S01.E06: Part Six - Far, Far Away

[KeithJ]

The more I think about it, the more I believe Lars is totally miscast as Thrawn.  Yes, I know he did the voice of Thrawn in Rebels but his physical appearance just doesn't fit Thrawn.  Thrawn was fit and thin.  Lars has a much rounder face and really kinda dumpy.  Watch the scene again where he is walking through the ranks of Stormtroopers.  That is just not Thrawn.

I know Thrawn has been gone for a long time but he's not the type of character that would just let himself go.

Edited September 22, 2023 by KeithJ

[paigow]

38 minutes ago, KeithJ said:

I know Thrawn has been gone for a long time but he's not the type of character that would just let himself go.

All the shipboard exercise equipment was melted down for hull repair... 

[call me ishmael]

Okay finally caught up.  I have to say that I am pretty disappointed in this version of Sabine.  Yes she was always emotional but I don't think that having foolishly made weapons for the empire when she was younger and overcoming that she would just throw away a galaxy on the hope of finding Ezra.  They are really making her remarkably thoughtless. 

Then we are supposed to believe that because the great wolf-dog got understandably scared by having blasters shot at it she would tell it to go away???  In the middle of nowhere she sends away her means of transportation WHICH IS CARRYING ALL OF HER SUPPLIES?  I guess at least she remembered to wear her armor so that when she got blasted by the bandits she didn't die.

I guess Baylin has been reading his Polybius with his stories of the eternal return of republics and tyrannies.  I didn't realize that they had him in the Jedi Library.

I thought Thrawn looked a bit paunchy and out of shape.  He had always been a "lean, mean, fighting machine" as the saying goes.

[norcalgal]

6 hours ago, KeithJ said:

The more I think about it, the more I believe Lars is totally miscast as Thrawn.  Yes, I know he did the voice of Thrawn in Rebels but his physical appearance just doesn't fit Thrawn.  Thrawn was fit and thin.  Lars has a much rounder face and really kinda dumpy.  Watch the scene again where he is walking through the ranks of Stormtroopers.  That is just not Thrawn.

I know Thrawn has been gone for a long time but he's not the type of character that would just let himself go.

 

2 hours ago, call me ishmael said:

I thought Thrawn looked a bit paunchy and out of shape.  He had always been a "lean, mean, fighting machine" as the saying goes.

Hear, hear, hear!  I forgot to add this point to my previous post about this episode, but multiple times I remarked to myself that Thrawn  (as master of self discipline) would NOT allow himself to develop a "dad bod". The paunch really was noticeable.  👎

[IntrovertRed]

So my captioning referred to the stormtroopers as "night troopers".  After rewatching and seeing what looked like caskets being brought onto Thrawn's ship, are all the troopers like Marrok?  If not, what the heck are in those coffin-life boxes? 

Not gonna lie, Thrawn's dad bod was definitely distracting initially, however, I still felt he was intimidating and powerful, so I was able to overlook it. I wonder if they tried to do actors with better physiques but the voice just couldn't be duplicated. Hard to imagine Thrawn without the voice.

This summer I watched Rebels and all the related Clone Wars in anticipation for this series. I was surprised how much I liked the animated series, but you really do need to have either watched Rebels or find a recap online to grasp some of this show.  My 20 year old son is watching this on and off with me (the rare occasions he is home) since he grew up watching The Clone Wars and loved Ahsoka (after Vader).  He found himself asking me a bunch of questions (which kills him let me tell you lol) about who Ezra, Hera, and Sabine are, why Ezra is on a planet by himself, etc. He knew all about Thrawn of course, but I must say I took great pleasure in finally knowing something about Star Wars that he didn't.  My mom told me she's lost and said she's giving up because she doesn't know who anyone is, and balked at the idea of watching animated shows no matter how much I told her she might even enjoy them.

Edited September 22, 2023 by IntrovertRed

[Sakura12]

Maybe they should've hired a stunt actor to portray Thrawn and had Lars dub the voice. Kind of like what they do with Mando. 

[MissLucas]

That was feasible because Pascal had other commitments. But in this instance it would be really disrespectful IMO. It's not as if Mikkelsen is extremely overweight. I can easily handwave the dad bod as another indicator of Thrawn having difficulties keeping everything in pristine conditions. The ship, the Troopers, and his uniform all show signs of wear and tear. 

[call me ishmael]

1 hour ago, IntrovertRed said:

.  After rewatching and seeing what looked like caskets being brought onto Thrawn's ship, are all the troopers like Marrok?  If not, what the heck are in those coffin-life boxes? 

I assumed that the containers held the remains of witches from the catacombs.  Why else are we hearing so much about resurrection?

I forgot to mention that when the witches said that Sabine “reeked of Jedi” I don’t know that they meant she was a Jedi.  Just that she had been involved with them.

[norcalgal]

2 hours ago, MissLucas said:

That was feasible because Pascal had other commitments. But in this instance it would be really disrespectful IMO. It's not as if Mikkelsen is extremely overweight. I can easily handwave the dad bod as another indicator of Thrawn having difficulties keeping everything in pristine conditions. The ship, the Troopers, and his uniform all show signs of wear and tear. 

Respectfully disagree. I don’t mind wear and tear on his uniform, but Thrawn’s own body being in shape (or not) is definitely within his control. Further, if they’re running low on resources, food would presumably be one of the diminishing items  so why would Thrawn have a paunch (unless that’s a feature of the Chris’s anatomy).  
Aside from his physical appearance, the Thrawn from the Rebels series was more menacing to me. The voice especially, just seemed more chilling and cultured.  Maybe the acoustics in a sound booth is the reason…?

[paigow]

21 minutes ago, norcalgal said:

Further, if they’re running low on resources, food would presumably be one of the diminishing items  so why would Thrawn have a paunch 

Planet is pretty barren... so fruit & vegetables are not plentiful... a steady diet of turtle / bugs might be high in trans fats...

[ProudMary]

On 9/21/2023 at 1:28 PM, Tachi Rocinante said:

All I know about Dathomir was learned when I played Fallen Order.

Is that game considered canon?

Yes.

From IGN:

https://www.ign.com/articles/the-star-wars-canon-the-definitive-guide

 

 

[tv-talk]

21 hours ago, call me ishmael said:

Okay finally caught up.  I have to say that I am pretty disappointed in this version of Sabine.

I'm glad you said this because I never watched Rebels and can obviously tell she is a beloved character from that show, but THIS Sabine just doesnt do it for me. I find myself generally rooting for whoever is a opposing her at the moment, for instance I was hoping the marauder people would capture her. As far as yelling at the rat dog...I guess she knew he'd come back and that was her way of training him- there's no way she wanted him to disappear with all her supplies.

Given that Thrawn individually is no match for basically any of these other characters, his build doesnt bother me as he's supposed to be intellectually and tactically formidable as I understand it. 

Edited September 23, 2023 by tv-talk

[dwmarch]

On 9/22/2023 at 11:16 AM, call me ishmael said:

Then we are supposed to believe that because the great wolf-dog got understandably scared by having blasters shot at it she would tell it to go away???

What I took from that scene was that every criticism directed at the pack animal was actually meant for herself.

[paigow]

Sabine: Hey Ezra... FYI, some old Jedi turned to the Dark Side and threw Ahsoka off a 500 foot cliff... Then I hitched a ride with him and his Night Sister Boss to get here... Then I made another deal with Thrawn for a wolf and supplies so I could  find you... So unless we kill everyone, there is no way home... How did you make friends with these turtle bugs???

[Ilovepie]

I feel like I am watching something different than everyone else with this show - I find the whole thing so boring! Everyone talks so monotone - even the long awaited Thrawn. Ahsoka has had a personality lobotomy compared to the animation version of her. I don't care that she's old, traumatized or whatever - listening to her talk is the equivalent of watching paint dry. The robot has more personality. But at least she has spent most of this series playing second fiddle to the worst padawan in the history of Star Wars - speaking of......

Sabine is horrible - she betrayed Ahsoka TWICE, and really Ezra too by making his sacrifice and banishment useless. I can't stand her. She has shown zero proof of being force sensitive. I hope Shin Hati kicks her ass again.

I did like the wolf thing and the night sisters. And please let Wes Chatham take that mask off - I love me some Amos!!!! 

I appreciate this forum for providing a place to vent - Most things I don't like I have no problem just quitting, but I have to finish this because it's almost over and I generally love all things Star Wars. That being said, this is hands down my least favorite of all of the D+ shows. I can forgive almost anything with Star Wars, but boring me is making that hard to do!

[paigow]

57 minutes ago, Ilovepie said:

Everyone talks so monotone - even the long awaited Thrawn.

He was always a whispering type of villain, even when the Rebels foiled his plans. So his animated vs live-action voice is consistent. 

[benteen]

Excellent episode! Thrawn's live action debut did not disappoint and his introduction complete with his battered but loyal troops was awesome. Lars Mikkelsen definitely delivered.

The MVP for me in the late Ray Stevenson. Baylan is a fascinating character and he pulled off the rare expositon scene with his apprentice. I definitely want to know more about the character, his past and his agenda.

Very cool to see Wes Chatham a part of this series.

I love the 80s fantasy vibe of this episode. The rock aliens, the Nightsisters, also making a great live action debut, a whole new galaxy for the first time and a few other things.

While I'm happy to see the debut of Ezra into live action, I have to admit I found the Ezra and Sabine reunion surprisingly underwhelming in terms of both writing and acting. Also, how the hell couldn't Thrawn find Ezra when it took Sabine only a few hours to do so?

Issues aside, loved this episode and am looking forward to more.

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by benteen

[DoctorAtomic]

I think the prevailing opinion was that Thrawn had a big list with repairing the ship, etc., and may have wanted to keep Ezra around in case he needed the space whales again. As long as Ezra is confined to the planet, what's he going to do? Now that Thrawn has the hypership, Ezra is expendable. 

[paigow]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Now that Thrawn has the hypership, Ezra is expendable. 

The turtles will morph into ...

[tv-talk]

On 9/25/2023 at 2:21 PM, Ilovepie said:

Ahsoka has had a personality lobotomy compared to the animation version of her.

Unfortunately have to agree with you here, but she was the same in Mando so this isnt new. I guess it's kind of like Luke in Star Wars vs by the end of the series when he's Zen Master.

 

On 9/25/2023 at 2:21 PM, Ilovepie said:

Sabine is horrible - she betrayed Ahsoka TWICE, and really Ezra too by making his sacrifice and banishment useless. I can't stand her. She has shown zero proof of being force sensitive. I hope Shin Hati kicks her ass again.

Also agree with this completely, though I fear eventually she will kill Shin. Though given Shin is a young woman, they probably not dare kill her and rather her turn towards the good. That wont happen til after Sabine whips her though.

[Ilovepie]

3 hours ago, tv-talk said:

Unfortunately have to agree with you here, but she was the same in Mando so this isnt new.

She was like that in Mandalorian, but her part was so minor there and I was excited to see her, so it didn't bother me. But carrying her own show? It's rough. It's doubly frustrating when I see clips of Rosario Dawson on social media talking about the show, and she's smiling and very animated. It's like they put the costume on her and she loses half her natural energy. I have also seen posts with Ashley Eckstein in a cos-play version of Ahsoka, and it just really makes me think it was a mistake to not cast her in the live action show. She is Ahsoka to me.

[tv-talk]

2 hours ago, Ilovepie said:

it just really makes me think it was a mistake to not cast her in the live action show. She is Ahsoka to me.

She's white though and Ahsoka clearly has brown skin in the cartoon- I'm not sure how well it'd have gone over having her wear brown face make-up, if you know what I'm saying. Green or blue however no problem!

[Anduin]

34 minutes ago, tv-talk said:

She's white though and Ahsoka clearly has brown skin in the cartoon- I'm not sure how well it'd have gone over having her wear brown face make-up, if you know what I'm saying. Green or blue however no problem!

Brown? It's always been orange to me.

[tv-talk]

Maybe! Half the time I cant even see the scenes in these shows my TV is so dark, so certainly could be orange.

[Anduin]

44 minutes ago, tv-talk said:

Maybe! Half the time I cant even see the scenes in these shows my TV is so dark, so certainly could be orange.

I checked Wookieepedia. Yep, they list her as having orange skin. So yes, she could have been played by Ashley Eckstein.

[tv-talk]

I suppose so! However just perusing images from Clone Wars, so many really do look like she has brown skin. I think it would have been tough to pull off. Anyway though, water under bridge now. Also I am sure Dawson's portrayal is how she's been asked to play the character 

[Morrigan2575]

16 hours ago, tv-talk said:

She's white though and Ahsoka clearly has brown skin in the cartoon- I'm not sure how well it'd have gone over having her wear brown face make-up, if you know what I'm saying. Green or blue however no problem!

Ahsoka is Orange, not brown skin.

[tv-talk]

4 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Ahsoka is Orange, not brown skin.

Well they sure choose a very brown shade of orange.

[Ilovepie]

On 9/29/2023 at 3:31 PM, tv-talk said:

She's white though and Ahsoka clearly has brown skin in the cartoon- I'm not sure how well it'd have gone over having her wear brown face make-up, if you know what I'm saying. Green or blue however no problem!

She is an alien! Her skin always looked orange to me, not a color associated with any type of human. If they can paint someone completely blue I'm sure they could paint Ashley orange!

On 9/29/2023 at 5:12 PM, tv-talk said:

Also I am sure Dawson's portrayal is how she's been asked to play the character

I agree she has been asked to play her that way. I think its a terrible choice, whether Dave Filoni or Rosario Dawson or both decided to make her that way. I am in the minority, but this show has just been a disappointment to me, more than any of the others, even ones that weren't perfect. BOBF, Obi-Wan and Mando S3 all had moments that I thought were awesome. For me, nothing in this show has stood out. Maybe it's a disconnect to the Rebels characters, or my hatred of how Ahsoka has been played, I don't know. I'll stop complaining now ;-p