For those who have followed this page for a while, I posted several months ago about rewatching Star Wars Rebels and inviting my 6 and 4-year old kids to watch it for the first time. You can go back and check out that post here. In that post I promised to come back after we had finished watching the show and post some wrap up thoughts from both myself and my kids.

So here we are, on Thanksgiving night, two months removed from actually finishing the show, and ready to fire off some thoughts about all four seasons of Star Wars Rebels.

Disclaimers: 1) There will be spoilers for events at the end of the show in this post. Stop now and go watch the show before you continue further. 2) If you are one of those Star Wars fans who rides their high and mighty horse of only wanting Star Wars that is dark, gritty, cynical, and adult, step down off that high horse and go watch this show, or any kid-friendly show for that matter. It will do your heart some good. On to Star Wars Rebels.

When we first finished the show, I had three questions for both of my kids: What did you think? Who were your favorite characters? What story arc did you like best? I worded that last one slightly differently for them, but that was the gist.

6-year-old son's response: It was good. I liked it. Ezra, Chopper, and Zeb. The one where Ezra goes on a mission.

4-year-old daughter's response: It was good. I liked it (she likes to parrot her brother). The girls. When the one girl flies her ship.

Honestly, I was hoping for a little more to go on than the answers they gave, and I would probably say I was a little disappointed by their answers. I was hoping for something really cool or blogworthy to come out of their mouths, but the above answers were all I got. Disappointed, I moved on to whatever they wanted to do next, but the back of my mind kept chewing on their answers. Later that evening, it hit me. Their answers perfectly reflected the success and power of the show. My 6-year-old son, who is very 6-year-old boy right now, latched onto the characters who were aimed at young boys. Fart jokes, slapstick humor, and cheap laughs. My daughter latched onto the female characters, who were clearly aimed toward the female audience of the show and were written to be strong, independent and well-rounded women. I would be proud for my daughter to claim Sabine or Hera as a role model. Thank you to the creators of Rebels for two excellent female characters!

The simple answers that my kids nonchalantly tossed out helped me realize the simple premise of the show and why it works. The Ghost crew contains characters who represent all ages, genders, and phases of life and connects with them at their level. My kids are not going to grasp the bigger themes of the show, but they know the characters are entertaining and fun to watch and maybe even a little like them sometimes.

Which leads me to my own final thoughts. Perhaps my initial disappointment with my kids' answers came from my hope that they would have a deep connection to the themes and the mythology of the show, just as I do. This rewatch experience solidified what the show really means to me. Rebels is about family. Perhaps no character better illustrates that for me than the Jedi Kanan Jarrus. When I first watched the show as it aired, I had lost three of my grandparents in the span of three years and Kanan's death near the end of Season 4 hit me hard. I remember sitting in the basement of my house and bawling over the death of an animated character, yet knowing it was somehow connected to the grief of losing my grandparents. This time around, the same scene hit me no less hard but in a different way. As I watched Kanan sacrifice himself again, my thoughts turned to my own role as a more experienced father who would do anything for my children and the tears started to flow again. Same scene, two different times, two different family-based reactions. I don't know how this show could connect with me any more directly.

It took me a few words to get there, but I think I'm ready to answer my own questions about Star Wars Rebels:
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I loved it and will always love it. Kanan. The one where Kanan dies, even though it hurts me every time.



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Now that I have spent time sharing my thoughts on all of the Star Wars movies, I thought it might be fun to share my definitive (as of 2020) ranking of all the Star Wars films.

A couple of caveats:
a) Often times this list can change depending on stage of life, mood, etc. I am trying to stick with my most common rankings.
b) This list is based on my own feelings, which include nostalgia and emotional connection. If I had to rank the movies based on the quality of the film, the list would probably look significantly different.

Here we go, starting with my least favorite and working up the ladder.

11. Attack of the Clones - While the action sequences in this movie are great and Ewan MacGregor is a highlight, the romance is forced and the excessive CG make it feel more like a video game.

10. The Phantom Menace - This movie does an excellent job of visualizing a different period in the history of the galaxy and a lot of the CG and miniature work holds up well, but the pacing and clunky acting often hold this movie back. Also, I still love the pod race scene.

9. Revenge of the Sith - I considered moving this one a little higher, but the clunky dialog and still undeveloped characters kept it toward the bottom. The lightsaber fight, however, is one of the best in the series and the second half of the movie is the right amount of dark, tense, and tragic.

8. The Rise of Skywalker - It may be too soon to definitively rank this movie since I have only seen it twice, but the plot makes too many weird choices and does not give its characters enough room to breathe. On the flip side, I do love the new characters and felt their storylines concluded in a satisfactory way.

7. Solo - This movie gets an unnecessary bad rap, but it was a ton of fun and introduced a lot of new great characters. If you can get past a new actor playing Han Solo, everyone clearly enjoyed making this movie, and it is pure fun to watch.

6. Rogue One - Many people say this is the best of the Disney Star Wars movies, and I love this movie, but the beginning feels a little hectic. Once it gets going, about 30 minutes into the movie, it really clicks. I am afraid, however, that the CG Tarkin will not age well.

5. The Last Jedi - Like many, I came out of the theater a little dumbstruck after this movie. Nothing progressed as I expected, but I knew right away that I liked it. The more I watch and think about this movie, the more I like it. The way it handles deconstruction and reconstruction, as well as greater spiritual issues is emotional and powerful.

4. The Force Awakens - This movie was the best way to resurrect a franchise. The new characters were fresh and incredibly likable, the story was tight and engaging, and a whole new generation of girls were drawn into the franchise. The plot was definitely familiar, but I was able to forgive it thanks to the great new characters.

3. A New Hope - The first time anyone ever saw X-Wings, lightsabers, Jedi, Darth Vader, and the Millennium Falcon is hard to keep off the top of the list, but at this point I have to appeal primarily to emotional connection. While this movie is incredible and occasionally spends time in the number one slot, the next two have more emotional connections to barely beat it out.

2. The Empire Strikes Back - Twenty years ago, I would have been shocked to see this one so high on my list. Until the prequels, it was my least favorite Star Wars movie. As I have matured, I have become more familiar with the trials the characters experience and view the darkness of the plot with much more understanding.
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1. Return of the Jedi - While not the best film of the originals, I have the most positive memories wrapped up in this movie. Luke's green lightsaber moment, speeder bikes through the forest of Endor, and the biggest space battle I had ever seen sum up what Star Wars means for me. I think any future movie will have a hard time dethroning this one!

Massive amounts of virtual ink have been spilled in thinkpieces about this movie. It's merits or lack of any merit have been debated ad nauseam two years and counting. You either love it or hate it with very little middle ground. What movie is up this week? The Last Jedi, of course!

A few thoughts:
-I land on the side of thoroughly enjoying this movie, although I do not believe it is perfect by any means.
-The story of Luke is an excellently posed study on religious deconstruction and reconstruction. Thanks to a combination of trauma, a lack of original understanding, and forces outside his control we meet Luke at the darkest point of his religious deconstruction. Everything about the Jedi seems trite and a joke. For anyone who has done any amount of religious deconstruction, Luke should be painfully familiar. Then, however, forces outside of his control and a challenging relationship set him on a journey to reconstruction with a new and better understanding of his religion. We need more stories like this in our modern mythology. People like to get stuck in deconstruction, but deconstruction becomes meaningless if it does not lead to a reconstruction. Luke was a compelling archetype of this journey.
-I am not a professional editor, but the movie felt just a smidge too long. I could not tell you where it needed some edits, but I just got the general feeling.
-Poe's storyline was a little grating to me on my first viewing, but I understood more of the nuance the next few viewings. He was easy to like in The Force Awakens, but he got precisely what he needed in The Last Jedi. His attitude toward his own abilities was definitely toxic, and he needed to fail and be left out to understand the greater cause to which he was dedicated. Outside of the Luke-Rey-Kylo dynamic, this movie was about Poe's journey.
-Finn felt like an afterthought for much of the movie, which is a bummer, because he was amazing in The Force Awakens. I actually thought he was going to ram the laser at the end, and I was both sad but also glad that he finally got to do something meaningful. Then, he didn't do it, so he lives on to hopefully be awesome in The Rise of Skywalker.

A few memories:
-It feels a little strange to talk about memories of a movie that only came out 2 years ago, but there are a few things I will forever associate with it.
-I remember live streaming the first trailer reveal from Star Wars Celebration while at the park with my kids. The line about the Jedi needing to end was shocking and cause for much speculation.
-Leaving the theater after this movie was the first time in a long time that our usual group felt kind of mixed. There was not the usual fist-bumping, high-fiving euphoria; rather, a few of us were pretty excited, and you could tell the others did not want to rain on the parade.
-I am still trying to figure out what makes people take such strong sides over this movie. I would love to do a data study on people's The Last Jedi opinions to see if there is common overlap in certain worldviews or cultural factors that match with opinions about the movie. You know, in all that free time...

It is difficult to talk about the legacy of a movie that is part of an unfinished story. Sometimes I wonder if this is how people felt in the years between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi since I was not privileged to be around then. In about four days, I can give you an answer, or at least the first answer that will continue to grow and evolve as I add the ninth and final Skywalker movie to my Star Wars story.

We have reached the first movie in the new era of Star Wars. The Force Awakens was a massive box office hit and climbed the charts with amazing speed. Everyone saw this movie and then saw it again. The hype was beyond anything I have witnessed, and for most people, it really lived up. I saw it in the theater about 4 times if that is any indication of how much I enjoyed it. Four years later, here are a few thoughts I want to share.

A few thoughts:
-I noticed for the first time while watching this movie that the beginning is very intentional to share familiar images that are slightly different, as a way to quickly introduce viewers to a new world. The first three shots are the point of a Star Destroyer with a slightly different nose, Stormtroopers with new armor design, and a droid that has a familiar head but very different body. All of these images are classic Star Wars and serve as a quick introduction to the new state of the universe.
-As I was searching for screencaps, I noticed how quickly everything moves compared to the original trilogy. I would have to scroll through multiple pages of screencaps to find a new scene, whereas with The Force Awakens I scrolled through 1-2 pages at the most. I think this is probably a symptom of the modern style of filmmaking.
-The new characters are the glue that makes this movie work. I know a lot of people complain about the lack of OT characters getting together, but I firmly believe these movies are about the new characters, while the classic characters play supporting roles. I am ok with that, because the chemistry between the characters is excellent.
-One of my favorite scenes in all of Star Wars is the X-Wings skimming across the water on Takodana. The visual combined with the music gives me chills every time.

A few memories:
-I remember when the initial teaser came out the day after Thanksgiving 2014. I got massive chills and then promptly got sick for the next two days. I'm not saying the trailer shut down my body, but I'm also not saying it did not....
-This movie came out when not all theaters were offering reserved seats, so we had to get in line several hours early for the midnight show. We had a great time waiting in line, and I would not take back that time in any way.
-The merchandise drop was another memorable part of the experience. I went to Target immediately after school and picked up Kylo Ren and Rey figures. I was also envious of everyone who got the remote BB-8. Never fear, I got one for Christmas a couple years later.

The Force Awakens was an international sensation, and I am glad I was alive to see it. The movie was only part of the massive hype surrounding the return of Star Wars to theaters, and everyone got caught up in it. Next, I look at the most divisive movie in Star Wars history. Just over a week away from The Rise of Skywalker!