the tag and ship are more popular and theirs more people both good and bad)))) it doesnt seem like snowballing theories is something all fans take really well in the tag at all. But whatever. I really want to know, is there any meta or theories im missing to either validate the icky feeling Im haveing about D or her “romance” or on the flipside anything that might make me change my mind about it? Theories, meta people! I just want to reiderate im not trying to hate on anyone or any point of view and I will flag any comment anti one ship or person or another if its plain hateful or rude. I just want to understand it and see what Im missing, esp because of how much I was looking forward to her arc and jonerys’ dynamic and how much the words “falling short” dont seem to cover it. And to see if im not the only one to either have critique on the ship or her character [or even actually change ships] Also i apologize for how much ive said “IDK” i just..... I DONT KNOW 

So Star Wars Rebels is back with it’s fourth and (gasp) final season with a two-part opener entitled Heroes of Mandalore. So how was it? Did it live up to the promises of the beginning of a satisfying end? Did Sabine’s return to Mandalore arc reach a satisfying conclusion? Well……… ****SPOILERS**** after the break, and they’re bloody. Just sayin’….

OK, so here goes nothing. I’m not going to do a long-winded recap summary, I’ll keep that part brief so I can get to what worked for me and what didn’t. In a nutshell, Sabine and part of the crew of the Ghost (Kanan, Ezra, and Chopper) return to Mandalore in hopes of liberating the planet from Imperial occupation and to find a worthy wielder for the Darksaber. After season three’s Mandalore arc my hopes were super-high that we were building towards not only an epic showdown on Mandalore in regards to not only the aforementioned Imperial occupation and the Darksaber but also Sabine’s complicated relationship with the planet and the weapon she created that we’ve been hearing bits and pieces about since season one if I’m not mistaken.

OK, so here’s the quick rundown – the crew fights to liberate Sabine’s dad from Imperial imprisonment, and after a successful rescue, Mandalore’s new governor, Tiber Saxon (who came completely out of nowhere to replace his dead brother, Gar Saxon, who was killed by Ursa Wren in season three) dispatches the weapon that Sabine designed for the Empire during her time in the Academy on her family and clan. Also aiding in the rescue was Clan Kryze, led by none other than Bo-Katan Kryze who made her first appearance in The Clone Wars. After some dissent and anger towards Sabine over the creation of the weapon (which happens to be called the Duchess of all things), the Mandalorian clans unite to fight Tiber Saxon and disable the weapon. In the end they are successful and Bo-Katan accepts the Darksaber from Sabine to become the symbolic leader of Mandalore. Ok, let’s get to the best part – my opinions!

What worked for me:

Kanan – he was awesome in this episode and I have really enjoyed his arc throughout the series from the middle of season two on. His interaction with Hera via hologram was touching and is obviously foreshadowing the tragedy their relationship is sure to suffer before the end of the final season. His calm and cool demeanor is welcome in this show, as immaturity has a tendency to run rampant, even as the younger members of the Ghost crew get older.

Chopper – always funny, always on point. I am really just putting him in here so I can reference his ‘get a room already’ comment to Kanan and Hera. Hilarious.

The chase – lots of Indiana Jones influence in the chase sequence on the surface of Mandalore to rescue Sabine’s imprisoned father, Alrich Wren. Mando’s flying on jetpacks and Jedi doing Jedi stuff was an awesome combination.

Bo-Katan Kryze’s return – I’ve been speculating that Bo-Katan would wield the legendary Darksaber since Sabine and crew claimed it from Maul in season three, and it was awesome to see that prediction come to fruition. As the sister of the former ruler of Mandalore (and love interest of Obi-Wan Kenobi), Duchess Satine Kryze, it only seemed right that she would become the symbolic leader of Mandalore and unite the clans in their fight against Imperial occupation. I do have a few gripes about this which I’ll touch on below, but overall this wraps up the Mandalore storyline in a fitting way.

Mandalorians being Mandalorians – although I like the portrayal of Mandalore and it’s people in The Clone Wars, I understand many fan’s gripes about the direction George Lucas and Dave Filoni took the planet and it’s people. In Rebels we’ve seen a return to what we were led to believe via the old EU/Legends material that Mandalorians were like – bad ass! It’s cool to see the different clans flying around on jetpacks and being the fierce warriors we have come to expect. I’d also like to give kudos to the design team for not taking the easy way out design-wise with the clans, giving each a distinctive look and aesthetic. It didn’t go unnoticed.

Beskar Alloy – the legendary (pun intended) material Mandalorians use to construct their armor is officially canon. Awesome, thanks Dave!

What didn’t work for me:

Ezra – seriously, isn’t it time for Ezra to be a hero and not the comic relief? It’s so frustrating watching Ezra’s character arc continually regress from the end of season two/beginning of season three, and it’s hard not to think Filoni, Gilroy, and crew are taking it too easy on the audience here. His ridiculous series of hijinx with the jetpack was a distraction and quite simply wasn’t even funny. Also, that stupid Scout Biker helmet needs to go, why the hell does he keep wearing that thing?? I’m going to (hesitantly) stick by my prediction that Ezra will in fact be the Jedi to die (rather than Kanan), but I reserve the right to change that prediction as late as halfway through season four, because well, it’s my blog…

Sabine – after an emotionally-charged arc for Sabine in season three I feel like the resolution to the Mandalorian story arc and her role in it was completely rushed and unfulfilling. And while I admit I’m glad the Mando arc is over (hopefully), way too many scenes in Heroes of Mandalore felt rushed and unconvincing. Also, we know Sabine is a prodigy, but to think that she was able to build this superweapon that was so devastating to Mandalorians in armor at the age of 14 or 15 is pushing it. I’m surprised nobody else is talking about that…. Furthermore, she named it the Duchess? That’s just wrong, and her excuse was super lame. Duchess Satine was by far the best leader Mandalore has had in canon, I have a very hard time believing even the most angsty teenager would name a superweapon that only targets Mandalorians after her. Come on man.

Take a chance Filoni!!! – dude, you had a chance to make a real difference in Sabine’s arc by killing her mother and brother off when the superweapon is used on them and you wimped out!!! Don’t be afraid to kill off characters, man! And these two in particular were so ripe for the picking, as their deaths would’ve resonated strongly in the show given we are in the final season, and shown the audience that the stakes are very high for our heroes as the series winds down. Huge missed opportunity there, let’s hope the creators show more guts moving forward in the final 11 episodes of season four….

Alrich Wren = Bail Organa? – not really, but it would be hard to tell just by looking at the animation models… Could the design team not have come up with a character model for Sabine’s dad that looked original? I mean the resemblance to Organa is startling, to say the least, and distracting.

Tiber Saxon, where’d you come from? – OK, so it’s not a stretch that the recently deceased Gar Saxon’s brother Tiber would take up the mantle of Imperial Governor of Mandalore, but this dude came out of nowhere. This belies a huge problem with Rebels in that there is continually no build up. I wish the creative team would trust the audience like they did with The Clone Wars and build longer story arcs. It wouldn’t have been hard to introduce the character of Tiber Saxon in season three so he didn’t just seemingly appear out of nowhere. This brand of storytelling just isn’t fulfilling to me. Which speaks to a larger problem of….

Lack of real story arcs – I get that Rebels loves to wrap up story arcs in one or two episodes, but it’s so hard to do that convincingly as the series progresses and gets more complex. I was really hoping that the fourth and final season would have a true sense of connectivity in the way that The Clone Wars did, but unfortunately I’m not very hopeful that will happen in the way fans want it to. I would love to see true demographics on just who is watching Star Wars Rebels, because I think the fanbase is older and more mature than Lucasfilm is trying to cater to.

The destruction of the Duchess – OK, so Sabine (very quickly, conveniently enough) is able to turn the weapon against the Empire and use it to target the Stormtroopers plastoid armor as opposed to the Mandalorian’s beskar alloy armor and you destroyed it??? And Chopper and Kanan destroyed all the plans and blueprints??? Don’t you think you could’ve used that in the future? OK then. Saw Gerrera would NOT approve.

Bo-Katan and the Darksaber – I know up top I said I liked this, and I still do. However, I must point out that it’s a little morbid that Bo-Katan now wields the weapon that was used by Maul to murder her sister but OK. You do you, Bo-Katan.

And finally, the ‘what the hell’ category:

Aging on Mandalore – we know the twin suns of Tatooine cause the residents there to age rapidly, but does the the moon of Concordia have the complete opposite effect on the people of Mandalore by chance?? Bo-Katan is almost 20 years older than we last saw her and she looks younger now than she did then. It was comical to hear the creative team talk on Rebels Recon about her character model, quite frankly….

Overall this was a very unsatisfactory start to the fourth and final season of Star Wars Rebels, and by far the worst season premiere in the series’ history. My hope is that things will pick up now and that we can leave Mandalore alone moving forward. Quite frankly, these two episodes should’ve been part of season three, but oh well. Fingers crossed as we move into the final 11 episodes of Rebels. Below are some pics from the official Star Wars site as well as a link to Rebels Recon. Feedback? Gripes? Agreements? Wanna be a guest on The Exhaust Port podcast? Hit me here.

~Todd

  Rebels Review – Heroes of Mandalore – S4, Ep’s 1 & 2 So Star Wars Rebels is back with it's fourth and (gasp) final season with a two-part opener entitled…