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butterflydm · 1 month

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Hi! I just watched Dune pt 2 and was thinking about the Aiel-Fremen similarities amd was wondering if you had any thoughts about the comparison because I love the way you write about WOT?

Thank you!

Oh, yes! There are tons. Watching Dune Part 2 definitely reminded me of how much the Fremen and the Aiel have in common -- Jordan had said that any similarities are unintentional, which I'm guessing is true, because Jordan was very open about how much he used other sources as inspiration when he was building his world (given the premise of the world -- that time is a wheel and everything that happened in our world also happened in WoT, it makes a lot of sense that he would do that -- Dune is also set in the far-future of our own world as well, so they share that root in common too).

From what I've read in various places, it's more that Herbert and Jordan were drawing on some of the same real-life sets of historical societies (there's a run-down here, though unfortunately it looks like the page doesn't exist anymore outside of the wayback machine) to inspire their desert warriors, which led to a lot of their similarities.

But something that's really interesting to me are the ways in which Dune being sci-fi and Wheel of Time being fantasy had an impact on the creation and the writing of the two societies. (some of my thoughts below do contain spoilers for the later books in the Dune series!)

Dune is sci-fi -- prophecies aren't real (for the most part). So the prophecy that the Fremen believe in was actually seeded by the Bene Gesserit centuries ago as a 'surprise tool to help us later' for any Bene Gesserit who might find herself in trouble on the planet.

WoT is fantasy and prophecy is very real, though not always interpreted correctly. The old Aes Sedai who tells the Aiel their prophecy for the future was very much on the level and trying to do her best to protect and save the Aiel rather than setting them up to be manipulated centuries down the road.

The Aiel (at least the leaders of the Aiel) are also very aware that they are meant to be tools in the hands of their prophesied figure and that only "a remnant of a remnant" will survive. They have been explicitly setting up their society as a tool, I would argue, by telling their people that the Three-Fold Land's purpose was to shape them to make up for their 'sin' against the Aes Sedai. So there's a self-awareness to their choices, even in the beginning. They know that their savior is also their doom and walk into it with their eyes open.

This is also a big difference in Paul himself and Rand, in that Paul is a manufactured savior and Rand is a real one -- a large part of that lies in that Paul is a sci-fi protagonist and Rand is a fantasy one (though we could always bring up Paul's son, Leto II, who becomes monstrous in order to try to save humanity from an existential threat).

Paul is a critique of the white savior trope -- he is a complete outsider to Fremen society, takes them over using lies that exploit their religious beliefs, and uses them to further his own agenda, destroying them in the process.

Rand is half-Aiel, so that makes him more akin to Paul's children with Chani than to Paul himself in that regard, in that he does have that blood connection to the Aiel (which lets him experience their history through the glass columns), but he wasn't raised by them, so there's that distance too.

But both Paul and Rand are very aware that they are using the Fremen-Aiel as a tool for their own plans (but again, here I loop back to the intentionality -- not only do the Aiel leaders know this all along, but Rand reveals to all of the Aiel the truth about their past, which means that they immediately fracture in a way that takes the Fremen years to begin doing), so they have that in common.

In addition to the difference between sci-fi and fantasy, we also have a big difference (in the books) in how the two sets of books examine religion. Religion is a much bigger and more explicit thing in Dune than in WoT -- Paul is able to build his following by exploiting his followers' religion to turn them into fanatics. Now we do have an example of some of Rand's followers turning into fanatics, but it's not in the Aiel but in Masema and what he does on the west coast, and the Dragonsworn are mostly not focused on, especially not in Rand's actual plotlines.

But, yeah, Paul Atreides, Rand al'Thor, (and I add Anakin Skywalker) kinda all exist in this sort of venn diagram in my head that I'm going to try to plot out:

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 5 Review – The Jedi

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This STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN review contains spoilers.

The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 5

Gorgeous cinematography, lots of action, and plenty of actual answers to the show’s biggest mysteries — The Mandalorian Chapter 12, “The Jedi,” has everything. Drawing on his love for Japanese cinema and his deep understanding of the Star Wars canon he helped create, writer and director Dave Filoni has truly become a master.

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The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda arrive at the city of Calodan on the planet Corvus, as Bo-Katan instructed in “The Heiress.” It’s a downtrodden place. Frightened citizens hide away from the punishment they might draw down for speaking to an outsider. The Imperial magistrate they fear, a tyrant named Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto), has a job for Mando: kill the Jedi who keeps killing her soldiers.

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The story beats happen rather quickly: Din Djarin finds Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) in the woods, learns that Baby Yoda was a Jedi Padawan named Grogu before he disappeared during the Imperial purge of the Jedi Temple, and helps the former Jedi defeat the magistrate. Throughout, the episode does slow down for lingering shots reminiscent of Westerns and samurai showdowns. While the previous episode directed by Filoni felt muddled when compared to the ones helmed by the more experienced live action directors around him, “The Jedi” proves he’s spent a lot of time figuring out how to translate animation to live action and produce a TV show that has the life and color of the former in the fidelity of the latter.

A lot of the fun in this episode comes from seeing a Jedi Master from the animated world pulled into live action and the effortless dynamic between Ahsoka, Din, and Baby Yoda/Grogu. Ahsoka is no longer a child tagging along with Anakin Skywalker, and as a hero in her own right, she can carry the entire legacy of the Jedi on her shoulders. Her demeanor has changed significantly since The Clone Wars, and this Rebels-and-beyond version is my favorite manifestation of the character yet. This era and her decades of experience allow her to stand on her own. She also still clearly cares deeply for the people around her and those she left behind when she left the Jedi Order.

Dawson’s is forceful and deliberate in fight scenes, but with an air of gentle self-assurance just like Obi-Wan Kenobi or Luke Skywalker. Moments of levity and mid-battle smiles evoke the teenager from The Clone Wars without being cloying or too self-referential. Like Filoni, Ahsoka doesn’t need to prove she belongs anymore. She simply does.

As much as I complained about cameos while reviewing Rebels, The Mandalorian‘s references to the animated canon continue to delight in “The Jedi.” But they’re also a bit bizarre: name-dropping Grand Admiral Thrawn takes a lot of the air out of a pivotal scene between Ahsoka and Elsbeth. That said, it’s also a fun puzzle piece with which to tease fans of Rebels. Thrawn is still missing, which means Jedi apprentice Ezra Bridger is still missing, too. Ahsoka set out to look for Ezra at the end of that animated series, and it seems that she’s still searching all these years later.

Ahsoka’s story connects to another part of the saga as well. Her reluctance to train Grogu shows she’s afraid of training another Jedi who might fall to the dark side like Anakin did. I can’t emphasize enough how well she fits into this particular episode both emotionally and physically, her zebra-like striped coloration adding to the alien look of the planet. She’s just a lot of fun to watch.

It’s important to note in this review that Dawson’s casting as Ahsoka is a controversial one. In the real world, a former employee of Rosario Dawson and her family is suing the actor, accusing the family of transphobia and physical assault. But 18 of the 20 accusations, including discrimination and misgendering, have since been dropped, and Dawson has called the allegations as “baseless.” The claims of a physical altercation with Dawson’s mother will be considered in court in December. Some Star Wars fans are collecting funds for the Transgender Law Center in response.

Dawson isn’t the show’s only controversial casting at the moment. Her debut on The Mandalorian also comes just a week after some fans petitioned for Disney to fire Gina Carano (Cara Dune) from the show.

The Mandalorian’s Grogu: Baby Yoda’s Real Name and Star Wars Origin Explained

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Aside from Ahsoka’s presence, the episode demonstrates a mature sensibility by understating the nature vs. industrialization theme often present in Star Wars. The Clone Wars isn’t exactly known for being subtle, but this episode gives off the sense of having been refined down and down until an elegant story sat on top of the easily understood but never quite spoken threat. The Imperial magistrate is obviously cruel to both the people and the environment. No one has to come out and say that she’s poisoning the ground to see that the forest around the village is dead and the magistrate walls off her own garden inside. The setting also quietly sends the message that the Jedi is on the side of nature as well as the people.

And what about the heart of the show, the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda? The episode doesn’t play the baby’s prospective separation from its father figure as heart-wrenching. Instead, it’s almost inevitable that the two will walk away together. There’s no way showrunner Jon Favreau, Filoni, or or the rest of the creative team will write either character out of the show. Because of this, Mando doesn’t seem particularly worried that he might lose the child. Any pathos I might have wanted here instead comes from Ahsoka’s obvious fear of training a difficult student only to have him end up like Anakin. Although she isn’t officially a Jedi anymore, she’s seen Anakin’s life first hand, and believes that the Jedi were right when they declared strong attachments are a path to the dark side.

If Grogu’s love for Mando becomes possessive or destructive, he could go down the route of Darth Vader. The dynamic between Ahsoka and Din, both of them comfortable together and never seeming to need to prove anything to the other, provides this uncertainty with a backdrop of reassurance. If anyone can make things okay for the child, it’s these two.

The Jedi training scenes are utterly delightful. The camera does a lot of work making Ahsoka seem mystical, particularly when she and the child are silhouetted against the moon like the Madonna and baby in a halo. One of the great joys of Star Wars is watching Jedi be cool and dangerous. The fog of Corvus works so well for that, with Ahsoka a wraith in the mist or the alleyways. And yet her appearance is not muddled or teased, not obscured behind inclement weather or night. The camera takes a comic book joy in watching her command a scene. And Pedro Pascal shines as usual, his head tips, cowboy walk, and deadpan responses (“I keep it around for luck”) are all equally expressive. His praise for the child is particularly heartwarming.

“The Jedi” is a reminder, as a lot of this season has been, that this show is both a visual spectacle and a technical masterclass of doing a lot with a little. It’s great to get out of the deserts of Tatooine and Nevarro. The Mandalorian continues to be so, so entertaining, and to connect to other parts of Star Wars without feeling precious about them.

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