Episode 51: Solo: A Special Star Wars Episode

Angela 0:06

Welcome back to In Omnia paratus normally, this is the part where my lovely co host jae would introduce herself and then I would introduce myself but today and a startling turn of events. I'm running the solo. I'm Julie and I'll be your cruise director. Just kidding. I'm Angela also known as AVO, the resident Boomer half of the podcast. Don't worry, Jae will be back next week, and we'll resume our regular caffeine infused banter. But as we're both recovering from the final activities of birth month, I thought I'd take the mic and give Jae some extra rest. Now Jae has been encouraging me to try out a solo episode for a while now, but I've been pretty nervous because I had no idea what I talked about, let alone talk about for an hour, we'll even make it an hour. Who knows this might be our first mini episode, but I thought about chronicling my new job search compiling my best travel stories and tips creating a must read book list and I even tried to figure out if I had what it takes to film a video episode and explore my favorite recipes from my foray into mixology last summer spoiler alert, I don't have what it takes. But for my solo, I wanted to find something that I not only felt truly inspired by, but something that I thought other people might like as well. And then finally, a couple days ago, it clicked so ladies and gentlemen, gals gays in these people of this world and the galaxy far, far away. Welcome to solo a very special Star Wars Episode. For those of you who might have been residing in the outer rim for the past 40 years or so. The Star Wars saga is an epic space opera as self described by its creator George Lucas that introduced us to the timeless story of good versus evil in the form of the rebellion against the Empire. In 1977. Lucas invited the world in seemingly mid story with the capture of Princess Leia by Darth Vader, which brought us the unlikely band of heroes that answered her plea, in addition to her only hope and all around fan favorite Obi Wan Kenobi. But I promise I'm not here to describe every minute of every movie for you. I'm just here to share with you a little about why I like these characters, the story and this series franchise so much and why they're so special to me. And yes, I might spend some time describing some of my favorite scenes give some character background, and I might even drop in a quarter too. So be warned, there may be some things here that technically constitute spoilers. So if you're not into that, maybe this is one for you to skip. But I feel like so much of this is common pop culture knowledge is there anything even really left for me to spoil? The main goal here is just to share that whether you're a neophyte or a casual fan, there's something here for everyone. So today, I'm covering everything from the prequels to the sequels, the standalone series, SNL skits, and even some fan created art, but I'm getting away from myself here. So I guess I should start at the beginning and tell you how all of this even became such a big part of my life. Now, this shouldn't be surprising, but my obsession with Star Wars was kind of formed by chance, but also, I think a little through a force influenced shopping trip one day when I was four years old, my mom and I were out shopping for a birthday present for my dad at a Best Buy or some other heavily electronics based store from the 90s. And the way I remember it after browsing through several aisles, we ended up in the video section where she picked up a box set of three films handed it to me and said your dad will love it and then we shopped around a little more and went home. Now the way she tells the story, it's a little different. According to her as soon as we entered the video aisle, I ran straight to the Star Wars display tottered around on tiptoe, while selecting the exact box that I wanted from the rows of other identical box that's around it and then proclaimed, Dad's gonna love it and refuse to put it down. By my mom's estimation. I got Star Wars and Star Trek confused because she couldn't remember my dad ever talking about Star Wars and she couldn't convince me otherwise. So she just went home and prepped my dad to be the appropriate level of excited I have no memory of this exchange. But I can guess that it all happened because in my version of events, the next thing I really remember is walking around the store holding the box set completely mesmerized by the sleek black Darth Vader helmet embossed on the cover and then sneaking into the closet for the next week or so to look at it before it was actually out in the open to give to my dad and my dad by the way, he totally delivered. He knew every character's name and every backstory He cheered when I cheered panicked when I panicked. And we went on the roller coaster of my first Star Wars trilogy viewing together for his birthday weekend. And he actually might have seen it for the first time with me because when I attempted to fact check this he also told me he wasn't really a huge Star Wars fan and he just got into it because I was into it. So I guess that's just me imposing my only child will on those around me. He started me Of course at the beginning with Episode Four A New Hope even though I wanted to skip to the fifth movie for some reason, but Episode Four is always going to hold a special place in my heart because that's where it all started. I think the moment that really sold me was when Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi were looking for transportation and Mos Eisley to really get their journey started. This was the first look ahead into the Sagas world building and it didn't disappoint. I got my first look at Luke speeder watched Obi Wan use a Jedi mind trick on a stormtrooper saw aliens than out of this world culinary concoctions in the cantina and I was thoroughly amazed and everything from that point on drew me and even further and I guess for those of you out there like maybe this matters the first time I watched the films I was watching the 25th anniversary remastered editions, so I didn't know what it meant that Han shot first and I didn't know that Java wasn't a giant slug in the original version if that means anything, but that's where I started out. But from the first view inside of the Death Star all the way to the daring escape from the Scurlock pit two films later, I just I couldn't get enough and they were completely for me. Star Wars became an instant fixture in my life almost 25 years ago. Wow, I

feel old right now. It was the beginning of a lifelong journey that thankfully doesn't seem to be slowing down. A year after my first film, I was finally tall enough to ride Star Tours at Disneyland. And then a couple of years after that, the first prequel movie was released Episode One The Phantom Menace. And I became even more enamored because I had a whole new set of characters to root for don't get me wrong, the prequels aren't perfect, but they get the job done. And for me, they also got me out of school because I was that girl whose mom would pick her up about two hours early whenever a new movie came out. That was Star Wars related, so one of the prequels, and we'd go before the lines got too long. And now in the last few years, not only do we have the sequels and a seemingly endless source of series provided by Disney, thank you so much Disney plus, but there are also a lot of smaller projects, some even fan led that focus in and build out on areas of the story the films weren't able to present in their entirety, it's like the Galaxy is vastly expanding, like the universe is vastly expanding. I really hope you guys got that. There's so much out there I honestly started to get overwhelmed trying to figure out how to structure this to share with y'all so to try and make this as simple as possible. I thought I'd round up nine things I love about Star Wars not just from the films but from the franchise as a whole in honor of the nine core films but not just from the film's from the entire franchise to try and make this as easy as can be. So to top off this list, I have Number Nine The Star Wars themed rides at Disneyland the rides make my list because it's the closest we're ever going to get to actually experiencing what it would be like to live out this adventure. Two minutes feels like 20 minutes when you're on the ride. And for that time you're doing the most important work there is defending the galaxy from the dark side. And I can't talk about the rides without starting with the original ride Star Tours. It opened in Disneyland in 1987. And it's only gone through some minimal remodels since then, because it's a classic that just holds up and I can fully attest to that because I got on Star Tours and rise of the resistance last week. Its basic premise is that you are aboard a rebel ship in enemy territory, generally an Imperial cruiser and while see Threepio human cyborg relations is walking you through your mission are 2d to his best buddy and the best astromech in the galaxy decides it's time for you to take off and accidentally drops you into a few dangerous situations on your way to your final destination. With today's technology that ride can run you through I think something like 50 plus different simulations with different beginning middle and end adventures. You can visit cars chic with the Wookies or fly by ATS on ha or try and tunnel your way through the planet core on Naboo. You never know where you're going to end up on Star Tours. And I think that's half the fun of it. You can just keep getting on and it's you're going to get something different. But when I was younger, there was only one scenario that you could run through. I don't truly remember it. But the internet tells me it was based on the rebel mission to end or from Episode Six Return of the Jedi. All I really remember from back then is thinking that I was in an X Wing fighter in space and I kept searching for the buttons to shoot lasers at the Thai fighters so we could land safely. I don't look for my laser shooting buttons anymore, but every time I visit I have to take at least one preferably three rides with C Threepio and RTD to to live out my inner ripples and child's best life which is pretty easy for the child part because my feet still dangle a solid three to four inches from the floor on that ride. So I still get knocked around pretty good. But of course I can't talk about Disneyland right now without talking about Rise of the resistance and I do need to give a special shout out to j here because she did graciously extend part of her birthday trip so that we could visit Galaxy's edge and join the board and group for the ride so thank you very much benevolent former birthday queen. First things first about this ride I cried a lot and I can admit that it's okay. But you know, it got to be so much so that I had to start a little bit of negative self talk with myself you know, tell myself to suck it up or else I was gonna miss everything that was going on in the experience. Thankfully I did because I now think that only my wedding will top this as the next most memorable and emotionally positive experience in my life. It was as if the Disney Imagineers reached into my head and pulled out every single thing I could possibly hope for in a ride and then made it even better by making at Star Wars, this is big talk.

I know. And obviously you're going to want me to back it up now and tell you what happens. But I can't do that. I'm not sure if it's just the people I know or if it's become this unspoken rule amongst those who have written Rise of the resistance, but no one would tell me what to expect before I went on it. For months and months. I've been asking anyone I know who's gone to visit Galaxy's edge been on the ride anything and no one would tell me anything. All they would say is that it's the best ride in the park. So I'm going to do the same thing here. You won't hear any spoilers from me. But if you're savvy, you may spot a clip or two from the ride and some of our reels. I'm not going to tell you what's the best ride because Star Wars and also Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but I will tell you, it'll be your best experience in the park. We did walk all the way through Galaxy's edge to get to the ride. So I got to see a fair bit of that and we also tried to get on the Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run and into the cantina for drinks but sadly, the Falcons hyperdrive was overloaded and the container was crawling with stormtroopers so we couldn't get in kidding about the cantina but the Falcon ride was down hopefully I'll get to go back for Christmas this year. And I can add a full update to the Instagram for y'all. Alright, and next up on my list are he walks I feel like this shouldn't really require any explanation if you've ever seen any walk but for those of you who haven't, I'll get into it from the forest moon of Endor he walks are the cutest creature creation from any of the Star Wars films series comics, whatever sorry porks and baby grow goo but he walks are the OG cute and fluffy out of this galaxy creature that everybody wanted to take home he walks are kindergartener sized teddy bear like creatures that were introduced in Episode Six Return of the Jedi when Han Leia and Chewie led an expedition to destroy the shield base protecting the new Deathstar while it was under construction. They live in these awesome little Treehouse villages, and they were the cutest little hoods ever. Like that's their main form of clothing or I guess identification. I don't know. It just it really works for them. And when I was younger, every year in my letter to Santa, I would ask for a stuffed Ewok not like a taxidermied one but stuffed was just my child brain equivalent to the word Teddy in front of bear here because I thought they were way cooler than any other stuffed animal that I could ever get. And now finally 20 Some years later, since I stopped writing those Christmas lists, I finally have to I got them in Downtown Disney and I totally again almost cried in the store when I got them. As you can tell there are a lot of tears on this Disneyland trip. Good tears happy tears just a lot of emotional Star Wars tears but yeah, I finally have them and they may or may not join me for a Christmas card photo this year. Who knows? Stay tuned. Seriously, I don't think you can look at an Ewok and not be moved. There's just something about them that triggers that same caretaking response that people have with babies you look at them they've got the sofr curious faces booqable nose and little spears and all of it just makes you want to go in for cuddles yeah I maintain that even little spirits make you want to go in for cuddles when he walks because how can you not want to cuddle them while they're saying Yup and recently I found out that the Ewok language is actually a mixture of Tibetan and Nepali so I'm a little curious now what you have not actually means I may recant that state the latter part of that statement Yub Nub in itself might not be cute but he walks definitely are but aside from being adorable. I also wanted to include a box on this list because there are some haters out there that think he walks were an unnecessary addition to the sixth film because they didn't serve a real purpose and quote and today I'm here to tell you you're wrong because the rebels would not have been able to take the shield generator base without them they took down to AT ATs a ton of Stormtroopers using their spears and bear paws bear as in like the ar e not like Bear rar and you know what? So what the rebels had blasters the Ewoks knew the terrain, they knew how the storm troopers were operating in the area, and they could set super stealthy traps that even Han Chewbacca and Luke walked into So never ever discount an Ewok they have real purpose and while I'm on my justice for he walks crusade, let's go ahead and talk about this little rumor that they're cannibalistic. And a lot of the online articles I've seen over the years, there seems to be a very loose definition of cannibalism being used in regards to he walks so I think it's time that we clear this up once and for all. Cannibalism, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary states that it is the practice of eating one's same species flesh, which would mean that he walks eat other he walks but in the articles that I'm reading, most of the time they're stating that he walks are cannibals because they're eating humans, not other he walks and here's the thing. I'm not saying I'm excited about the prospect of being an Ewok dinner, but maybe it's not that different than us eating a hamburger or a lobster. I'm just saying I don't think we should necessarily fault them and label them cannibals for being meat eaters. And if you're really worried about it, I mean you know if you think you're ever going to encounter an Ewok you know, maybe carry like a granola bar or something with you like Princess Leia

did when she ran into her he walk and befriended him just some food for thought there Dad pun totally intended, I could go on and on about he walks and the more I do here frankly, I think I should have just done an entire episode devoted to he walks but another podcast for another day. So I'll just leave you with a final few more Ewok fun facts because I can't resist the first Ewok scene in the movie, the one with a little orange hood that befriends Princess Leia, his name is wicked with tree war their species name is never officially identified in the film, only the end credits a script and a few other like Canon referenced books and things like that. So unless you actually came across something like that, it's a very interesting concept to see how he walked became such a well known name in the 80s that he walks had their own animated cartoon series and a holiday special where they speak English for the first and only time and lastly, they are deeply spiritual creatures, which is actually how Luke Han and Chewie were saved from the roasting pit once they believe See, Threepio is an all powerful God when he showed up all shiny and golden and fancy in their new Treehouse village. And speaking of see Threepio This brings me to number seven, the droids of the universe seems like Star Wars has a droid for everything. And yet you don't feel like you're in a world where rogue droids are trying to take over although I will allow that General Grievous and Darth Sidious Round Two are far more droid than humanoid creature and they are dead set on taking over the world. But there are protocol droids that are kind of like Butler's and personal assistants, Astro mechs that repair spacecrafts and assist with flying assassin droids that do everything from Makeup armies to function as bounty hunters, Nurse droids for all things medical and mechanical for humans and so much more. What I love about the Star Wars droids is that we have examples of those that have been programmed and created for a very specific function, but have basically evolved through experience and are acting as independent sentient beings with their own unique personalities. Let's start with C Threepio. And it can build him as a protocol droid on tattooing when he was a child. And he was really helpful with household chores and had already been programmed with the 6 million forms of communication. But he was still in a very humble, almost naive phase of operating he was brand new, his wires were still exposed even and he doesn't even register it until our to informs him which always reminded me a little bit of like an Adam and Eve and the introduction of shame. So it's very interesting that for everything that was already within him, he didn't recognize that he wasn't finished. And he's still kind of in those humble beginnings until Anna can and pad may come back to tattooing and then take him to live with them at the end of the Clone Wars. And it's only then once he leaves tattoo in that we start to see his personality really kind of emerged where he's a bit more snobbish and bossy. Not even a little bit actually, he straight up could have been BFFs with Emily Gilmore, they would have had some amazing protocol meetings together. And sure, and again, could have played around with his programming or even someone else in the capital. But there was a war going on at this time. There were so much more important things to think about then tinkering with see Threepio settings, which is why I think it was more his environment that ultimately changed him. He's now living with Padma, a senator running her household, interacting with various politicians and doing all of this from a place where corruption was seated everywhere with no real escape, I think See, Threepio evolved his own defense mechanism in the form of his attitude because he wasn't entirely sure how he fit in this giant city after his small spaceport beginnings. And then we have L three from solo A Star Wars Story, not the solo solo Han Solo standalone movie. L three though is another interesting take on droid personalities because she literally worked on herself, mechanically not mentally to alter her personality. When l three is introduced. She's the companion to Lando Calrissian. But before that with her previous caretaker, L three was expanding her memory bank to add an additional capabilities like heightened navigation and communication, modifying her body to give herself more mobility and autonomy because she was living in a not so nice place. And as her person grew, so did her awareness. She reached a level where she no longer wanted to be owned, but wanted to be regarded as an equal. And she found that in Lando, and with her own freedom, she then actively advocated for the rights of the droids around her. I know there's a bit of controversy connected to her introduction and solo and that's something that undercuts abilities of Han and Chewie. And the adventures that they had in the Millennium Falcon when her memory banks are uploaded into the Falcons mainframe, and it was just another way to add another sassy droid into the film's for a fun kick. But I actually kind of like the way that they introduced her character throughout the films. It's always remarked on that the Falcon is a special ship the fastest hunkajunk in the galaxy, that can do incredible things that others can't regardless of who's flying. And so I think the way that it was phrased it always felt like it was the ship itself and not Han so why not give

it a little special significance. And personally, I think I like this as well, just because it reminds me a lot of a Doctor Who episode called the doctor's wife where the soul of the doctor's spaceship, the soul of the TARDIS is actually put into a human. And he and his spaceship essentially get to talk. I kind of felt like this is what happened with L three, and it just added a little extra kick into it for me. And lastly, I can't talk about droids without bringing up our two d two. It's long been established that this little droid has the biggest personality of them all, but in between laughs and all of his emotionally charged beeps, boobs and wounds. I think it's really easy to forget how loyal and courageous he is in the Clone Wars and akin and Mace Windu were tracking down a young Boba Fett and they get pinned down and falling debris in the wreckage and are two flies back to the Jedi Temple and course on all on his own to bring help for them, otherwise, they would have died. And all the while he was doing it while dodging bounty hunters that we're trying to stop him even in the face of fear. And you can tell when Artie is afraid, because he has a very special woofer that he always does his best and we'll put his friends first. He always does his best and we'll put his friends first. And I know what some of you are thinking right now, what about droid memory wipes? We know Threepio had multiple in the series. And it stands to reason that a lot of other droids did as well. So how will their personality stay intact, but like any good memory loss movie will tell us you can take what's in the mind, but not what's in the heart. And I think all these droids less the separatist battle variety, have some pretty big I'll be at mechanical pseudo hearts. And the next up on my list number six is lightsabers now lightsabers are the weapon of choice for force wielders on both the Jedi and Sith sides, essentially, their futuristic swords, generally powered by some sort of crystal or stone that generate a force field that the user can then channel. Now I can attempt to get all technical about how lightsabers work. But that's really not my area of expertise. And I don't want to lose anyone who's not into the weapons aspect that much. But even if you're not into the fight scenes, of which there are some pretty incredible ones, just the overall concept can be really fun visually and in play, practice. Visually. They're glowing sorts of light that come in fun colors, and make a kind of fun sound when you wave them around. If you don't know what I'm talking about, Google it, YouTube it, watch something play out, go to Disneyland, build one, you'll have fun. But if you don't have time to go to Disneyland right now, the holidays are coming up soon. So if you're going to be wrapping presence of any kind, grab the wrapping paper tube and have a pretend lightsaber, paint it, color it. Don't do any of that. Just wave it around and make the noises yourself and have a play fight happened to your inner kid Jedi, whatever. And just play around with it. And you might surprise yourself. Even if you're still thinking it's not for me, but love that for you, Angela. Remember, even Dr. Miranda Bailey makes lightsaber noises during surgery every once in a while. So you should feel fully content to be able to do it in your own home just saying. But for this topic, I just thought I'd share a fun story with all of you about my favorite personal lightsaber fight I've been in which was in the back of a Prius. About three years ago, a co worker and I were running an errand for work and we called a lift and we got the coolest lift I have ever been in my life. This Prius shows up and it's completely decked out in all kinds of sci fi fandom gear, anything that you could think of Star Wars, all the Marvel movies Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, there are just stickers all over every door panel. The seats are covered in different character silhouettes, I think one was Han Solo. One was Chewbacca, there was a computer monitor mounted onto the back of the passenger seat that hooked up to a PS something we as Xbox, I don't know. But there were games that you could play to. But what we ultimately opted for was the assortment of lightsabers and character masks that the driver had. And I just want to emphasize this was pre COVID. Again three years ago when we were way less concerned than we should have been about putting on communal masks and lightsabers, but as soon as we grabbed them, I think I had green she had purple I had a Yoda mask and I think she had Darth Vader's and as soon as we had everything on the driver put on like the Star Wars main intro music, you know, when the opening credits are scrolling up, and we just went to town, we couldn't really have a full on lightsaber fight because I think both and reached the opposite car doors. We can only really claim them back and forth a little bit but it was so cool. Like I don't think I will ever be in that car again.

Even though Lyft had a feature at the time where you could select a favorite driver and they would try to assign them to you or you could try to pre select rides with that driver, but it's okay because it is a memory I'm going to hold near and dear for a lifetime. And this brings me right on to my next topic. Number five, the fans, I had to include the Star Wars fans, because there are just so many different types of fans and all of them are incredible. They're the de ones who have been there since the very first release in the 70s. There are the prequal initiated, who started with episode one. And now with Disney plus, we have a new round via the Mandalorian. And everyone here just has such a different take on what's happening. And what they have in common is that they can't get enough. And I think with any fandom, people kind of separate themselves out into who's the best kind of fan but I haven't really encountered a lot of that or people who just want to share what they like with others. But granted, the sharing isn't always gushing about how amazing the film is. You might have heard me speak briefly about this before in our cabinet slate debate episode, but there's a very intense documentary called The people versus George Lucas. The documentary is put together completely by fan experts in the series that discuss all things from his world building to the edits he made and the remastered edition the infamous Han shot first reworked scene from Episode Four, the misuse of the word parsec. And the commercialization of the franchise as a whole. I'll be sure to re link the stock in the show notes. But I am going to put a disclaimer in as well because I think that you should watch the original trilogy at least before you watch the doc because obviously spoilers and also if you want the full gravity of the opinions you're receiving, I think that you should have a solid base like some of the people interviewed say that their lives were ruined by Star Wars. So I think you should know the story before hearing something like that. I think the documentary brings up a lot of interesting points, some that I agree with some that I don't all are valid though, except for those related to Ewok being irrelevant, but if you're looking for some people who just want to share a little more of their Star Wars joy with you, I have two creators to shout out that I've found in the past year. The first is a duo the Khyber sisters. It's a podcast hosted by Jen Marie and Janae two girls that just really love Star Wars Jen Marie actually runs her own blog and Instagram called Anaconda and his angel and has been a lifelong fan. And Janae started to get into Star Wars when she was in her late teens, early 20s. I think and I'll link their podcast in the show notes as well. But I love listening to them talk about Star Wars because it just has such a fun energy and I feel like they're as similarly enamored as I am they always have new things to share as well. For example, I had heard of forces of destiny, but I hadn't realized what it was actually about. It's a series of two to three minute shorts focused on expanding the stories of and connecting the woman of the Star Wars galaxy. I can learn from them, agree with them, question them live with them and they have a pretty fantastic set too. If you're into watching your podcasts, they have a lot of fun Star Wars paraphernalia, and they always try to tailor it to their Episode theme. If you're new to Star Wars, I totally recommend their podcast because it doesn't feel heavy with the importance of long held fan beliefs, but like a new way to explore the series and secondly, I have Rancho Obi Wan if you're a superfan who's looking to devour some new experiences, this one is definitely for you. Rancho Obi Wan is a Star Wars memorabilia Museum in Petaluma, California. It's the largest privately owned collection of its kind with everything from posters to action figures, set pieces fan art, if you can think of it they probably have it there. I think they have Luke's original speeder and the entryway from Princess layers ship that's taken by Darth Vader in the first scene in episode four among a lot of other things. Now, I haven't been there and it is currently closed due to COVID concerns but as soon as it opens, I'm going to have a full update for all of you because I cannot wait to go there. I found Brent I found Rancho Obi Wan through one of our local news stations that showcases bay area businesses and makes about 20 minute documentaries on them to promote them on the weekends and they ran one in 2020 Right before everything shut down for the pandemic. So I'm currently subscribed to their waitlist and I'm checking monthly for their reopening status but

it looks absolutely amazing from their website. I'll link that as well. And you guys can go through some YouTube videos if you want to see if you feel like making the trip. So for number four on my list, I have a real fun one for you, Matt, the radar technician. If you haven't seen the SNL skit featuring Adam Driver as Kylo Ren as Matt, the radar technician, please pause this podcast now and watch seriously anything I have to say can wait until you've seen if I had figured out how to do video I would insert the a year and a life clip of Sandy says spamming Rory Gilmore with waiting videos before her interview to try and emphasize how serious I am about this. Alas, I can't do that. I'll just have to trust that you did it. And if you didn't, hopefully you will when you're finished listening as part of his press junket for the first of the sequel movies, Episode Seven The Force Awakens, Adam Driver hosted SNL and his best skit to come from that episode in my opinion Undercover Boss Starkiller Base edition where, where Kylo Ren stars in his own episode of the old reality show Undercover Boss where He masquerades as Matt a radar technician who's new to the base and is trying out a few different jobs to see what life is like it's cheesy and silly but it makes me so happy because Adam Driver really taps into his emo Kylo Ren also look at the emo Kylo Ren Twitter if you've never seen that, that'll make you laugh as well and he just completely terrorizes people as he asked for their opinions on what Kylo Ren is like if they like Kylo Ren lightsaber, what they what they think about what he's trying to do taking over the galaxy. It's It's hilarious. They even include one of the undercover bosses like signature moments, if you will, with where Matt interacts with a struggling family who has just lost their lost their son in the lightsaber program and Matt just happens to bump into Kylo Ren in the bathroom and comes back with a handmade card for them apologizing for killing their son very dark but very funny. Oh god and there's even this stormtroopers teamwork poster that he holds up and says like this means something to me now and that part always gets me as well. There's even a part two if you're interested in absolutely love to the first one Undercover Boss. Where are they now edition where Kylo Ren goes back undercover this time as Randy the intern because he's lost sight of how to be a better boss after tracking Ray for so long. Some days. I think I like part two a little more just because I think the characters are a bit more dramatic and mean and it might be a bit more realistic than the first skit and I think I can better imagine what it would be like to have lived on the Starkiller base with people screaming at me for cold garlic cream and straws and now and for number three on the list I have the Clone Wars now this section here is going to be serving double duty because when I talk about the Clone Wars I mean Episode Two The Clone Wars the film and also the Clone Wars The Animated Series. So I know the Clone Wars is a prequel but it makes my list as my fav prequel because I'm a smaller like Veronica Mars tough on the outside, all soft and gooey on the inside. And Lucas got me with this prequel love story here at home I have three Clone Wars posters, including the Forbidden Love edition one that features and a cannon pad made back to back in their wedding gear with the reminder that a Jedi shall not no anger nor fear nor love. And then how does this movie end? They get secret married. How could I not be into this movie there is a wedding. I'm a sucker for love, guys. So just give this one to me. I will admit, I think for what Lucas hoped to accomplish in the prequel trilogy, he lost a bit of momentum focusing as much as he did on Anika and Padma as well. They won't pay attention in this movie when we absolutely know that they will so give us a little bit more of the outside world building there and then how they hoped to accomplish their secret marriage. But anyways, but at the same time, if you're not into the love story aspect of Star Wars Episode Two is always phenomenal because it greatly contributed to the world building of the saga. We had the introduction of the clone army on Camino, and also the intro of Jango and Boba Fett there and the introduction of the Geonosian to attempted to build the superior droid army, which finally answers the question of where did the separatists get everything that they needed to start this onslaught, but this is also where the Clone Wars series comes in. There are seven seasons devoted to filling in this part of the timeline add more completely. In between Episode two and three,

there's a time lapse of about four to five years. And if you only watch the films, while episode three, Revenge of the Sith is amazing, you have quite a few questions about how things changed so drastically between Episode two and three. So the Clone Wars series attempts to fill that out in it builds it out in 20 minute episodes of which there are a lot of four episodes story arcs, so you really are getting a more comprehensive and in depth look at storylines there are episodes that focus in on the huts, as in Jabba the Hutt. And you actually see them set up as more of a criminal enterprise family that has a far reach beyond the tattooing Yoda has a couple standalone episodes and even takes our two with him on an adventure or two. And as I mentioned before, our two has a pretty great episode here where he saves Anaconda and based Windows lives after an encounter with Boba Fett, who pops up several times here and there to attempt to gain revenge for his father's death. Personally, though, I don't think you can beat the episodes focused on a mannequin, his Padawan Ahsoka Tano and his master Obi Wan Kenobi. I've often wondered how the other Jedi either didn't know or were unable to see the depth of Anniken and Padma his relationship. And this trios relationship answered that question for him. I think everyone knew or ignored because almost all of the Jedi that I've seen in the Clone Wars have had some kind of inappropriate relationship, but especially these three they became a family which, under normal circumstances would not be an issue. Obviously, it's great when you can find friends that turn into family, but the whole motivation for being a good Jedi is that you are able to let go of all attachments. So if you're a family, how are you detach, Ahsoka is basically like a mannequins little sister and Obi Wan is like his brother and father all rolled into one But no one wanted to say anything because that would mean getting called out on their own inappropriate feelings and forbidden attachment particularly for Obi Wan I think because it was revealed in The Clone War series that he wants fell in love to with the Duchess of Mandalore sateen which yes, if you have seen Moulin Rouge that was also Nicole Kidman character name, so when you hear you and McGregor's voice double shouting psaty and it catches you in all the fields. Lucas definitely knew what he was doing their bottom line, watch the clone wharfs, film and series. And if you even wanted to start there, and then build out on to other things within the films and franchise, I think that's one of the most solid foundations you can get. And I totally support it. All right, guys. We're almost at the end here. Number two on my list is the Mandalorian. I had to put the Mandalorian on here because honestly, the series gives me so much hope for the future of the franchise. I can't lie. I watched the sequels I cry pose a damn good pilot, Finn has an amazing spirit. And I even learned to stand Railo once I got over the whole Jedi are not supposed to form attachments thing. But I wasn't impressed by the sequel trilogy. It just it didn't hit in the same way. It felt a little bit formulaic to me. And I don't know, I've never watched all three of them at once together, I've only watched them standalone, maybe it'll be better. If I try to run it together, I'll see an update you all but for right now, it just doesn't have that same thing that the originals or the prequels had. I loved Rogue One. And I was really hopeful that the rest of the movies were going to play into that energy and build on the same emotional intensity, but it just fell a little flat for me. But finally, the Mandalorians journey with grow goo has hid the same care and attention to detail that I think the original trilogy had. mando as most call him is a Mandalorian bounty hunter that is tasked to bring in a man to the new order for ransom mando finds grow goo and because grego is from the same species as Yoda. He's physically aging very slowly, and he appears to still be a baby. So in mannose eyes, he's essentially sentencing a child to death and he can't do it. So instead, the series is devoted to mando and other friends along the way protecting the child as they call grow goo his family. I'm so excited to see where they steer the storyline next because in season now I don't want to spoil anything for you all. So I'm going to leave the majority of the storyline out but I do want to talk about the season two finale. So if you are planning to watch don't want anything spoiled, go ahead and skip on to number one, but I am so excited to see where they steer the storyline. Next, because in the season two finale, they brought back the Darksaber which has been touched on previously in Star Wars, clone wars and maybe a couple others, but that's where I've mostly remember it from the Darksaber is a sword made of best scar and it seems to have its own force like properties and it can definitely hold a song with a lightsaber unlike other substances, and it's considered to be essential in the hands of the ruler of Mandalore and must be won through combat. Now in the finale. Moff Gideon had the lightsaber Moff Gideon had the Darksaber and mando won it from however, there is another character Bo Katan, who is also a Mandalorian, who wants it so that she may go back and reclaim the planet of Mandalore, which is another fun twist in the series because I don't remember if the planet was supposed to have been destroyed or just uninhabitable. But either way, in season three,

I think we're going back to Mandalore, folks, and we're gonna have a whole new arena to play with. It'll be interesting to see how all of this plays out for the future of mando and grows relationship as well because in season one another Mandalorian tells mando a little complicated I know all the Mandalorian and mando back and forth here, but she tells mando that force wielders and Mandalorians are actually ancient enemies and then in the Clone Wars series where showed that the Mandalorian people kind of live in two extremes pacifism and destruction which is usually targeted at Jedi is so when they meet up again now that grow goo is on his journey to become a Jedi will they be friends anymore? I hope so. who knows we might have some tension there. And finally number one on my list is Princess Leia because I couldn't have a Star Wars Episode and not talk about her she is easily one of the best if not the best character to come from the franchise and to this day. She is one of my role models. She's smart, sassy, courageous, had some really awesome fashion moments, mostly in all white and she was just the best friend to those guys that didn't deserve her because they got really whiny most of the time they were really whiny, but through and through. She always kept her cool but through and through. She was always on her toes serving back smart remarks to them serving back smart remarks to Darth Vader and Moff Tarkin when she was captured in Episode Four like I think that's a pretty underrated scene because guys she had been captured. She was a spy she had been tortured and was under duress about to watch her home planet blow up and she's still never revealed the location of the Rebel base. She literally like throughout a fake name of a fake planet just to try to save her people and save the rest. costs and also super underrated fact again, she's a literal teenage spy I think an episode for she's supposed to be 17 or 18 years old and she's out there acting as a career taking secret messages and plans back and forth across the galaxy. And then later she actually starts to go on ground missions, hence how she met that Ewoks. She's the heart of the rebel cause and icon to sell money because she's a fiercely strong woman, like sure she gets captured now and again, she wore some provocative outfits and ended up in a weird love triangle with her brother, but she never felt like a damsel in distress. She was just a girl doing her best fighting her way through the galaxy and adapting to the situations that were thrown at her because she knew it wasn't just about her and what was going on in her life. She had a whole host of friends and strangers that were depending upon her to have a better life. Princess Leia was my first lesson in what it is to be a friend and to show up for those in need and the layer that we knew in the series, she's totally because of Carrie Fisher's portrayal as much as I love Lucas's story. He and his team didn't necessarily Empower Fisher or create a role for her to become a great female icon from her retelling, it sounded like they actually wanted a bit more of a doe wide princess, but she showed them that there could be a different way through her acting. In her first memoir, The Princess Diaries, she writes about how she was told she couldn't wear underwear under her costume because underwear didn't exist in space, and that she needed to lose 10 pounds or so because it wasn't going to work with her wardrobe when she totally already fit in her costumes. They were made for her. But I guess kind of fun fact here. The weight loss comment is actually how we got her iconic cinnamon bun hairstyle because she didn't lose the 10 pounds. She said In fact, she gained five more because she was so stressed and she thought that of the hairstyles presented to her buns on either side of her head would obscure her cheeks because she had very chubby cheeks at the time. But ultimately, Fisher gave us more than a princess. She gave us a general and the best part of the franchise in my opinion. Oh, and that's it, everyone. I had some more for y'all. But I'm parched. And this recording seems pretty long already. So I'm gonna save the rest of my segments for another time. I really hope that you enjoyed talking about Star Wars with me and maybe you got a little inspired to check out some of the things that I'm talking about. If not, that's okay. And I will come back maybe with some other solo episodes and talk about some of the other fandoms that I really love. We'll see. We'll see how this one does. But until next time, grab your coffee bowls and don't forget to rate download and follow on Apple Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts as always where you lead will follow so head on over to @inomniapod on Instagram and let us know what you would like to hear about in the comments. May the force be with you.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai