Obi-wan Kenobi, a follow-up analysis
Oct. 26th, 2022 11:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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tori_reviewsI could have sworn I posted something in the last week. But apparently I was wrong.
Obi-wan Kenobi, a follow-up analysis
Let’s start at the very beginning. I hear it’s a very good place to start.
And I mean the very beginning. Halfway through this series, when I noticed they had added even more features to the opening sequence of ‘faces,’ it really struck me why I haven’t liked any of these live action shows. My complicated relationship to the animated shows is a somewhat different matter, but there has been a problem with the live action shows that only took shape for me once I noticed it in the animated opening.
All of these series are based around recognizable iconography. On occasion it’s trying to make new recognizable iconography, but it’s all superficial. So long as it *looks* like the things the fans want, it’s supposed to be good enough. They have lightsabers, they have Darth Vader, they have droids, they made sure to get all the most recognizable aspects of Tatooine into this show (baring Jabba related stuff I guess); but it’s all hollow. It’s the…well it’s the theme park version of the Star Wars universe. It’s a representation of something, so long as you only look at it in flashing seconds, but it no longer has substance.
And it’s somehow this revelation that led me to really understand all the hate that the Disney era of Star Wars generates. It’s more than anger at some bad projects. I agree that much of the Disney era has done has been bad, but I have often thought people got too worked up about it when I was mostly just apathetic to most of what’s been produced.
The thing is, that through a lot of this I’ve regarded what’s been produced as essentially an option of canon rather than actual canon. For me, the old EU and my own roleplaying experiences are just as much options of canon as what Disney has made. I mean, there are half a dozen different versions of Han’s origins and the Kessel Run out there (and that’s before one looks for fanfic), so if Solo the movie was a bad (or at least not very good) version, I just filed it away as another interpretation of events.
But with this series it hit me what I think hit a lot of people by at least TRoS, for many in TLJ, and for some even in TFA. Disney does get to say what the canon is; and they have one chance to make something good within their canon and they’re wasting it. When I started this show, I observed that this show would make better fanfic than an actual show, and it still took me a couple more episodes to realize that that was exactly how I viewed it, and had been viewing most of the Disney content. But…it’s not, is it? At least it’s not supposed to be.
They can’t go back and do another sequel trilogy where they give the original characters more respect, because Carrie Fisher is dead. They have now made this series of events that makes no sense (on its own or as a midpoint between RotS and ANH) to be part of the stories of Obi-wan, Vader, Leia, and Luke. They’ve committed to Luke post RotJ to be the puppet-Luke that has babies make life changing decisions because it doesn’t fit with the old Jedi way.
They got one shot (and debatable at that) of doing a story between Obi-wan and Vader/Anakin in between the movies and…*this* is what they did with it. They can’t add another meeting between them (not that I would put it past them to try), it was a story that can only happen (at most) once in canon. And they gave us this hollow shell of a story that doesn’t actually explore either character; it just tells you that it does.
They don’t consider all of this to be *a* take on what *could* happen at these points in the stories. And I’m not saying they should because that would cheapen it anyway if they’re always taking a do-over. But the stories are, by and large, so badly done that you can’t actually believe that the do exist in between (or in the sequel case, following) events that people built their canon upon. And that’s before considering the contradictions between that foundational canon and the new canon this era is trying to insert.
I think all that is the large flaw in the soul (or lack of one) of all these projects. Secondary to that though, is a fundamental issue with these six episode series; which is made much worse by having the episodes be so short. I think six episodes is the worst length for a show, even though I have seen some stories that do it well. Granted, I’m someone who thinks we should return to seasons being a minimum of 13 (maybe 10 if they’re on the longer side) episodes, preferably 16-18, and 20+ being perfectly reasonable
Both too much and too little often tends to happen in six episode series. The single plot arc they seem to default to ends up needing the equivalent of Doctor Who running through corridors plot extensions to justify the number of individual episodes. But they don’t add extra character development in, either in adding more turns or in deepening what is there. And in stretching it out it ends up seeming even more shallow than it might have in a shorter time span. Which is to say nothing of the tendency for shows to have all the events happen within about a three day timeline (this is not a problem confined to short series though), so they still can’t add in time for reflecting on the things that happen, because the next thing to happen is always coming in.
Hmm, I seem to recall I may have given a ramble on this in Moon Knight, since it did allow one episode of actual reflection, but didn’t then actually build on that development. So maybe I should move on.
…I have previously noted things I was considering getting further into, but now I can’t remember what it was that I didn’t discuss in the season finale review. So, instead of being redundant about how terrible Reva’s ‘arc’ is and how Leia’s arc has some pieces of a decent arc but they aren’t properly assembled, and how Obi-wan’s arc is just broken, I’ll just give a bit on my next steps with this verse.
As much as I know better, I’m oddly a little interested in Andor. Or at least, in what Andor could be, but I don’t have much confidence left that it will be. Because it has the potential to give the world-building I spend so much time wishing we got from these series. But I’m going to wait and see what’s being said about it (probably by the time this review even goes out).
--Haven’t watched it yet, not feeling hyped to. But I m seeing reviews that make me think I might binge it at some point.--
I’m not going to review s2 of The Bad Batch, but I might watch it once it’s all aired and see if I have anything to say at the end. There is still some potential in that series that if I get to it when I’m in just the right mood I might at least be entertained for a bit. They had flashes of…decent in s1 and didn’t it completely shoot themselves in the foot beyond repair, so they could in theory rise to the level of decent in general.
I will not watch any more BoBF unless it actually becomes the crime show I can tell it will never be allowed to be. I doubt I’ll watch any more Mando because after two seasons it doesn’t have a character; it has an idiot and a baby (take your pick which is which)…maybe if it becomes the Bo-Katan show, which I maintain would be fine since it could still be called the Mandalorian.
I would say I’ll watch Ahsoka, maybe even review it, but I find myself in a bit of a bind since it seems the show is likely to involve Ezra. As it is the Ahsoka show, that I like Ahsoka should probably count for more than my hate for Ezra; but it is live action Ahsoka who has not made a great impression and I do really hate Ezra. So that’s still on the maybe pile, but don’t hold your breath for episode reviews.
But I have(/had) half a notion to propose my idea for this season of Obi-wan. As much I am ready to put these shows and this whole verse back on the shelf, I guess I want to go out thinking of what could have been rather than my disappointment in what it has been.
--And I kind of did, but I lost inertia after loosely plotting an episode one. If I remember more of what I was pondering…well, I probably still won’t write it up.--
Obi-wan Kenobi, a follow-up analysis
Let’s start at the very beginning. I hear it’s a very good place to start.
And I mean the very beginning. Halfway through this series, when I noticed they had added even more features to the opening sequence of ‘faces,’ it really struck me why I haven’t liked any of these live action shows. My complicated relationship to the animated shows is a somewhat different matter, but there has been a problem with the live action shows that only took shape for me once I noticed it in the animated opening.
All of these series are based around recognizable iconography. On occasion it’s trying to make new recognizable iconography, but it’s all superficial. So long as it *looks* like the things the fans want, it’s supposed to be good enough. They have lightsabers, they have Darth Vader, they have droids, they made sure to get all the most recognizable aspects of Tatooine into this show (baring Jabba related stuff I guess); but it’s all hollow. It’s the…well it’s the theme park version of the Star Wars universe. It’s a representation of something, so long as you only look at it in flashing seconds, but it no longer has substance.
And it’s somehow this revelation that led me to really understand all the hate that the Disney era of Star Wars generates. It’s more than anger at some bad projects. I agree that much of the Disney era has done has been bad, but I have often thought people got too worked up about it when I was mostly just apathetic to most of what’s been produced.
The thing is, that through a lot of this I’ve regarded what’s been produced as essentially an option of canon rather than actual canon. For me, the old EU and my own roleplaying experiences are just as much options of canon as what Disney has made. I mean, there are half a dozen different versions of Han’s origins and the Kessel Run out there (and that’s before one looks for fanfic), so if Solo the movie was a bad (or at least not very good) version, I just filed it away as another interpretation of events.
But with this series it hit me what I think hit a lot of people by at least TRoS, for many in TLJ, and for some even in TFA. Disney does get to say what the canon is; and they have one chance to make something good within their canon and they’re wasting it. When I started this show, I observed that this show would make better fanfic than an actual show, and it still took me a couple more episodes to realize that that was exactly how I viewed it, and had been viewing most of the Disney content. But…it’s not, is it? At least it’s not supposed to be.
They can’t go back and do another sequel trilogy where they give the original characters more respect, because Carrie Fisher is dead. They have now made this series of events that makes no sense (on its own or as a midpoint between RotS and ANH) to be part of the stories of Obi-wan, Vader, Leia, and Luke. They’ve committed to Luke post RotJ to be the puppet-Luke that has babies make life changing decisions because it doesn’t fit with the old Jedi way.
They got one shot (and debatable at that) of doing a story between Obi-wan and Vader/Anakin in between the movies and…*this* is what they did with it. They can’t add another meeting between them (not that I would put it past them to try), it was a story that can only happen (at most) once in canon. And they gave us this hollow shell of a story that doesn’t actually explore either character; it just tells you that it does.
They don’t consider all of this to be *a* take on what *could* happen at these points in the stories. And I’m not saying they should because that would cheapen it anyway if they’re always taking a do-over. But the stories are, by and large, so badly done that you can’t actually believe that the do exist in between (or in the sequel case, following) events that people built their canon upon. And that’s before considering the contradictions between that foundational canon and the new canon this era is trying to insert.
I think all that is the large flaw in the soul (or lack of one) of all these projects. Secondary to that though, is a fundamental issue with these six episode series; which is made much worse by having the episodes be so short. I think six episodes is the worst length for a show, even though I have seen some stories that do it well. Granted, I’m someone who thinks we should return to seasons being a minimum of 13 (maybe 10 if they’re on the longer side) episodes, preferably 16-18, and 20+ being perfectly reasonable
Both too much and too little often tends to happen in six episode series. The single plot arc they seem to default to ends up needing the equivalent of Doctor Who running through corridors plot extensions to justify the number of individual episodes. But they don’t add extra character development in, either in adding more turns or in deepening what is there. And in stretching it out it ends up seeming even more shallow than it might have in a shorter time span. Which is to say nothing of the tendency for shows to have all the events happen within about a three day timeline (this is not a problem confined to short series though), so they still can’t add in time for reflecting on the things that happen, because the next thing to happen is always coming in.
Hmm, I seem to recall I may have given a ramble on this in Moon Knight, since it did allow one episode of actual reflection, but didn’t then actually build on that development. So maybe I should move on.
…I have previously noted things I was considering getting further into, but now I can’t remember what it was that I didn’t discuss in the season finale review. So, instead of being redundant about how terrible Reva’s ‘arc’ is and how Leia’s arc has some pieces of a decent arc but they aren’t properly assembled, and how Obi-wan’s arc is just broken, I’ll just give a bit on my next steps with this verse.
As much as I know better, I’m oddly a little interested in Andor. Or at least, in what Andor could be, but I don’t have much confidence left that it will be. Because it has the potential to give the world-building I spend so much time wishing we got from these series. But I’m going to wait and see what’s being said about it (probably by the time this review even goes out).
--Haven’t watched it yet, not feeling hyped to. But I m seeing reviews that make me think I might binge it at some point.--
I’m not going to review s2 of The Bad Batch, but I might watch it once it’s all aired and see if I have anything to say at the end. There is still some potential in that series that if I get to it when I’m in just the right mood I might at least be entertained for a bit. They had flashes of…decent in s1 and didn’t it completely shoot themselves in the foot beyond repair, so they could in theory rise to the level of decent in general.
I will not watch any more BoBF unless it actually becomes the crime show I can tell it will never be allowed to be. I doubt I’ll watch any more Mando because after two seasons it doesn’t have a character; it has an idiot and a baby (take your pick which is which)…maybe if it becomes the Bo-Katan show, which I maintain would be fine since it could still be called the Mandalorian.
I would say I’ll watch Ahsoka, maybe even review it, but I find myself in a bit of a bind since it seems the show is likely to involve Ezra. As it is the Ahsoka show, that I like Ahsoka should probably count for more than my hate for Ezra; but it is live action Ahsoka who has not made a great impression and I do really hate Ezra. So that’s still on the maybe pile, but don’t hold your breath for episode reviews.
But I have(/had) half a notion to propose my idea for this season of Obi-wan. As much I am ready to put these shows and this whole verse back on the shelf, I guess I want to go out thinking of what could have been rather than my disappointment in what it has been.
--And I kind of did, but I lost inertia after loosely plotting an episode one. If I remember more of what I was pondering…well, I probably still won’t write it up.--
