Tag Revenge of the Sith

George Lucas on Star Wars: The Old Man and the Machine

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

***New around here? Check out Primary Ignition‘s “George Lucas on Star Wars” archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope, lightsaber

The Scene: Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader prepare to duel with lightsabers aboard the Death Star.

George Lucas Says (Via The Birth of the Lightsaber featurette): “In the beginning, the first film, Episode IV, it was a fight between a very old man and a man who was only partially a man, mostly a mechanical being. So it really wasn’t much of a sword fight at all. … As we went on, we wanted to have the lightsaber fights become faster and more intense as Luke became more proficient in the art of sword fighting.”

I Say: I’ve heard George talk about this a number of times over the years. It works fine as an in-story explanation of why there are no acrobatics or fancy sword fighting moves in A New Hope. But if Star Wars had been made in the prequel era, i.e. the late ’90s and early 2000s, you’ve got to know that Obi-Wan would have been doing all sorts of wild stunts. Remember that Count Dooku, who can’t be that far removed from Obi-Wan in terms of age, does a somersault off a balcony in Revenge of the Sith for no apparent reason.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

George Lucas on Star Wars: General Grievous and Darth Vader

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

***New around here? Check out Primary Ignition‘s “George Lucas on Star Wars” archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

General Grievous entrance, Star Wars Revenge of the Sith

The Scene: General Grievous, leader of the Separatist droid army, enters the film.

George Lucas Says (via the Revenge of the Sith commentary track): “With General Grievous, I wanted somebody who was reminiscent … of what Anakin is going to become, which is a half-man, half-robot. In this case, Grievous is sort of 20 percent alien, 80 percent robot. … It echoes what is about to occur with Anakin, as a part machine, part life form.”

I say: George Lucas does love his echoes, doesn’t he? I remember thinking this idea of Grievous sort of foreshadowing what happens to Anakin when he becomes Darth Vader was pretty cool. If nothing else, it shows that Darth Sidious’ forces had become somewhat proficient in creating cyborgs out of critically wounded beings. So, in a way, Grievous also lays the groundwork for Anakin’s transformation later in the film.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

The Essential Clone Wars: “The Lost One”

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***I must confess that, despite being a huge Star Wars geek, I have yet to see the landmark Clone Wars animated show in its entirety. I’m aiming to rectify that to a large extent here, as we look at pivotal episodes of the series in, “The Essential Clone Wars.”

SERIES: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
EPISODE: S6:E10 – “The Lost One”
WITH THE VOICE TALENTS OF: Tom Kane, James Arnold Taylor, Brian George, Matt Lanter, Corey Burton
WRITER: Christian Taylor
DIRECTOR: Brian Kalin O’Connell
PREMIERE DATE: March 7, 2014
SYNOPSIS: The Jedi explore the mystery of Sifo Dyas’ death.

***New around here? Check out our Star Wars review archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Little peek behind the curtain: For the most part, I’ve been using the “Star Wars: The Clone Wars Essential Episodes” playlist on Disney+ to select which Clone Wars episodes I feature. But that has to change now, as mysteriously there are no season six episodes on said list. The three episodes I plan to feature from season six are ones I had previously seen, and frankly, I think are awesome. They dive into one of the big unresolved issues from Attack of the Clones: The mystery of Sifo Dyas.

We open the episode with a vehicle on wheels slowly driving through a sandstorm. The novelty of seeing wheeled vehicles in Star Wars still hasn’t worn off for me. I wonder what the logic is behind them using one here, as opposed to one with hover technology. Does it allow for more stable navigation through the storm?

This episode goes on awhile before we get any lightsaber fights, shooting, or any other Star Wars action staples. That’s fine for adult viewers, obviously. But it makes me wonder what younger kids thought of this episode. Did it hold their attention? Was the expansion on a character only briefly mentioned during Attack of the Clones enough to keep them interested?

How much time passes between this episode and Revenge of the Sith? A matter of months? Because Anakin has that line to Dooku: “My powers have doubled since we last met, Count.” Casual viewers would naturally think he’s referring to a couple of years earlier during the events of Attack of the Clones. But those of us who’ve watched The Clone Wars know Anakin and Dooku crossed swords a few different times over the course of this big galactic conflict. I mean, obviously Anakin is boasting. But it’s kind of a weird boast.

“My powers have doubled since we last met. Remember? It was just a few months ago…”

By the end of this episode, the Jedi Council learns that Count Dooku is responsible for the creation of the Clone army. Understandably, they’re of the mindset that if this got out, it would seriously undermine public confidence in the Jedi and the war effort. Again, as we saw with the story that led to Ahsoka’s departure from the Jedi Order, we’ve got this theme of people losing faith in the Jedi, and the Jedi’s fear of such a thing. I like that idea. The notion that the galaxy is becoming more skeptical about the Jedi lends credence to the idea that Palpatine could frame them as the villains in Revenge of the Sith.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

The Essential Clone Wars: “The Wrong Jedi”

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***I must confess that, despite being a huge Star Wars geek, I have yet to see the landmark Clone Wars animated show in its entirety. I’m aiming to rectify that to a large extent here, as we look at pivotal episodes of the series in, “The Essential Clone Wars.”

Ahsoka, Anakin, Star Wars the Clone Wars, The Wrong JediSERIES: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
EPISODE: S5:E20 – “The Wrong Jedi”
WITH THE VOICE TALENTS OF: Ashley Eckstein, Matt Lanter, Meredith Salenger, Nika Futterman, Stephen Stanton
WRITER: Charles Murray
DIRECTOR: Dave Filoni
PREMIERE DATE: March 2, 2013
SYNOPSIS: Ahsoka is put on trial for her alleged crimes.

***New around here? Check out our Star Wars review archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This episode represents an ending of sorts for The Clone Wars. A few different endings, actually.

“The Wrong Jedi” was the final Clone Wars episode to premiere on Cartoon Network, which had been the show’s home since its inception.

The episode aired on March 2, 2013. Mere days later, Lucasfilm announced the end of the series, in conjunction with Disney’s purchase of the Star Wars brand. This, as Dave Filoni and everybody on the Clone Wars crew was apparently already working on a 22-episode sixth season. It wasn’t until later that fans learned they’d be getting an abbreviated season six. So for awhile, this episode served as the series finale for The Clone Wars.

As we’ll see, it’s also the ending of Ahsoka Tano’s apprenticeship under Anakin Skywalker. Obviously, her fate and whereabouts during the events of Revenge of the Sith had been the source of various questions since the series started.

Ahsoka, Star Wars the Clone Wars, The Wrong Jedi

All in all, if this episode had indeed been the series finale, it would have worked for me. It’s obviously got a lot of drama, features a great many of the show’s expansive list of characters, and ties up enough loose ends with Ahsoka while also leaving her around for future projects.

This wasn’t the end. But it very well could have been.

From a writing standpoint, it might have made sense to have Anakin turn his back on Ahsoka in the wake of all the evidence mounted against her. But the fact that he didn’t speaks to his loyalty as a character, as well as the bond he and Ahsoka shared. It makes what happens at the end of this episode all the more sad.

The great Tim Curry voices Palpatine in this episode. He took the baton from the also great Ian Abercrombie, who passed way in January 2012. It’s easy to hear Curry’s iconic voice in his portrayal of the character.

Anakin discovers that Bariss Offee has framed Ahsoka for the murder of Letta Turmond. Bariss taking such drastic action against the Jedi Order is the weakest part of the episode, in my opinion. It’s a pretty steep turn for her to make, and I’m not sure I fully buy it.

Also, when she wields Asajj Ventress’ red lightsabers, she says, “I think they suit me.” So does that mean she’s gone to the dark side?

The ensuing fight between Anakin and Bariss takes them in front of a class of Jedi younglings. I’m sure that was meant to be poignant, and symbolic of the Order falling apart. But in truth, I couldn’t help but think about how many of those kids (if any) Anakin murders during the events of Revenge of the Sith. Yeesh…

At the end of “The Wrong Jedi,” Ahsoka opts to leave the Jedi Order, despite being cleared of all charges. Again, from a writing standpoint this episode does a good job of making Ahsoka sympathetic. Her departure from the Order feels justified, as the Jedi left her hanging out to dry when she needed them most. Heck, I’d have left too…

One thing I might have changed: We never find out what the verdict is going to be as far as Ahsoka’s innocence or guilt is concerned before Anakin bursts in and clears her name. I might have had them pronounce her guilty. Thus the Jedi would be about to let her forfeit her life for nothing. All the more reason for her to leave the order.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

The Essential Clone Wars: “The Jedi Who Knew Too Much”

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***I must confess that, despite being a huge Star Wars geek, I have yet to see the landmark Clone Wars animated show in its entirety. I’m aiming to rectify that to a large extent here, as we look at pivotal episodes of the series in, “The Essential Clone Wars.”

SERIES: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
EPISODE: S5:E18 – “The Jedi Who Knew Too Much”
WITH THE VOICE TALENTS OF: Ashley Eckstein, Matt Lanter, Stephen Stanton, Dee Bradley Baker, Meredith Salenger
WRITER: Charles Murray
DIRECTOR: Danny Keller
PREMIERE DATE: February 16, 2013
SYNOPSIS: Ahsoka is accused of murdering a military prisoner.

***New around here? Check out our Star Wars review archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

“The Jedi Who Knew Too Much” is essentially part two of a four-parter that began with “Sabotage.” But this episode is where things really kick into high gear, and the end begins for Ahsoka. I can only assume they had this “framed for murder” story, or something akin to it, in mind when the series began. As Ahsoka obviously doesn’t appear in Revenge of the Sith, common sense would dictate you not create this character without knowing how to ultimately get rid of her.

I can appreciate that there’s a public backlash against the Jedi as the war becomes less popular. There’s obviously precedent for that in the real world, most recently with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But it does beg the question: Is it just the Jedi who are seeing a backlash? If so, why? Why not the chancellor? Why not the Senate? They’re every bit as involved in the war.

Admiral Tarkin (or Grand Moff Tarkin, as we knew him in A New Hope) appears in this episode, voiced by Stephen Stanton. I had mistakenly thought Stanton provided the voice for Tarkin in Rogue One. He didn’t. But he certainly could have. His Tarkin voice is spot on.

Anakin and the clones chase Ashoka outside a building that’s apparently called the “Repubic Center for Military Operations.” Its exterior includes big statues of clone troopers, and what appears to be a big memorial for troops lost during the Clone Wars.

All I could think of as I saw this building was that the Republic must have a lot of money to burn if they can create a facility that elaborate and ordained in the midst of a war. Either that, or Palpatine really wanted to push the clone trooper imagery and propaganda as he built up his Galactic Empire.

The entire prolonged chase sequence involving Ahsoka, Anakin, and the clones is really effective. Very suspenseful, and you believe that either side can ultimately win out.  Kevin Kiner’s score works perfectly too. It all feels like the culmination of five seasons. Like this is what we’ve been building to.

At first glance, Ahsoka’s motivation for running is a little bit questionable. Common sense and logic dictate that only a guilty person would flee that way. However, it does speak to her youth, inexperience, and even a certain impetuousness that might come with being Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice. So it works.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

The Essential Clone Wars: “The Lawless”

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***I must confess that, despite being a huge Star Wars geek, I have yet to see the landmark Clone Wars animated show in its entirety. I’m aiming to rectify that to a large extent here, as we look at pivotal episodes of the series in, “The Essential Clone Wars.”

Satine death, Star Wars the Clone Wars, The LawlessSERIES: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
EPISODE: S5:E16 – “The Lawless”
WITH THE VOICE TALENTS OF: James Arnold Taylor, Anna Graves, Sam Witwer, Ian Abercrombie, Katee Sackhoff
WRITER: Chris Collins
DIRECTOR: Brian Kalin O’Connell
PREMIERE DATE: February 2, 2013
SYNOPSIS: Obi-Wan travels to Mandalore to save Satine from Maul’s forces.

***New around here? Check out our Star Wars review archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Wait, Satine has a nephew named Korkie? Why is that funny to me?

So now we have not only have Mandalorians with red armor, but Mandalorians whose helmets have horns like Darth Maul. You just know the artists and designers had fun with that one.

Having received Duchess Satine’s desperate transmission for help, Obi-Wan travels to Mandalore to save her. Question: Did Yoda and the Jedi Council know about him going to Mandalore, or did Obi-Wan do it on his own? If so, does he face any consequences for that? Just asking…

After they are captured by Mandalorian forces, Obi-Wan is forced to watch as Satine is executed by Maul. Needless to say, this makes their feud even more personal than it already was. I wasn’t necessarily surprised to see Satine die. But I was surprised to see her simply executed the way she was. She didn’t go out in a blaze of glory or anything. They just got everybody in a room, and Maul killed her. Simple as that.

Sensing what’s happening, Darth Sidious personally travels to Mandalore to confront Maul. And again I have to ask, does anyone know where he went? He is the chancellor of the Republic, and they are in the middle of a war. He can’t just go off without telling anybody, can he?

I understand these kinds of details aren’t necessarily important in the context of telling the story. The important thing is that Obi-Wan and Palpatine ultimately end up on Mandalore. But it’s fair question, isn’t it?

I noticed that just before the two-on one duel starts with Sidious, Maul, and Savage Opress, Maul does the “Obi-Wan pose” (shown below). I can only assume that was intentional. The Obi-Wan pose wasn’t as much of a thing yet. But the show had done it before. And of course, we’d see it in Revenge of the Sith.

Ian Abercrombie, who voices Palpatine/Sidious, has the character’s evil laugh down pat. That makes his fight sequence with Maul and Opress that much more effective.

There are a lot of “echoes” in this episode. You’ve got Obi-Wan luring that Mandalorian on to his ship and stealing his uniform, much like they did in A New Hope. Then, seconds before he sees Palpatine, Maul says he senses a presence he hasn’t felt since… Again, like in A New Hope. Then, after it’s revealed that Bo-Katan is Satine’s sister, Obi-Wan says “I’m so sorry,” much like he says to Padme in Revenge of the Sith.

Star Wars does love it’s callbacks, doesn’t it?

To Maul’s shock and horror, Sidious kills Savage Opress. Thus, possibly my least favorite character in all of Star Wars is put down. Whatever shall we do without him?

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

The Essential Clone Wars: “The Gathering”

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***I must confess that, despite being a huge Star Wars geek, I have yet to see the landmark Clone Wars animated show in its entirety. I’m aiming to rectify that to a large extent here, as we look at pivotal episodes of the series in, “The Essential Clone Wars.”

SERIES: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
EPISODE: S5:E6 – “The Gathering”
WITH THE VOICE TALENTS OF: Olivia Hack, Jeff Fischer, Greg Cipes, Georgina Cordova, Dee Bradley Baker
WRITER: Christian Taylor
DIRECTOR: Kyle Dunlevy
PREMIERE DATE: November 3, 2012
SYNOPSIS: A group of Younglings travel to Ilum for a Jedi rite of passage.

***New around here? Check out our Star Wars review archive!***

I was immediately disappointed when I realized the dialogue for Gungi, the young wookiee, consisted of recycled Chewbacca noises. I understand it was probably cheaper than hiring an actor to come in to grunt and growl. But at the same time, they had both Dee Bradley Baker and Tom Kane in the cast for this episode. You’re tellin’ me neither of them could fire off a decent wookiee noise? I don’t buy it.

On the subject of voice actors, I was pleasantly surprised to see Greg Cipes on the credits as the voice of Zatt. Cipes also provided the voice of Michelangelo in Nickelodeon’s 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. When you know its him, and listen intently, you can hear Mikey in Zatt’s voice.

From a writing standpoint, I can appreciate the whole “Gathering” ritual. But part of me does wish it wasn’t centered around lightsabers. The Jedi are more than just superheroes with laser swords, and there’s so much emphasis on lightsabers already. It might have been nice for them to think a little bit outside the box here.

Question: As he’s the head teacher for the Younglings, not to mention the grand master of the Jedi Order, does Yoda have to be present at all these Gathering events? If so, that seems like the kind of thing he should have pawned off on somebody else. Especially during a time of war.

This episode takes on a much different tone when you consider that most, if not all these kids were likely murdered during the events of Revenge of the Sith. Possibly by Darth Vader himself. Kind of a downer, huh?

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

George Lucas on Star Wars: Palpatine and Donald Trump

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Palpatine, First Galactic Empire, Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith

The Scene: Palpatine announces that the Republic will be “reorganized into the first Galactic Empire!”

George Lucas Says (via the Revenge of the Sith commentary track): “When I [first began writing Star Wars], it was during the Vietnam War. It was during the period when Nixon was going for a third term, or trying to get the constitution changed to go for a third term. And it got me to thinking about how democracies turn into dictatorships. Not how they’re taken over, or how there’s a coup or anything like that. But how the democracy turns itself over to a tyrant.

So I went back and looked at how, after the senate in ancient Rome kills Caeser, they turn around and give the empire over to his nephew and make him emperor. … [In the case of the French Revolution], after they’ve gone to all this trouble to have a revolution and get rid of the king and people in power, eventually they turn the democracy over to Napoleon and make him the emperor. So it has to do more with a historical precedence, and it does happen a lot more than what we think. …

It’s more interesting when it’s actually given over to compensate for the fact that the electorate representatives can’t agree on anything and are corrupt. And therefore, in order to clean up the mess, somebody is allowed to come in and “fix” things.”

I Say: I usually don’t like to get political here. But Star Wars is inherently political. So what the hell?

What Lucas describes here, with societies turning themselves over to dictators, is largely what happened with America and Donald Trump in 2016. This notion is briefly alluded to in an interview Lucas did with James Cameron not long ago.

Donald Trump was viewed as an outsider. Someone outside the political system. He spoke to a section of the populace that felt alienated and forgotten by that system. He was democratically (from an Electoral College standpoint at least…) elected to the presidency. What followed were four years of scandal and outrage resulting from a would-be authoritarian leader being elected to a society used to being run by democratic rule. It all culminated in the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, as Trump attempted to overthrow the 2020 election and stay in office longer. The similarities between Trump and Palpatine speak for themselves.

The scary thing? The Trump authoritarian threat hasn’t passed yet. Like Palpatine in the sequel trilogy, Trump may survive defeat and return to menace our society yet again…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

The Essential Clone Wars: “Nightsisters”

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***I must confess that, despite being a huge Star Wars geek, I have yet to see the landmark Clone Wars animated show in its entirety. I’m aiming to rectify that to a large extent here, as we look at pivotal episodes of the series in, “The Essential Clone Wars.”

SERIES: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
EPISODE: S3:E12 – “Nightsisters”
WITH THE VOICE TALENTS OF: Nika Futterman, Barbara Goodson, Corey Burton, Matt Lanter, James Arnold Taylor
WRITER: Katie Lucas
DIRECTOR: Giancarlo Volpe
PREMIERE DATE: January 7, 2011
SYNOPSIS: Count Dooku turns on Asajj Ventress, who returns to her home planet to plot her revenge.

***New around here? Check out our Star Wars review archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

To my knowledge, the Nightsisters and the planet Dathomir were created by Dave Wolverton for his 1994 book The Courtship of Princess Leia. Here, nearly two decades later, those elements were used to further the story of not only Asajj Ventress, but as we’ll later see, Darth Maul.

I was surprised to learn that Mother Talzin is voiced by Barbara Goodson, who is widely known as the voice of Rita Repulsa in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Surprised, that is, because Talzin doesn’t sound anything like Rita. I’m always so impressed at the wide range that so many voice actors are capable of. You can now count Goodson among them.

On the subject of that range, this series has turned me on to the greatness of Corey Burton, who voices Count Dooku. He’s been active since the early ’70s, and the list of characters he’s lent his voice to reads like a laundry list. Several laundry lists, actually. On The Clone Wars alone, he voices Dooku, Cad Bane, and Ziro the Hutt. But his Wookieepedia page indicates his connection to the franchise actually goes back to 1979, when he voiced Luke Skywalker for a Disney read-along adaptation of the original film.

Me? I’m just impressed he provided the voice for both Dale and Zipper in Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers. What can I say? I’m on a kick because of the new Disney+ movie.

Apparently, if you want to kill a Sith Lord, your best shot is when they’re sleeping. We know from Revenge of the Sith that Palpatine killed Darth Plagueis in his sleep. And Ventress and the Nightsisters come pretty close to doing the same to Dooku here. They must be really sound sleepers…

This episode is written by Katie Lucas, daughter of George Lucas. She wrote numerous episodes of The Clone Wars. She was also one of the writers of an unproduced story arc that would have seen Asajj Ventress fall in love with a Jedi, and ultimately wraps up her story at large. Said story was later turned into the novel Dark Disciple, which is one of the better Star Wars books you’ll ever read.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Star Wars: Brotherhood – 6 Takeaways From the Novel

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

Star Wars Brotherhood, coverBy Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

I’ve got more than 60 Star Wars novels under my belt. I won’t say that makes me an expert. But it does give me a sense of when I’m reading one that stands out among the franchise’s extensive library.

Brotherhood by Mike Chen quickly became one of my favorites. It takes us through the transition Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker take from a father and son, master and apprentice relationship in Attack of the Clones, to the brotherly bond they have through The Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith. It’s a cool, clover, and sensible premise for a Star Wars story. Chen, on his first try, proves he’s more than adept at navigating everybody’s favorite galaxy far, far away.

Here’s what I came away from Brotherhood thinking about…

1. It’s a bridge between Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars. Not just figuratively in terms of Obi-Wan and Anakin’s dynamic, but literally. There’s an argument to be made that the 2008 Clone Wars movie, where Ahsoka becomes Anakin’s apprentice, should be set immediately after the events of this book. That’s how well it all fits together.

2. Anakin and other Padawans were hurried to Jedi status to accommodate for the war. For me, this was a head-canon thing that Brotherhood actually put into print. With a war broken out, it makes sense that there would be a need for more Jedi to serve and protect the Republic. Thus, Anakin and other apprentices were given the rank of Jedi relatively quickly. Perhaps even before they were fully prepared?

3. Anakin and Padme once clandestinely banged on a blanket somewhere on the streets of Coruscant. Is this a childish thing to take away from this book? Why, yes. Yes it is. And does Mike Chen actually write a sex scene between Anakin and Padme? Of course not. But he does directly indicate that it happens.

Oh c’mon! I can’t help it! The idea that Anakin and Padme had discreet sex somewhere on the streets of Coruscant is the kind of thing I just can’t forget. It is a little romantic, I suppose. From a certain point of view…

4. Neimoidians struggled to establish an identity within the Republic away from the Trade Federation. When the average Star Wars fan thinks of a Neimoidian, they inevitably think of Nute Gunray. And when they think of Nute Gunray, they think of the Trade Federation. It makes sense, given what we see in the prequels. Chen, to his credit, took that association and wrapped it into Brotherhood. It’s a nice reminder that you can’t judge an entire race based on the actions of one or two individuals.

It’s a lesson that’s not inapplicable to real-world scenarios, either.

5. Qui-Gon believed in them. I’m a Qui-Gon Jinn fan. Maybe I’m in the minority among fans in that sense. But I enjoy him. So when Star Wars creators find a way to tie him into things, be it directly or indirectly, it hits a soft spot with me.

Chen talks a lot about Qui-Gon Jinn as he’s wrapping up Brotherhood. Specifically, what Obi-Wan and Anakin have in common as it relates to him. He doesn’t frame it as the centerpiece to their new brotherly bond, nor should he. But it is there, and it’s worth acknowledging.

6. Not all Jedi have to be warriors. Chen creates a character for Brotherhood named Mill Alibeth, a young Jedi initiate who is apprehensive about tapping into the Force and wielding a lightsaber. As someone who’s lived with mental illness, it occurred to me that she might actually be the first Jedi we’ve seen with anxiety. Now that’s something different.

Through her time with Anakin, Mill learns there is more than one path to the Force and being a Jedi. We’re reminded that it’s not all about swinging lightsabers. And in a franchise that loves to overemphasize lightsabers, that’s a very welcome notion.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.