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Post by Spidyyr on Nov 15, 2019 3:46:37 GMT -5
November 15-21, 2019
 Episode 1: Spark of Rebellion, Part 1
Episode 2: Spark of Rebellion, Part 2
Episode 3: Droids in Distress |
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Post by Spidyyr on Nov 15, 2019 3:47:48 GMT -5
I don't really have anything clever to say as I have never watched these episodes.
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Post by Spidyyr on Nov 15, 2019 3:54:59 GMT -5
Added the Season 1 poster. I'd do screenshots again but that would be a bit silly to scan through and spoil stuff
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Post by Newan on Nov 15, 2019 9:47:38 GMT -5
Gonna start now, guess we are gonna keep a ratings graph? If so I’ll keep that in mind when resting earlier seasons although season 1 has some standout episodes imo
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Post by Spidyyr on Nov 15, 2019 10:14:23 GMT -5
Gonna start now, guess we are gonna keep a ratings graph? If so I’ll keep that in mind when resting earlier seasons although season 1 has some standout episodes imo Yeah I was gonna do one of those. |
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Post by Spidyyr on Nov 15, 2019 10:15:06 GMT -5
Maybe we could rank all the Clone Wars and Rebels episodes together at the end. Or maybe even add in Resistance lol.
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Post by Newan on Nov 15, 2019 10:25:10 GMT -5
Alright incoming spoilers for Spiders case....
Spark of Rebellion part 1 is a decent setup, it introduces us to every main character in a coherent way that isn’t exactly a ripoff of any previous established content. In many ways it’s a better starting point than Ambush but I guess that’s an odd comparison as this is more of a linear story compared to the arc like format of TCW.
I’m gonna always stsrt with that one point people make, the animation. No comparisons but this is NOT bad 3D animation by any means, it’s not TCW season 6 but it’s some of the best on the market easily. Also I’ve always wondered why are the fire and explosion animations so good in Rebels? Like seriously they kind of rival the later clone wars episodes in that aspect, idk it’s really weird and it’s always stood out to me.
The soundtrack is great reusing a lot of the OT in its own way, it’s nostalgic in its own sense. But as for the plot like I eluded at it’s simple but unique, it has its own charm to it imo. It’s meant to appeal to kids and be basic enough for them to understand but it also has just this element of it being Star Wars that many adults were drawn too and why they liked Rebels so much. Seriously most people on the SWTOR forums thst I used for years preferred Rebels over TCW straight up.
The characters are kind of weird especially when we first get to see them here. Kanan always stood out to me though and he continued to be my favorite throughout most of the show. Hera is also a good voice of reason as well. Most of the other characters don’t get better till later though.
Anyways think I’m gonna give Spark of Rebellion a 7/10, it’s a good start and there’s definitely episodes in season 1 worse than this. It’s hard to really fault a first episode in a linear story like this cause it has to do all the setup, none of these characters are established yet in the lore.
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Post by Newan on Nov 15, 2019 10:25:53 GMT -5
Maybe we could rank all the Clone Wars and Rebels episodes together at the end. Or maybe even add in Resistance lol. Yeah in my free time after work in the mornings I’m gonna finish TCW watch I think |
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Post by Newan on Nov 15, 2019 10:52:46 GMT -5
Spark of Rebellion Part 2 is a good continuation. Honestly I like that Rebels does these 2 episode arcs, guess it’s similar to TCW in that regard but these ones in Rebels literally take place right where the last leaves off.
The Wookiee’s animation is rough, although the kid was fine I thought didn’t look too far off from the one in TCW. Random thought but that part where Kallus kills the stormtrooper is actually pretty brutal although kind of funny...
Kenobi cameo is a nice touch and has actually been used in books/ comics since then, might be the most iconic thing to come out of Rebels. Also probably is in fallen order.
Anyways I’m gonna rate this one a 7/10 as well, like the last episode it’s simple but lays a nice foundation to build upon.
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Post by Newan on Nov 15, 2019 11:45:34 GMT -5
Droids in Distress is more what Nomad Droids and Mercy mission should have been, using 3PO and R2 as plot devices alongside major characters. I do like how this show in just a few episodes begins to teach the infrastructure and depth of the empires hold on the galaxy. Also I liked seeing the intergalactic bus ship for civilian transport and it was pretty similar to star tours in Disneyland with its design.
Kallus feels like more a threat in this episode too beating a much physically stronger opponent in physical combat. Although he’s still just a glorified officer. Ezra having natural force abilities is fine as well, Anakin had the same with reflexes and foresight. I guess Luke and Rey were kind of dormant but unlike the others Rey learns stuff way too fast with little guidance to be believable...
Anyways on its own this might be a 6 but I’m gonna say 7/10 just because of the last scene R2 and 3PO don’t really feel shoehorned in here. I like that they properly used the characters as a hidden agenda for Bail.
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Post by Newan on Nov 15, 2019 11:53:19 GMT -5
Also I feel like I’m just gonna explain my personal ranking system now, for the record I only use whole numbers.
1 - Boring, adds nothing to the universe, contradicts previous plots (basically I’m never gonna rate anything a 1)
2- uneventful, adds very little too existing content
3- Might add something relevant but does it in a poor manner and it’s overall still a waste of 22 mins (this was the lowest I went with TCW I think and I’m pretty sure it was Nomad Droids because it ruined the pacing of season 4)
4- Basically just slightly better a 3, enjoyability would be the determining factor here
5- Meh, the negatives simply cancel the positives perfectly
6- slightly below average
7- Average/ good
8- Good/ Above average (similar to 3 and 4 how enjoyable it is would determine a 7 and a 8)
9- Great
10 - Perfection, very little flaws, executes well and stays true to the lore in all respects
Essentially I’m gonna give a lot of 7s and 4 is likely the lowest I’d go in most respects similar to my clone wars ratings.
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Post by Spidyyr on Nov 15, 2019 11:55:10 GMT -5
I think the lowest I ever went was for Crisis on Naboo. That’s the only episode that makes me angry.
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Post by Newan on Nov 15, 2019 11:57:44 GMT -5
I think the lowest I ever went was for Crisis on Naboo. That’s the only episode that makes me angry. I think I was only half ways through Umbara. But Nomad droids is just meh. Actually I think it was mercy mission I gave a 3 and nomad got a 4 cause of grievous really. Think I got those two confused for a second. |
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Post by Newan on Nov 15, 2019 12:00:52 GMT -5
I went back and looked but I gave Downfall of a droid a 2/10 because of unfinished animation and overall doesn’t do much for the lore.... so yeah fits in pretty well with my criteria
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Post by Spidyyr on Nov 15, 2019 12:43:30 GMT -5
I think the lowest I ever went was for Crisis on Naboo. That’s the only episode that makes me angry. I think I was only half ways through Umbara. But Nomad droids is just meh. Actually I think it was mercy mission I gave a 3 and nomad got a 4 cause of grievous really. Think I got those two confused for a second. Yeah Nomad Droids is at least not as cringy. |
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Post by Star on Nov 17, 2019 14:10:34 GMT -5
Spark of Rebellion serves its purpose well, but the dialogue kind of annoys me, especially with how much they spin the "who is that kid?" line. In terms of animation, it looks pretty solid (except for the Wookies, which is awful). I agree with Newan that the explosions in Rebels always look so good.
Since these are all new characters, it takes a while for me to adjust to them. Consequently, I'm not a huge fan of any of them this early into the show, besides Kanan. I'm not really sure I can fault these first two episodes for that, but I wish the dialogue or something else could've been improved so I at least didn't find them as annoying.
It's a pretty average story to accompany a pretty average introduction to the series. I'm going with 6/10 for both of them.
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Post by Star on Nov 17, 2019 14:22:00 GMT -5
Droids in Distress doesn't sit that well with me. It's cool to see R2 and 3PO appear as side pieces alongside the main characters, but I feel like they should've waited a few more episodes so that the Ghost crew could be a little more established within the universe. I also find the plot fairly unexciting. I know I'm probably alone in thinking this, but I thought the S4 droid arc in TCW was more interesting, since it at least owned up to its wackiness and also explored the Star Wars lore through these silly antics.
The fight sequence on Lothal is definitely the highlight, and Kallus seems like a legitimate threat. It was also a nice touch seeing Bail. Even with these scenes though, it's a pretty forgetful episode for me and one of my least favorite of S1. I'll rate it 5/10.
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Post by Spidyyr on Nov 17, 2019 19:02:02 GMT -5
Busy ass weekend. Will try to watch this week.
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Post by Kenbo on Nov 17, 2019 19:47:12 GMT -5
Dang I don't want to watch this lol... Would rather keep watching random TCW episodes. I have always said I enjoyed season 1 and then thought it went downhill from there but I'm afraid this will change after starting the rewatch...
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Post by Spidyyr on Nov 17, 2019 22:11:26 GMT -5
Dang I don't want to watch this lol... Would rather keep watching random TCW episodes. I have always said I enjoyed season 1 and then thought it went downhill from there but I'm afraid this will change after starting the rewatch... I thought it was supposed to go up from Season 1 |
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Post by Newan on Nov 18, 2019 10:26:14 GMT -5
Dang I don't want to watch this lol... Would rather keep watching random TCW episodes. I have always said I enjoyed season 1 and then thought it went downhill from there but I'm afraid this will change after starting the rewatch... I thought it was supposed to go up from Season 1 It does.. Kenobi is delusional and likes the very simple plots |
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Post by Kenbo on Nov 18, 2019 19:03:55 GMT -5
I thought it was supposed to go up from Season 1 It does.. Kenobi is delusional and likes the very simple plots Lol well I just feel like there was more of a charm to it in the beginning. At least that's the way I remember it. But imo the plots were never that good at any point in the show except for maybe a few exceptions |
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Post by Star on Nov 18, 2019 19:58:13 GMT -5
It does.. Kenobi is delusional and likes the very simple plots Lol well I just feel like there was more of a charm to it in the beginning. At least that's the way I remember it. But imo the plots were never that good at any point in the show except for maybe a few exceptions S1 was definitely charming, since the scope was pretty narrow. I don't think Rebels would've been nearly as good as it turned out though had it not expanded beyond that formula. |
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Post by Kenbo on Nov 19, 2019 18:37:09 GMT -5
Finally watched these. They're fun. They are pretty simplistic but still have the Star Wars feel to them. I like all the locations visited so far. Lothal is a cool planet and Garel, even though we didn't see much of it, also looked nice though maybe a little similar to Lothal.
I wish this show was centered around Kanan though tbh and Ezra did not exist... First of all he's a piece of shit selfish thief that becomes a problem for others. This automatically makes him an annoying character. He is absolutely insufferable and overall just a cringe lord. He is that kid that tries to be funny but is actually just annoying and cringey. Tbh I think the whole show can basically be summed up as that kid... They try too hard with the "humor" or the quirkiness or whatever and it's just too much. This is not the tone of Star Wars. TCW had a perfect tone. Mostly serious with bits of dry humor and banter from characters. I would say most of the crew except Chopper is fine in this regard. But Ezra is just the worst man... I guess they intentionally set him up like that for character development but idk it's kinda bad... Also the voice actor is not doing the character any favors. Tbh the voice acting overall leaves a lot to be desired except for some characters.
Anyway moving onto the third episode... Idk seeing R2, 3PO, and Bail didn't do anything for me. In fact I think I would've preferred not to see them especially this easily on. Just feels too in your face like hey! Remember these guys?! Not against cameos from legacy characters at all but I don't think the timing was very good. I did like how they set up the Zeb and Kallus thing. And I'm looking forward to seeing the Inquisitor show up
But god the cringe on this show is sometimes too much. I won't say TCW didn't have any cringe but for me for the most part its early episodes were not as bad as Rebels. I'm not sure what went wrong. They got Dave, they got many of the TCW writers. Why does the writing quality not hold up? Dialogue and tone is not good. But maybe it's because the target audience is younger than it was before...
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Post by Kenbo on Nov 19, 2019 18:38:40 GMT -5
Another thing the message with Vader at the beginning feels a little random to come 15 years after the purge and close to the time the Inquisitorious gets disbanded... In my head that scene takes place long before the rest of the show lol
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Post by Spidyyr on Nov 19, 2019 23:29:50 GMT -5
Been a busy ass week. Will try to start on Thursday.
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Post by Star on Nov 20, 2019 14:43:02 GMT -5
Another thing the message with Vader at the beginning feels a little random to come 15 years after the purge and close to the time the Inquisitorious gets disbanded... In my head that scene takes place long before the rest of the show lol They probably only included it so they could tease Vader and the Grand Inquisitor right from the beginning. Plus it gives average viewers more of an understanding of what the inquisitors are supposed to do before they become relevant in the show's main plot. |
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Post by Spidyyr on Nov 21, 2019 18:39:17 GMT -5
Tried to watch this in 2015. Let's give it another shot.
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Post by Spidyyr on Nov 21, 2019 19:18:37 GMT -5
Watched SOR Part 1. It was fine. Don't hate any of the characters, but don't like them all that much either. They all feel kinda generic. Maybe that will change. I don't remember the Vader scene from the beginning, but I liked that at least that made the Empire feel threatening. I guess Kallus. I guess the guy Vader was talking to will show up in Part 2 of this.
Not a big fan of how the Empire was portrayed. They felt like such cartoonish jerks and buffoons. Not threatening at all. I'll grant that TCW had the same thing with battle droids, but I think that made more sense. And somehow the droids in "Ambush" came off as more of a threat than the Imperials in this one. Also not a fan of the stormtrooper design. The TIE fighters did not feel threatening at all. I don't usually use The Force Awakens as a positive example, but at least they felt like more of a threat while chasing Finn and Rey. But here we have hijinks and banter galore throughout the whole chase. Just not really how you wnat to set up your main villains.
Maybe I just got used to the animation but it just didn't bother me as much. Kanan's face though seems like it's animated weird for some reason. Mostly alright though. And the lightsaber blades weren't as annoyingly thin as I remember.
Better than I thought it would be but far from great. A bit hard to rate as it's the only episode I've seen. But I want to rate it the same way I'd rate of TCW. So I think these feels about on par with Assassin or Duchess of Mandalore. Serviceable, but not something I'd care to rewatch. 6/10.
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Post by Spidyyr on Nov 21, 2019 20:15:45 GMT -5
Actually really liked that they incorporated the warning message Obi-Wan left in ROTS. That was cool and made sense in the story. Honestly though I didn't care for the rest of the episode. The most annoying thing about this show is how unforgivably lame the stormtroopers are. Zeb stands directly in front of them for about five seconds and doesn't get shot. I know they couldn't really hot anyone in the OT but at least there was usually like smoke in the way or obstructions. These rebels remind me of Thorin's Company from the Hobbit, where they can easily dispatch goblins and never get hurt. But at lrast those goblins weren't trained soldiers and didn't have guns.
The pacing was kinda off here. I thought they were gonna have an episode to free Ezra and maybe have a battle on the Star Destroyer. (I kept expecting the Inquisitor to show up) But he's rescued really easily and then they're off to an Imperial facility that they just fly right into with no resistance. I wish they showed the Rebels as being more sneaky with their methods. As if their quick thinking and intelligence was what gave them the edge over the Empire's brute force. But no, they just engage the enemy in a plan that feels like it was formulated by General Krell, except here it works every time.
I have to talk about the wookiee animation. I thought they looked terrible. And that kid feels like something from a Disney movie. Way too expressive. They should've kept him closer to Gungi.
On paper this sounds like it should be a good story but really I don't find it that engaging. The characters mostly feel like they're from a Dinsey sitcom and have been transmatted into the Star Wars universe. Zeb, though, I'm having a tough type liking. He feels like such a lazy stock character.
I know this show gets better, but if I caught this hour long premiere on TV, I would have no desire to keep watching. 5/10
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it’s been quite a while. I’ve been pretty good, how about yourself?
Sept 30, 2024 21:29:31 GMT -5
it’s been quite a while. I’ve been pretty good, how about yourself?
Sept 30, 2024 21:29:31 GMT -5
Nov 11, 2024 16:43:58 GMT -5
Nov 11, 2024 16:43:58 GMT -5