RJ Writing Ink

Amphibia Season 3, Episode 1 Review

It’s only been five months since the season two finale of Amphibia, “True Colors,” broke the Internet. It may as well have been a lifetime for the fans, though, given all that happened. Anne has magic superpowers now. Her, Sasha, and Marcy’s friendship is worse than ever. Anne and the Plantars are on Earth. Did I mention that Anne has superpowers now? It’s crazy! How does top something that monumental? If you’re Amphibia, then you don’t. You ease the viewers into the new status quo, the new normal.

Welcome Home, Anne Boonchuy

Picking up where the previous episode left off, Anne and the Plantars let the realization that they’re on Earth sink in, with Anne being more…enthusiastic than you would expect.

Some people might have an issue with Anne’s initial reaction to being back on Earth. Some would think that she would be more unhappy about it. After all, Sasha and Marcy remain in Amphibia; the latter stabbed through the chest. Worse, Andrias’ poised to conquer Earth, and Anne can’t get back to Amphibia to stop him. However, Anne tries not to bring her recent experiences up.

I think Anne’s reaction is understandable. As tough as she’s gotten, she just went through several traumatic experiences at once. If she dealt with it all at once, she’d likely have a mental breakdown. For now, her priority is to adjust to the new normal that is her life.

That means making sure her parents and foster family adjust to each other.

Meet the Boonchuy-Plantar Family

Considering everything they’ve been through, Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy take the revelation of where their daughter’s been…rather well. Granted, Anne and the Plantar’s don’t tell them the darker aspects of what happened, but that’s beside the point. Anne does point out that if they don’t take them in, the government will capture the Plantars and likely kill them. So, they all become one big family!

It’s pretty hilarious to watch. But it also brings attention to a major problem that Anne’s facing now that she’s back: her parents being super-protective. They won’t let Anne or the Plantars out of the house, which is understandable. They don’t know how much Anne’s matured in her time in Amphibia. However, Anne demonstrates this to them when they let her and the others go to the market.

Too bad that Andrias hasn’t forgotten about her.

Assassination Frobo & Anne’s Calamity Powers

Having learned that Anne remains connected to her Calamity Gem, Andrias will stop at nothing to kill her and keep Earth from learning of his invasion. Thus, he sends the Amphibian version of the Terminator to eliminate her, proving to be extremely dangerous. It’s only when the Plantar’s lives are threatened that Anne can use her power. As a result, the assassin robot retreats, with Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy none the wiser.

By the end of the episode, the Boonchuy’s agree to give the gang more freedom, but how long will it last?

Further Revelations

Thanks to the events of the episode, we confirm that Anne can use her powers when she taps into her innate heart. In this case, when her loved ones are in danger. However, doing so drains a lot out of her and leaves her feeling very uncomfortable. She’ll likely spend part of the season learning how to control them, as she’ll need them to stop Andrias and his robot assassin.

However, there’s a more immediate problem: Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy can’t be kept in the dark about what really happened in Amphibia forever. Sooner or later, Anne will have to come clean and tell them the truth. Hopefully, they’ll be able to understand that this is something their daughter needs to do.

As far as season premieres go, this was a slow but important episode. It doesn’t try to top the high that we experienced in “True Colors” because it knows that’s impossible. Instead, it focuses on adjusting us to the new normal for the show’s final season. I thought Anne’s homecoming could’ve been more emotional, but that’s just my preference. It was a good start to the season.

And, the new outro is SO ANIME!!!!

I Give “New Normal” a 4.5/5

Click here to see my other animation stuff

To See My Recaps of the First Two Seasons, Click Here

Stray Observations

• Marcy is still alive, as we already knew. Andrias’ keeping her alive for undisclosed reasons

• Andrias’ goofiness isn’t entirely an act. He does like one of the books Marcy got him into.

• The events of the first two seasons took place over the course of five months. Which is how long the break between seasons was!
• Are we going to see Sasha and Marcy’s parents, and find out how they reacted to their daughter’s disappearance?
• Does Anne still have to go to school, or is it summer vacation?

Star Wars, The Mandalorian, Episode 8 Review

When Disney+ started in November, one of the big draws was The Mandalorian. It became the golden boy of the service, with fans and critics calling it the best thing Star Wars has gotten since Empire. The show almost lost its footing halfway through the season, but it got it back with last weeks cliffhanger episode. With the season finale now out, I can safely say that the redemption of The Mandalorian succeeds, big-time!

If you’re wondering what I mean by that, wait until the end. For now, let’s get into all the big revelations.

More Backstory’s revealed

While we’ve gotten bits and pieces of the characters backstories before, this episode managed to give us more than we’ve ever gotten. First we have the Mandalorian himself. While flashbacks have shown us how he lost his family, we’ve never learned his name, until now. His true name is Din Djarin. It may not seem like much, but learning his real name helps to really humanize Mando.

Then we have Cara, the former Rebel Shock Trooper who we learn was from Alderaan. Hearing about that was like a gut-punch to Star Wars fans. Alderaan was one of the most beautiful worlds in Star Wars, and it’s destruction by the Death Star remains one of the most heinous acts in all of fiction. In addition, it’s destruction ensured that almost every surviving Alderaanian joined up with the Rebellion. It helps give some much needed back story to Cara, and tugs at the heartstrings

Lastly, we have Moff Gideon himself. He worked in the Imperial Security Bureau, and those who remember Rebels know these guys mean business. In other words, Gideon’s not some wannabe warlord: he’s a genuinely dangerous man. Worse, he knows a lot about Mandalorian culture, making him a huge threat.

The Mandalorian, Unmasked!

Despite their best efforts, Mando’s group has no choice but to run for it. However, the Mandalorian gets a severe head injury, and his people’s creed forbids him from taking his helmet off to get treatment. As a result, it looks like he’s going to die, until a metal savior comes in IG-11.

Having gone after Baby Yoda and laid waste to the Stormtroopers, IG works around Mando’s rule in order to give him bacta. Since he’s not a living being, he can take his helmet off, and we get our first glimpse at the Mandalorian.

Firstly, he’s younger than he sounds, though that’s more because Pedo Pascal playing him. Secondly, I think this moment ties back into the theme of the episode: redemption. By helping save Baby Yoda, whom it once tried to kill, and saving Mando, IG redeems itself. The irony that Mando’s saves by a droid is not lost upon him, either.

Mando’s now Baby Yoda’s Dad

This episode also reveals the fate of the Covert of Mandalorians. It seems the Empire got to a lot of them after he left, while the rest split up and went to find a new home. It’s a crushing bow to Mando, but he now has a new family and mission.

As it turns out, the Armorer lived and chose to stay behind to gather everything. She tells the group about Baby Yoda’s powers and the Jedi. More importantly though, she declares Baby Yoda to be a Foundling, and gives Mando a new mission. He either raises the child to adulthood (who knows how long that will take) or return him to his people. Either way, he’s now the child’s father.

The origin of Yoda’s people has remained one of the biggest mysteries of Star Wars. As a result, the notion of looking for his actual species could be one of the biggest revelations in the franchise’s history. If they think it’s time to reveal the truth about Yoda’s species, then I pray that they can pull this off.

Oh, and Mando gets a Jet Pack. AT LAST!

Redemption

While I won’t say how exactly the episode ends, I will tell you that the heroes win. Mando faces down Moff Gideon and defeats him, leading to his redemption with the Guild. As a result, Karga promises to welcome him back once he’s read. For now, though, he goes off on his quest to get Baby Yoda home. Cara stays behind to work for Karga, meaning we may see her again.

As I said, redemption was a big part of this episode. Several of the characters redeemed themselves for past mistakes. However, in hindsight, I think the title “Redemption” can refer to how the show redeemed itself. It had started off strong, but it’s middle half got weak. Despite some people thinking it had lost its luster, The Mandalorian stuck the landing. As a result, I can honestly say that it’s a great show.

A new era for Star Wars is approaching, one where the Skywalker family may not be the sole big players. As a result of this post-Skywalker Saga time, the franchise will need to find new ways to support itself going forward. Having seen what can be done with this show, I can honestly say that The Mandalorian will be a pillar of the franchise going forward. I can’t wait for Season Two! Especially considering the weapon we saw Gideon use in the episode’s final moments:

I Give “Redemption” a 4.8/5. Near Perfect

Click here to learn all there is about Star Wars with Wookiepedia, the Star Wars Wiki.

Click here to see more of my Star Wars Stuff.

Stray Observations

• Those two scout troopers talking in the beginning reminded me a lot of Grif and Simmons from Red vs Blue. Two idiots bantering together.
• RIP Kuill
• That astromech droid with the giant body guiding the barge down a lava river reminds me of Charon, the ferryman of the Underworld in Greek Mythology.

Star Wars, The Mandalorian, Episode 5 Review

Over the years, Star Wars has provided us with some of the most iconic planets in the annals of fiction. However, of all the amazing and exotic worlds the franchise has given us, none are as iconic as Tatooine. As the birthplace of the Skywalker Family, that desert planet’s integral to the franchise’s mythos. As a result, any Star Wars story that includes Tatooine qualifies for fans-service. So when I saw that this week’s episode of The Mandalorian was taking us to that iconic planet, my fanboy instincts went off. I hoped that this would be the best episode yet!

So why does it not feel like that?

Back on Tatooine

After running from another bounty hunter, Mando and Baby Yoda make an emergency landing on Tatooine. There the ship and Baby Yoda are looked after by a woman with the same hairstyle as the one from Alien. Meanwhile, Mando heads to the Cantina in search of work to pay for repairs.

From the moment the Mandalorian sets foot on Tatooine, the fanservice starts rolling in. The Mos Eisley Cantina is one of the most famous places in the Star Wars films, so seeing it is a treat. However, the joy’s diminished by the fact that there’s no Bith band playing that famous “Cantina Music”.

It’s not just the settings that act as fanservice, but the characters as well. Sitting in the infamous booth where Han shot Greedo is another young and cocky guy named Toro. He’s after a bounty on Tatooine to get into the Guild, so Mando helps him for the money. They run into some Tusken Raiders, Mando talks their way out, find the bounty. Then Toro tries to capture Mando and Baby Yoda, and it ends as well as you’d think.

Not as Fun as I Thought

I thought coming back to Tatooine after all these years would be so much fun, yet it’s not. The last time fans saw the planet, Luke and his friends had rescued Han and killed Jabba the Hutt, one of the most powerful crime lords in the galaxy. In the real world, the death of someone as big as Jabba would send shockwaves through the Outer Rim. At the very least, I think Tatooine would get a little more dangerous as people tried to take the Hutt’s place.

In other words, this was the best chance Star Wars had to show us what life was like on Tatooine post-Jabba and post-Empire. However, they wasted it. Not even an inkling of what life’s like now.

What About Boba Fett?

Speaking of Mandalorians, Tatooine’s the last place we saw the most famous Mandalorian of them all, Boba Fett. In Return of the Jedi, we saw Fett be unceremoniously thrown into the Sarlaac Pit. That’s the last time we saw him in the franchise, but that doesn’t mean he’s dead.

In the now non-canon Expanded Universe, Fett was eventually able to escape the Sarlaac. He’s one of the few people in galactic history who can say they did that. Afterwards, he continued his career as a badass bounty hunter, returning once a year to blast the Sarlaac from orbit. Since this feat only makes Boba Fett cooler than he already is, I think Disney’s ignoring a huge opportunity by not addressing Fett’s fate.

All of this may have changed, though. In the final shots of the episode, we see someone walk up to the corpse of Toro’s bounty. Fans have noted that the unseen character was wearing clothes that looked a lot like Fett’s spurs. As a result, many are convinced that this is a sign that Boba Fett has now escaped the Sarlaac in Disney canon.

I really want to believe that it’s Boba Fett and that Disney’s finally bringing back such an iconic character. However, my gut’s telling me it’s likely another bounty hunter on Mando’s trail. In other words, the show’s teasing us with more easter eggs.

Not a Good Episode

I never thought I’d say this, but this was the first episode of The Mandalorian that I couldn’t get into. Maybe traveling to a place that’s already been visited in 4 of the Star Wars films wasn’t a good idea after all. Seeing all that fanservice was fun, but we’ve already seen plenty of things on Tatooine. Unless the show planned on adding something new to the lore of the planet, then it didn’t really need to go there.

Despite this minor goof up, I still think that The Mandalorian is best thing Star Wars has gotten in years. Once The Rise of Skywalker comes out, it will be shows like this that will carry the franchise until the next film gets released. While it’s important for those shows to pay tribute to the past, they should try to explore new places. It’s a big galaxy, and there’s a lot of Expanded Universe material that can be adapted back into the canon. That is the way that Star Wars will thrive.

I Give “Chapter 5: The Gunslinger” a 2.75/5.

Click here to see more of my Star Wars Stuff.

Click here to learn all there is about Star Wars with Wookiepedia, the Star Wars Wiki.