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TV Tuesdays Free Talk
Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.
Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.
Unpopular opinion, but I'm loving The Acolyte, especially the flashback episode. I've mentioned before that I am not a Star Wars fan, so I'm enjoying it in way that is very detached from the rest of their IP.
Personally I think the witches did nothing wrong. Their only sin that we know of so far is pressuring their kids a little too much to follow their way of life, and the Jedi who are the only other option, are waaaaaay worse about that. There are implications that how the kids came to be is a different story, but that remains to be seen. My husband, who is not a Star Wars hater like me, insists that they're bad guys because of what mother Aniseya did to Torbin and how that's universally a dark side power and you can't use the dark side like that unless you're an otherwise evil person. I don't really care, though, if that's true then I want to hear it from this show, not from a bunch of other shows and movies that were incapable of holding my interest.
I was totally right to be so interested by Qimir. Normally I think being super into Star Wars villains is sort of cringy and edgy, but holy shit this guy is legitimately cool. His helmet is so creepy looking, and he's so ruthless. Also "you brought her here" is such a raw line. Ugh.
I did think the timing of the whole umbramoth ploy was like, distractingly convenient. She leads them all their, then has this whole conversation while she's holding the light, then sticks it on him, and then they attack? Great training on those moths. That's like, pretty much my only complaint, though.
I'm decently deep into Star Wars lore, and I've been loving The Acolyte. I've been entertained, and that's all that really matters for me.
I'll have to figure out how to do that spoilers thing before I comment further.@GenuinelyCrooked, I've made my comments below.
Spoilers
Disclaimer: I have zero knowledge of the books and comics (Expanded Universe/Legends or recent stuff)I also love that there are other Force users! To me it seems like different religions that all believe in some deity...in this case they all believe in some connection between all living beings. Some call it the Force, some call it the Thread. But at the end of the day it's the same thing.
I agree that the Witches did nothing wrong. They were practicing their way of life in peace. Mother Koril may have been pushy, but Mother Aniseya was very open. Both Mae and Osha, despite living in a very secluded place, knew of the Jedi. Mother Aniseya also allowed both twins to be tested, and told Osha she was free to make her own choice.
The Jedi focus on the Light, and the Sith on the Dark. We don't know if the Witches focus on either side....or both. To say that what Mother Koril did with Torbin automatically makes the Witches the bad guys is due to the lens of what we've seen before...from the perspective of the Jedi....Jedi-centrism?
Onto Qimir (Darth Bortles). He is one of the most refreshing characters I've seen since Ahsoka. His fighting style is so savage and unconventional. Is his use of the Force deadly or creative...maybe deadly creative? I like that we got an explanation about his helmet, and that it makes him rely solely on the Force. To me, that means his connection to it is much stronger than most Jedi. He dislikes the Jedi because they control how he (and others) can use the Force. Parallels with how some religions have proper ways to worship, and other ways aren't accepted/acceptable.
For me, the best thing about The Acolyte is how portrays the Jedi as being fallible. I know some people may not like this, but I feel like it makes them more relatable. Nobody is perfect, and despite our best efforts we will make mistakes. It's so much more interesting than watching a story about characters who are all good or all bad.
Finally, Master Vernestra has a PURPLE lightsaber and she can turn it into a whip!!
For the description, use < summary >, and for the part you want to hide, use < details >, but without the spaces. You have to close the summary before you open the details, which you do with < /summary >
<details><summary>Spoiler</summary>Hidden spoiler text</details>results in:Spoiler
Hidden spoiler textIs an easier way of explaining it, IMO. But @bob_e_digital can also click on More... and then View Markdown on your first comment to see exactly how you did it too.
And there is also a "Formatting help" link in the top right of every reply box, which explains how all the markdown on Tildes works, including an "Expandable sections" area on the use of the details/summary box.
Thanks! I appreciate all the help @GenuinelyCrooked and @cfabbro . I'll make the edit to my post now.
I'm enjoying the show too. I don't think it's great or anything, but it's not that bad. I've watched the movies and a lot of the shows. There isn't any ideas too surprising from that respect, but I like exploring a time and characters that are so distant from the other content
We watched a series on Netflix called Geek Girl. It centers around a neurodivergent teenage girl coming into her own as a model. It was probably the most enjoyable piece of television I've seen in a while. A little fanciful, but the characters are real and flawed and give each other grace.
I finished Cyberpunk Edgerunners over the weekend, it was pretty good.
I'm a big fan of the setting, played a little bit of Cyberpunk 2020, a fair few sessions of Cyberpunk Red, and I also enjoyed the game. However, I don't really enjoy anime much, less the animated part, I've no problem with adult cartoons but it's more the tropes and clichés that come along with anime that I find a bit cringey.
Think I'm gonna watch Scavengers Reign next, heard good things and it's another short one.
I've been picking and choosing a few Black Mirror and Cabinet of Curiosities episodes to rewatch.
Spoilers for Black Mirror episodes
It had been a while since I watched "USS Callister" - what a cast! Jesse Plemons is excellent, and I'll watch just about anything with Jimmi Simpson in it or Cristin Milioti. Poking fun at Star Trek was a lot of fun, and while I am starting to tire of Charlie Brooker's "I made you empathize with this character, but they are a massive piece of evil shit" plot hooks, Plemons is great at evoking pathos, then making you hate him.Seriously though, so many episodes of Black Mirror have this same hook. White Bear, White Christmas, Shut Up and Dance just to name a few.
I rewatched Shut Up and Dance as well, and that's a bit of a different vibe when you know that the main character is a pedophile; his interactions are all sickening. It's still a good episode and Alex Lawther is great in his role, for the same reason as Plemons was in his - you empathize with him at the beginning before being absolutely reviled by him later.
The third episode I watched was Hated in the Nation, though I actually watched it before the other two during this rewatch. I watched it because I had looked up Benedict Wong on IMDB and saw that he was in it, and had totally forgotten that he had ever been in Black Mirror. This is the episode where someone hijacks bee drones and uses them to assassinate people based on a hashtag on social media. This is another one with a great cast, though I have to specifically call out Elizabeth Berrington and Ben Miles for immediately establishing characters that we were okay with being killed. They really nailed it.
Spoilers for Cabinet of Curisoities
I had watched this more recently than the black mirror episodes, but The Autopsy is one of the best pieces of short horror I have seen. The pacing is good, the body horror is strong, F. Murray Abraham and Luke Roberts are both great, the creature is horrific, and the ending was satisfying - the doctor thinks quickly and "wins". The director of this piece is David Prior, who also directed The Empty Man, which was a decent-but-not-great horror movie that got hosed by studio issues and probably deserved better support than it got.I also watched Lot 36 because I love Time Blake Nelson. This one is very straight forward - if I gave someone the relevant set up plot point, every single person could tell me how that plot point would resolve - but still fun.
House of the Dragon has been fantastic so far! Before season 1 started I think everyone was understandably apprehensive, and even after season 1 ended and season 2 neared, I still had a nagging feeling of “what if it’s bad?” (Season 8 of GoT fucked me up). However, 3 episodes in and we have another banger of a season and a show! It feels really nice and also nostalgic to be watching thrones every Sunday night and thoroughly enjoying my time! I’ll have more thoughts once we get into the crazier plot lines later this season, but it’s been great so far!
I’m still going on Deep Space Nine as well! I didn’t watch for a few weeks since I was playing a lot of games, but I’m back on it! I just finished season 2 this week and now there’s a conflict brewing with “The Dominion”. I know literally nothing of what happens next, so I’m looking forward to being surprised. I’m continuously blown away by how well this show aged and how smartly it’s written. I thought it would be a bit of a corny nostalgia trip for me (I watched a ton of TNG as a kid, but little to no DS9), but it’s actually been an insanely enjoyable watch that also doesn’t require that much investment. The plots are good and deep enough in places, but it’s not quite like HotD where I really need to know every characters motivations and relationships and all that.
Lastly, The Acolyte has been extremely enjoyable! The story is pretty fresh, especially for revolving around force users. The high republic era + the particular situation our characters find themselves in makes for a unique and interesting situation for Star Wars. The visuals are good, the fight choreography is incredible, and the characters all have great writing and personality, very few are one dimensional and a number of the characters feel more lively than you’d expect from a character who only has x or y amount of screen time. I’m not sure if I’d recommend it to non Star Wars fans as an intro, but any Star Wars fans should be watching this.