Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2162
February 19, 2017
THE WALKING DEAD Recap: Rick and Co. Make Some “New Best Friends”
Editor’s note: This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of The Walking Dead! Proceed with caution, survivors. For reals, if you haven’t yet watched this week’s episode, “New Best Friends,” we highly suggest you do so before proceeding. Okay? We good? Let’s go.
There’s just no getting around the fact that Carol is the most interesting character on The Walking Dead. In fact, I’d wager that while her increased presence might not have saved the first half of this season, it sure as hell would have improved things considerably. But I’m willing to put that behind me for the time being, so long as we get more Carol-centric episodes like “New Best Friends”.
Not that Carol’s the only one to do the emotional heavy lifting this time around, but the further we move from her orbit here the less invested I am in the characters on screen. Rick obviously has a lot to do in this, the second episode of this season’s second half, but it’s primarily physical. After meeting Jadis, the leader of the community (dubbed by fans “the Garbage Pail Kids”) by which he and his group were apprehended at the end of last week’s “Rock in the Road,” he’s immediately forced to prove himself in gladiatorial combat against a walker decked out the like the Mouth of Sauron, complete with steel spike-studded helmet shielding his undead brain. (“His name’s Winslow,” says Jadis, an obvious reference to the title character in Brian De Palma’s Phantom of the Paradise, a disfigured musician who wears a similar chrome dome.) After triumphing over the creature (with a little help from Michonne), Rick makes a deal to get his new buddies guns in exchange for their help in the coming war against Negan.
It’s worth nothing that this new community–which looks, walks, and talks an awful lot like a race of aliens on Star Trek (seriously, I get that this could all take place in the future, but not the distant future)–is not a part of Robert Kirkman’s comic book. So all bets are off as far as how trustworthy they are.
Elsewhere, Daryl’s thirst for revenge against Negan reaches critical mass. So he strikes up a partnership with Richard, who’s become just as antsy with bloodlust after the Kingdom’s latest meeting with the Saviors results in him getting his ass whooped yet again. Unfortunately, Daryl soon learns his new business partner’s plan involves sacrificing Carol, so he sets out on his own, and checks up on the widow Peletier. Seemingly content living a life of peace (albeit at the cost of a community) Carol has no time for visitors. But she loses her composure upon seeing Daryl and hugs him until he whimpers for her to let him go.
The Carol-Daryl dynamic is one of the show’s most popular, and it’s easy to see why when she breaks down in tears upon explaining to him why she left. She’s never been better at articulating her feelings–not with Morgan, not with Ezekiel–as when she tells him she would have kept killing to protect the people she cared about until there was nothing left of her. When he initiates the conversation by simply asking, “Why’d you go?”, he sounds like a broken child reunited with a neglectful mother. It’s more heartbreaking than any abuse we’ve watched him suffer this season at the hands of the Saviors.
Though Daryl winds up leaving Carol and the Kingdom and heading off for Hilltop, “New Best Friends” ends with another newly formed friendship–between him and Morgan, who identifies with the bowman when he learns he spared Carol the knowledge of her friends’ deaths. That friendship should soon help ally the Kingdom with Alexandria, with Hilltop, and with the Garbage Pail Kids. Though as Gabriel points out to Rick, a price will have to paid before final victory can be achieved. The question is, who will wind up paying it?
Undead Afterthoughts
— Scottish actress Pollyanna Macintosh is awfully good as Jadis. With a minimum of dialogue, she gives her a spark and an inner life that rivals that of any leader we’ve yet met on The Walking Dead.
— “I figure any guy that has a pet tiger can’t be that bad.”
— Any guesses as to how long it’ll be before Carol re-enters the fray? Sooner or later, her supply of romance paperbacks has to run out.
What did you think of this week’s episode? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter (@JMaCabre).
Images: AMC
Hae you ever wondered why some zombies are faster than others?
Batman Fights the Joker Alien, and More Awesome Toys From NECA (Toy Fair 2017)
If you’ve bought a figure based on A Nightmare on Elm Street, Alien, Predator, or any other of your other favorite horror movie hits in the last few years, the odds are very likely that it came from NECA Toys. The company has become the go-to master of nostalgic ‘80s/’90s franchise collectibles, and this year they brought a stunning display of new figures to their booth at Toy Fair New York this year.
Of course, it was no small feat securing the rights to every little bit of the Alien franchise — according to Director of Product Development Randy Falk, it took two years for the company to convince Sigourney Weaver to give them permission to use her likeness. For the next few months Alien Covenant toys will definitely dominate the figure landscape, but once that wave has passed, Falk told me that they’re eventually planning to release a figure of the Ripley clone from Alien: Resurrection, complete with her very own basketball. And in the meantime, they have some other awesome Alien toys to check out, like this Xenomorph from the Dark Horse Defiance comics.
Like any toy company, NECA face a lot of challenges securing licensing rights for their figures–for example, they can only sell movie versions of these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters in the larger quarter scale size, and only in North America (Figuarts has the brand locked up in Japan). But gosh, are they worth it. Just look at these beauties!
Similarly, these smaller Batman and Superman figures are only possible because they come bundled with opponents to battle — namely, these awesome Aliens and Predators (Xenomorphs and Yautja, for the sticklers).
Securing the rights to the Spider-Man: Homecoming costume was difficult, too, because it wasn’t tied up in the rest of their Marvel license, but no worries–they got it done (although they didn’t have it ready for Toy Fair just yet!), and you’ll be able to get an 18″ quarter-scale Tom Holland-inspired figure sometime soon.
Evil Dead is also a popular brand for the company, and this year they’re trying something fun and new: this awesome puppet from the second season of the Starz series Ash Vs. Evil Dead. “When the season finale [aired], I’d tweeted a picture of me with the puppet, and ever since then we’ve been getting, ‘When’s it coming out? Are you making it?’,” Falk admitted. Well, all the cajoling worked, because here it is in the flesh! Err, felt.
Speaking of puppets, by far the coolest reveal from NECA this weekend was this set of Rocky caricature figures based on a Lipton Brisk Iced Tea commercial from 1999. Last year, Sly Stallone himself sold some of his old memorabilia from a storage locker, and NECA bought the puppets right from him. When they saw how much the puppets had deteriorated over the years, they figured it was worth restoring and recreating them into a collectible that fans everywhere could enjoy.
Check out the rest of NECA’s Toy Fair offerings in the gallery below, and let us know which characters you’re planning to purchase for yourself in the comments!
Images: Victoria McNally for Nerdist, NECA
McFarlane Toys Bring DESTINY, MASS EFFECT, David Bowie and So Much Negan to Toy Fair 2017
Over the past 24 years, McFarlane Toys has amassed a pretty sweet collection of licenses from all your favorite video games, violent TV shows (sup, Game of Thrones?), and now even anime — and they’re not planning to stop anytime soon. This year their Toy Fair booth was full of some pretty sweet collectibles, and Todd McFarlane himself was even on hand to give us an inside look at the inner workings of his company.
Longtime fans of McFarlane Toys will notice that the company’s latest diorama sets, which features licenses from Steven Universe, Rick And Morty, and South Park (including the upcoming game Fractured But Whole) are a bit of a departure from their earlier, more realistically detailed construction-based sets in The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. McFarlane told us that this was a deliberate experiment to target a different audience of parents and kids than you’d get in the action figure aisle.
So far it’s paid off — their Five Nights At Freddy’s line, which will soon be expanding to include Sister Location sets from the latest game, is the biggest success they’ve ever had at Toy Fair. If you’ve never heard of the massively popular series, you’re not alone, because McFarlane himself didn’t even realize it would be such a popular brand for them until he got so many orders that he couldn’t keep up with them.
“What it’s telling me is that the world’s changing,” he said. “Just because we adults don’t know about it does not mean it’s not living in a dimension someplace, a new level on the Internet where the youth are getting their information and entertainment.”
Another big departure for the company: this amazing roleplay-ready Iron Gjallahorn from Destiny. This is just the prototype, as they still haven’t quite figured out what materials to use and how to package the elaborate rocket launcher, but it’s certainly no less impressive. If it sells well, McFarlane might continue to design cosplay-quality weapons from other brands, so start saving your Glimmer now!
Speaking of weapons, yes, they’re still doing some awesome The Walking Dead figures and toys–and surprise surprise, most of them are Negan-focused. That Negan/Glen 5” set is just cruel, yo. So’s the bloodied up Lucille, which is a updated version of the prop they’ve already been selling. Excuse me, I’m still not over it.
Plus, we can’t forget these awesome figures of the Ryder twins from the upcoming Mass Effect: Andromeda! The game might be out in March, but these won’t be available until July of this year — although you can already pre-order Scott and Sara from Entertainment Earth.
Oh, and we’ll just leave this here…
The gallery below features other rad toys we saw at the McFarlane booth, including figures from One Punch Man, Attack On Titan, Borderlands 2, Titanfall, the NFL (no, really!), and, of course, Spawn. What license do you want to see them get a hold of next? Let us know in the comments!
Images: Victoria McNally for Nerdist, McFarlane Toys
ROGUE ONE Gets a Sequel With STAR WARS: INFERNO SQUAD Novel
Kathleen Kennedy of Lucasfilm was adamant in the build up to the release of Rogue One that there would be no sequel to the film, which at the time befuddled fans. And then, once everyone saw the actual movie…well, we kind of knew why she said that. Nevertheless, there is a sequel to Rogue One on its way, although not in the traditional sense, and not on the big screen.
Lucasfilm and have announced Inferno Squad, a new novel from author Christie Golden, which is set to hit on July 25. Not following any of the main characters from Rogue One (obviously), instead this book will be about an elite Imperial squad and their mission following the events of Rogue One, and subsequently, A New Hope. Below is the official description of the novel, via StarWars.com:
The Rebellion may have heroes like Jyn Erso and Luke Skywalker. But the Empire has Inferno Squad. After the humiliating theft of the Death Star plans and the resulting destruction of the battle station, the Empire is on the defensive. In response to this stunning defeat, the Imperial Navy has authorized the formation of an elite team of soldiers, known as Inferno Squad. Their mission: infiltrate and eliminate the remnants of Saw Gerrera’s Partisans. Following the death of their leader, the Partisans have carried on his extremist legacy, determined to thwart the Empire — no matter what the cost. Now, Inferno Squad must prove their status as the best of the best and take down the Partisans from within. But as the danger intensifies and the threat of discovery grows, how far will Inferno Squad go to ensure the safety of the Empire?
Since the Imperials will seemingly be the protagonists of this novel, and since we clearly don’t hear about Saw Gerrera’s more militant band of rebels in the original trilogy, I’d say that this book will feature the Imperials “heroically” eliminating the terrorist threat once for all. After the events of Rogue One and A New Hope where they get humiliated, they need some kind of victory, right?
Although this is hardly the first Star Wars novel to be told from the bad guys’ point of view, it will be interesting to see how they manage to create sympathetic Imperial characters this time, especially in the immediate wake of their committing genocide on Alderaan. But then, writer Christie Golden has experience with making villainous characters sympathetic, after writing the in-canon Asajj Ventress novel Dark Disciple.
Star Wars: Inferno Squad hits on July 25th, 2017.
What are you hoping happens in the pages of Inferno Squad? Let us know down below in the comments.
Images: Lucasfilm
But will it have an opening crawl?
Nerdist Podcast: Lena Dunham
Lena Dunham (Girls, Tiny Furniture) talks with Chris about people raising squirrels, her grandmother dying when she was young and her obsession with Singled Out. They also talk about sobriety, their thoughts on religion and the final season of Girls!
Image: Jamie McCarthy / Getty
Hasbro Shows Off Their Dancing Baby Groots, STAR WARS Anniversary Figures, And More (Toy Fair 2017)
If you’ve never seen an entire wall of tiny foot-long Baby Groots dancing to “Come A Little Bit Closer” by Jay and the Americans, then you haven’t lived — and you also weren’t at the Hasbro exhibit for this year’s New York Toy Fair this weekend, because boy, was it full of these little guys. Can I just live here? I think I just wanna live here.
Unfortunately you’ll have to wait until closer to Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2‘s May release date to snag one for yourself, as Groot won’t be available until the Spring (and retails for $34.99). You’ll also have to wait some until then to check out all the Spider-Man: Homecoming figures and toys that Hasbro has, but trust us: they’re totally worth it. Just check out this Tom Holland-voiced toy with adjustable Steve Ditko eyes!
A post shared by Victoria McNally (@victoriaqnerdballs) on Feb 19, 2017 at 10:21am PST
In other Marvel news, yes, James Gunn’s promise that there would be more female figures for Guardians 2 has come true, as Mantis, Gamora, and Nova will be featured as Marvel Legends. For collectors of the larger Legends, the Hulk and Thor in 12-inch scale were on display for the first time.
If you’re a Beauty and the Beast fan who isn’t into dolls, there’ll be figures too.
Over at the Star Wars section, collectors are in for a treat: to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Wars: A New Hope, Hasbro will be releasing some of their Episode IV-themed Black Series figures in new packaging meant to evoke the original Kenner toys from the ’70s. The Darth Vader figure also comes with this amazing stand, just like the ones that kids used to have to buy in advance before the toys were ready to ship. Man, modern Star Wars nerds don’t know how good they have it.
Meanwhile in the world of Transformers, expect a lot of cool movie-based toys to hit to toy shelves just before The Last Knight does this summer, including an awesome line of figures that are powered by a working All Spark Cube.
Also, remember that fearsome dragon from the trailer last year? Well, here’s what it looks like up close and personal in toy form (and yes, of course, he does transform):
Check out the rest of the cool nerd toys we saw in the gallery below. Are you hype for more Star Wars toys in your life? Let us know in the comments!
Images: Victoria McNally, Hasbro
ZOOTOPIA Creators Parody the Other Oscar Nominees in Poster Form
Academy Awards hype is real with the buzz reaching all the way to…Zootopia? Even the animal kingdom can’t wait to see the latest film nominees. Everyone from elephants to emu are packing the theaters to see hits like Fantastic Cheetahs and Where to Find them, Hogsaw Ridge, you know, the big ones.
Disney’s Zootopia fans like me couldn’t wait to get their hands on the movie so that they could pause the film at the exact moment when Duke Weaselton was hawking hot DVDs on the street corner. It meant that we could get a closer look at parody bootleg movies like Wreck-It Rhino and Pig Hero 6.
Luckily, the creators are just as fanatical about Disney parodies and just released 7 posters parodying the Oscars. Who wouldn’t want to see La La Lamb? A musical set amongst the wilds of Zootopia where Ryan Foxling and Emu Stone fall in love? I wonder if there’s a part for John Lemming in this movie?
The Hollywood Reporter debuted these with directors Rich Moore and Byron Howard, and screenwriter Jared Bush, who created the awesome homages for Oh My Disney. The team continually enjoys creating a world for the Zootopia characters even a year after the movie’s initial release. Fans feel the same way, with Zootopia cosplay and fanart being stronger than ever.
It’s the attention to detail that made Zootopia great and these posters are no exception. They’ve not only included funny tongue-in-cheek taglines for each poster but also thought up creative animalized versions of the actors’ names. I think Meryl Squeek and Shrew Grant would agree thatall of these parodies are movies we’d actually want to see.
Check out the rest of the Zootopia parody posters in the gallery below.
Which animal-themed Oscar movie would you like to see? Let us know in the comments or tag @nerdist and @justjenn on twitter.
Images: Oh My Disney
February 18, 2017
STAR WARS REBELS EP Dave Filoni on Last Night’s Big Twist
Warning: Spoilers follow for the Star Wars Rebels episode “Legacy of Mandalore.” This is your last chance to turn away if you’re not caught up on the series.
So, that happened. After sort of reconciling with her family and defeating Gar Saxon, Sabine Wren made a choice. She decided to remain with her family to work on freeing Mandalore from the Empire’s grasp rather than return to the Ghost with Kanan and Ezra. Given that the Ghost crew has been Sabine’s family for as long as we’ve known her, it’s a significant change. Nerdist talked to series executive producer Dave Filoni about Sabine’s decision, how it will affect the dynamic of the Ghost crew, and whether she’ll be back.
“It just feels right,” Filoni said about why Sabine stays. “Everything she’s learned and grown through, and everything that she’s overcome, especially in those two episodes, I think dictates that she has to continue to deal with this. It’s not something that she can just walk away from, and say, ‘Well I’m gonna go back with my rebel friends now. [laughs] Have fun! I opened up all of these things and Mandalore’s in a state of civil war now, but…'”
On the storytelling side, they felt like they had to pursue the bigger arc. The Mandalorian leader, Gar Saxon, is gone. It means the Empire is going to come for Mandalore, and they have to be ready. Sabine couldn’t walk away from that. Like Filoni pointed out, big things are happening. “It speaks to a bigger galaxy. It’s not like it [the Empire] is just a problem the crew of the Ghost has. Sabine has gotten involved and now she has to be accountable for some of these big problems that have occurred. And I have to tell you Mandalore has come up to be a part of Rebels in a way that I never thought it would. Mandalore has come up in my life in ways I never thought it would,” Filoni said.
While the issues on Mandalore can’t be resolved in a minute, fans are of course wondering whether Sabine will be back. She’s not a part of the core group on the Ghost anymore, so what does that mean? Filoni didn’t want to go too much into spoilers but also joked that he didn’t want to have another “nebulous journey that I have everyone on with Ahsoka.” He’s referring to the season two finale where Ahsoka’s fate after battling Darth Vader wasn’t clear. So, he gave us a bit of an answer.
“Sabine is such a beloved character, I would say both on the show and in the fandom. The risky part about it is that you lose that incredible dynamic. She has a great dynamic with Kanan and Ezra, the actors all love being around each other. It’s kind of fun to mess with them a little bit and say, “Okay, say goodbye to Tiya [Sircar].’ And then they don’t know what’s happening and I love doing that stuff. But I think we will have to have Sabine back in a bit because she’s just too fun,” Filoni said.
It’s true that Sabine adds a lot of life to the Ghost team and she brings color to the ship, literally and figuratively. Filoni feels strongly about the character: “I love writing her, I love the design of her character. One of the things I’m most proud of in this series is how that character has grown out of her first interactions on the show until now. She’s a lot of fun to write because she is so intelligent, and she’s so tough, and she’s willing to deal with emotions and get to places that I think are new.”
The Sabine of season one wouldn’t have been so mature about the encounter with her mother, and Filoni explained that’s one way in which she’s changed. “All the scenes with her mother are really important; you’re seeing these two women working these things out. It’s not something you get a lot of opportunity to do, especially in an action adventure. It really helps broaden things, I think.”
Filoni added, “So, I have to hopefully get her back here sooner, and I hope it could be to great effect. I don’t want to give anything away, but it could be very important in the end.”
The Ghost won’t be the same without Sabine; she can’t be replaced. After teasing they might get a dog, Filoni got serious and said it’s been weird to not have her around. “I think it will be interesting to see how it will impact the crew or not, that Sabine’s not around. And frankly sometimes it was hard to remember that she wasn’t there because we were like, ‘We need Sabine’ and then we’re like, ‘Oh wait a minute, she’s not with us anymore.’ It is kind of a downer moment and the writers are looking at me like, ‘Wait, why did we do that again? That was not smart.'”
With Sabine working to put Mandalore back together, there’s a chance she’ll run into a familiar face from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Katee Sackhoff portrayed Bo-Katan Kryze in the animated series and mentioned at a convention last fall that she’d recorded new lines for the character. Will she be back? In short, yes.
Filoni said, “I would say there’s a probability of her returning that’s rather high [laughs]. So, we’ll have to wait and see how that develops. I love that character, she was my one of my favorite characters that we got to do on Clone Wars. I actually had a lot planned with that character toward the end of that series, so it would be fun to bring her back. I really like her armor, that alone is a good reason to bring her back. And you know Katee Sackhoff was great playing her in Clone Wars, so it would be great to have her. Again, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Images: Disney XD/Lucasfilm
Mattel Debuts the Coolest JUSTICE LEAGUE Batmobile Ever (Toy Fair 2017)
Mattel and DC go together like Batman and Robin, so it was no surprise that the toy manufacturer had some pretty sweet DCEU merchandise to share with us at this year’s New York Toy Fair. But the most impressive one by far was this incredible smartphone app-controlled replica of Batman’s new Batmobile from Justice League.
It’ll cost you a steep $250 when it hits shelves this October, but it’s worth every buck considering how fiendishly high-tech and detailed this baby is. The engine spews exhaust out the back; the gun mounts (he’s fighting demons so it’s fine, okay?) and steering wheel turn along with the car) and there’s even a driver side camera that can record what goes on beyond the dashboard.
Prefer Wonder Woman to Batman? There were also plenty of gorgeous dolls inspired by Gal Gadot’s outfits in the new movie — and while they look similar to Barbie dolls, they’ve got much more sculpted muscles to match Gadot’s real-life physique.
For younger Wondy fans, the DC Super Hero Girls will also be expanding to include a sweet “invisible” jet, a large bus playset that opens up, and a couple new dolls and action figures.
Marvel fans weren’t left out either — at least, not the Hot Wheels collecting Marvel fans. Mattel’s line of character-inspired die-cast cars now boasts new vehicles for Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, and I don’t care if you’ve never played with a Hot Wheels toy in your life: you NEED the Baby Groot one. I know I do. Look at how cute it is compared to the last movie’s bigger Groot truck! 
Speaking of motor vehicles and also Vin Diesel (bad segue, I know): have you ever been watching a film in the Fast and Furious series and thought, “Boy, Dominic Toretto is a super cool dude. I wish I had a tiny action figure of him that I could carry around in my pocket like a mystical totem of toughness?” It’s cool, Mattel knows. Their FF line was first released in January of this year, and they’re planning to continue releasing even more cars and figures from the franchise in future waves.
And, of course, there were plenty of licensed Mega Bloks sets to fawn over, featuring characters from Destiny, Call Of Duty, HALO, and the newly announced Pokémon set. Lemme tell ya, seeing these in person awakens so many feelings in my inner 10 year-old.
Check out the rest of what we saw at Mattel in the gallery below (WWE fans, get especially hype!). Nerdist will keep bringing you more Toy Fair 2017 news throughout the weekend–in the meantime, let us know in the comments which Mega Blok set you need to have in your collection ASAP!
Images: Victoria McNally, Mattel
STAR WARS REBELS Recap: Sabine’s Eventful Trip Home
Warning: This recap contains spoilers for the Star Wars Rebels episode “Legacy of Mandalore.” Jump into hyperspace and away from this page if you haven’t watched the episode yet.
When we last saw Star Wars Rebels, Sabine decided to take on the duty of learning to use the darksaber with the intent of returning home, reconciling with her family, and ultimately, getting Mandalore on the side of the Rebel Alliance. The latter’s a lofty goal, but Sabine took steps towards it in “Legacy of Mandalore,” and then she made a surprising decision.
Sabine wasn’t looking forward to reuniting with her family. You know the feeling of dread you have when you see your family for the first time in a long time and maybe you didn’t leave things on the best of terms? Multiply the uneasy feeling by a hundred, and you’d get close to how Sabine must feel. She played a part in enslaving her people, but then she chose to leave while her family decided to align themselves with the Empire. She’s carrying guilt about what she did, but on top of those emotions, she’s considered a traitor. It’s a pretty miserable place to be stuck.
Several aspects struck me about this episode, but two things especially: the firsthand exploration of Mandalorian culture (we heard the language spoken on screen for, I believe, the first time) and the dynamic between Sabine and her mother Ursa. Star Wars fans go gaga over all things Mandalorian, and though I don’t get the Boba Fett obsession, I can absolutely get into the ins and outs of their culture. The topic was explored in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but Rebels continues to add new layers.
Honor plays a big part in dictating why Mandalorians do what they do, and we saw Sabine’s mom take it to extremes. I wasn’t entirely sure she’d commit to putting Sabine first. She betrayed her daughter by having Kanan and Ezra held and then gave up the darksaber to Gar Saxon. I didn’t expect Ursa to open the door and greet Sabine with a warm hug and a cup of tea, but she was harsher than I imagined. Which, honestly, makes sense. She’s a warrior and leader of Clan Wren. She’s not going to be Mrs. Weasley.
Though it isn’t easy to dig up sympathy for Ursa or Tristan, I can see they’ve made some sacrifices of their own. Sabine ran away and found a family. She gave up everything she’s known, and she put herself in a vulnerable state by going back to face her mother. Clan Wren was put in an awkward position when Sabine left, and to protect the greater good, Ursa did what she thought was necessary and stayed with the Empire.
Is working with the Empire the best decision? We know how the big picture works out in the end. Ursa and other Mandalorians don’t have our knowledge. By submitting, they think they’re making the right move to preserve their lives and culture. In reality, they’re oppressing themselves.
We saw the hurdles Sabine had to overcome with proving herself and her strength to them. Her mother witnessed her fight Gar Saxon and defeat him. I don’t know if she would have accepted the outcome if she wouldn’t have seen it with her own eyes. So, I can’t imagine Sabine, Fenn Rau, or the Wrens will have anything resembling an easy time bringing more Mandalorians to their side. It looks like they could be on the precipice of a civil war—a war that will be exacerbated by the impending arrival of Imperial forces.
Given all those factors, Sabine’s path seems obvious. She has to stay. It’s a bold storytelling decision, but it’s right—even if it’s sad to know she’s not going to be in every single episode anymore. We’ve only known her as part of the Ghost family. The group is going to be odd without Sabine’s sarcasm and mad skills. They’ll understand. Hera was the one who nudged Sabine into accepting her duty regarding Mandalore in the first place. But, I just hope they don’t paint over all the art in Sabine’s bunk and like, turn it into Chopper’s droid cave or something.
Oh and I can’t wrap without mentioning Chopper. On my second viewing, I caught his little, “Wait, what?!” exclamation when Sabine said she was staying with her family. So. Cute.
What do you think about Sabine’s decision to stay with her family? Right? Wrong? Share your opinion in the comments or come work out your feelings on Twitter.
Images: Disney XD
What makes a good lightsaber?
Chris Hardwick's Blog
- Chris Hardwick's profile
- 132 followers
