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The Bad Batch season one is in the books and I give my reactions (plural) to the two-part finale. Like the season as a whole, I struggled with connecting these new characters to the wider Star Wars story. But with that concern out of the way, I was able on rewatch to focus on and appreciate the characters themselves. With her "home" of Tapioca City destroyed, Omega's courageous journey of compassion and charity is just opening up. In lieu of the Pull List, I express my utter glee at today's breaking news about Charles Soule's new Crimson Reign comic run, as well as my excitement from yesterday's gripping Star Wars: Visions trailer. I highly recommend you watch the Japanese version with English subtitles. Thanks for listening, and MTFBWY! Twitter       @FCSA99 Instagram  @FCSA1999 Facebook  (go here)

Jonathan Majors' "Kang who Remains" may be eating the apple, but the institutions we all live under have their limits and try to exceed them. Kang's reasons for creating the TVA got me thinking of the Social Contract Tradition and its supposed "state of nature"-how it relates to and contrasts with the Scriptural narrative of Creation, Fall and Redemption on a Personal-Is-Political scale. For the Pull List I discuss the non-linear storytelling of War of the Bounty Hunters and what it might be setting up. Thanks for listening, and MTFBWY. New Social Media accounts! Twitter       @FCSA99 Instagram  @FCSA1999 Facebook  (go here)

Back in Ontario but still at a lake, I'm joined by some friends for a fully-vaccinated and fully-clothed look at the High Republic and its third wave announced at SDCC@home. Lending their voices and perspectives are Din of F-105, Dominic of the Star Wars Underworld and Patrick of Beskar Guitar, as well as the wonderful bustle of Kew Beach in Toronto. Check out the SDCC@home panel here. Dom also hosted us on Pod Force 99 for a great conversation on the latest Bad Batch episode, which you can listen to here. Thanks for listening, and MTFBWY. Din on Twitter         @f105music Dom on Twitter       @theSWU  @DominicJ25 Patrick on YouTube Beskar Guitar Feel free to comment, share and follow: Twitter     @neug485 Instagram @mneug1138 Blog         luminous-beings.com

My commentary on Cavan Scott's The Rising Storm continues with a trio of character reflections on senior Jedi in the novel. Longtime friends Elzar Mann and Stellan Gios seem to be on converging paths in their relationship to the Order. Loden Greatstorm was teased as a major character in the early part of High Republic, but his journey has gone in a different direction. Also I bring back the pull list with Doctor Aphra #12 and War of the Bounty Hunters #2, which shows the same events from different points of view! Thanks for listening. For Light and Life! Twitter         @neug485 Instagram     @mneug1138 Church blog  luminous-beings.com

FCSA is back to its High Republic ways with a look at Cavan Scott's The Rising Storm. I contrast the Valo attack with the Hetzal Disaster, and then go into this book's take on a standing army for the whole galaxy. I begin with some brief, non-spoilery thoughts on this morning's Bad Batch episode. Thanks for listening. For Light and Life! Twitter         @neug485 Instagram     @mneug1138 Church blog  luminous-beings.com

The rust of Bracca, and Crosshair's breathing apparatus. Unlike Omega, my own view was quite nice. Twitter         @neug485 Instagram     @mneug1138 Church blog  luminous-beings.com

I'm taking this outside! Where you can hear the grandeur of wind and birds, alongside my thoughts on Mobius' eschatology and the show's potential reflection on global warming. I mention Thomas Aquinas again. Thanks for listening, and MTFBWY Twitter         @neug485 Instagram     @mneug1138 Church blog  luminous-beings.com

Introducing the month of Sasky Summer Shorts with my reaction to that incredible Loki premiere, as well as today's moving Bad Batch episode. Spoilers abound, as does Hauerwas. Thanks for listening, and MTFBWY Twitter         @neug485 Instagram     @mneug1138 Church blog  luminous-beings.com

This week I reflect on the first arc of Cavan Scott's High Republic comic run. Building off its (ironic?) title, I explore the ways that Keeve, Sskeer and the Jedi Order as a whole are confronted with the fears emerging from new Dark Side threats: the threat of the Drengir to be sure, but especially the threats within themselves. For the Pull List segment in this comics-focused episode, I discuss the fact that Solo 2 probably isn't happening, at least for now. Ok I mainly go into War of the Bounty Hunters #1 and its incredible character reveal. Thanks for listening, and MTFBWY Twitter         @neug485 Instagram     @mneug1138 Church blog  luminous-beings.com Show art from the cover of High Republic #5 by Phil Noto.

This week we're back aboard the High Republic Hype Train with a question rooted in real-world history. When does the High Republic Era begin and end? How do we know when any "era" begins and ends? I look at signifiers, signposts of what we now call the "Modern era" of western history, when we know it had begun and can say that it ended: the Reformation, Revolution, World War and Great Depression. In-universe, I point to the 19th and 20th Lost Masters as potential signposts of the Jedi at their height and rapid decline. Is the term "High Republic" as lofty as it seems? The pull list goes into the War of the Bounty Hunters preludes for Vader and Aphra, and some thoughts on the crossover event and storytelling in general. The discussion on the High Republic Era was prompted by an episode of the Star Wars Underworld, which you can listen to here (especially around the 1:08 and 1:16 marks). It expands on a twitter thread I wrote in response to that episode, which begins here. Thanks for listening, and MTFBWY Twitter         @neug485 Instagram     @mneug1138 Church blog  luminous-beings.com Show art is from the cover of Star Wars: The High Republic #3, art by Phil Noto.

This week I'm joined by Din of F-105 to talk about his new album, F-105 II Side B, the wonderful song Outer Space/Coming Home, his vocation as an artist and his perspectives on our own universe and the Galaxy Far, Far Away. It's an in-depth conversation the gets to the heart of FCSA's mission of fandom in dialogue. For the Pull List, I continue with the latest chapter in the War of the Bounty Hunters, which picks up Beilert's journey in Bounty Hunters #12. Thanks for listening, and MTFBWY F-105 II Side B: Spotify; Apple Twitter:             @f105music Website:           skysinger.wixsite.com/f105 Follow me: Twitter:            @neug485 Instagram:       @mneug1138 Church blog:    luminous-beings.com Episode art photo by Din.

I love the Bad Batch! I really do, especially since it's taking the time to explore character growth, even as the "plot" or "mission" is moving slowly. It represents the way we're now in an era of "slow burn" television storytelling that aims for a satisfying experience whether you watch it weekly or binge it over a weekend. Either way, the focus is on character as the most important aspect *of* plot, rather than something that incidentally happens *through* plot. It's a challenge to contemporary audiences used to edge-of-your-seat continuous shows of the 2000s, but ultimately a rewarding one. Picard, WandaVision and The Last Jedi before it, and now the Bad Batch with Hunter and Omega at the heart of the story. For the pull list, I go into the first two issues of The War of the Bounty Hunters. It's Fett-tacular! Oh and clearly, I have Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022 on the brain. Only a year to go! Thanks for listening, and MTFBWY Twitter  @neug485 Instagram   @mneug1138 Churchy blog    luminous-beings.com