You can read Ron's recaps of The Mandalorian season two on Show Snob.
Ron: Welcome to a new episode of Stereo Geeks! We’re talking about what we've been busy with this month. I'm Ron.
Mon: And I'm Mon. This episode will have instances of spoilers. Don’t worry; we’ll flag those before we start.
Ron: One of the books that I’ve been waiting to read is EK Johnston's Ahsoka. After being on the library waiting list for absolute ages, I finally got my hands on it. It’s a great read!
Mon: Yeah, I was able to listen to the audiobook, as well. It's read by Ashley Eckstein, who voices Ahsoka on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. So, that definitely brought a feeling of being part of Ahsoka’s story, as an extension of what we've seen before. This book takes place soon after the events of order 66. Ahsoka has escaped—we know that Rex is also alive—but she's basically on the run and in hiding.
Ron: I like that it's a very self-contained story. It takes place over a short period of time, so you don't feel like you're losing track of what's happening and the people that she's meeting. She's basically pretty much on two planets, and the characters that we meet recur throughout the plot. And they all have some kind of direct connection to Ahsoka. What I also enjoyed was the fact that, just because the Empire had taken control didn't mean that the vestiges of the New Republic just disappeared. So Ahsoka meets people who are Force-sensitive. She meets people who have connections to the New Republic. At the same time, she's constantly thinking back to her life before, not just as a member of the Republic, but also as a Jedi. When we see her in Clone Wars season seven, she's no longer a Jedi. She's been gone for a while now.
And what's fun is with stories like these, and the expanded universe of the Star Wars world, is that you already know how these characters came about their abilities, their skills, their relationships with people. But you get to see them try out new things and grow even more. This book does put Ahsoka outside her comfort zone and she learns from it.
Mon: The thing about this book is, it's very action heavy, you know. But in Johnston's other books that we’ve read, Queen’s Peril, and Queen’s Shadow, those are quite cerebral, along with having some action, as well as driving the major plots. With this book, I felt like she leaned in far more heavily to the action, and to Ahsoka’s backstory, rather than Ahsoka’s thought processes. We intuit how Ahsoka is feeling through the flashbacks that we are reading about. So, I felt like I wasn't that connected to Ahsoka at some points. But you're so swept up in the action, in the good that she's trying to do in this world that doesn't really make sense to her, that I think that's something that you can forget about.
Ron: That's interesting. I really felt like I understood what Ahsoka was doing and where she was coming from, with everything that she had to do to survive. And she has to make some really difficult choices here, which we know that Ahsoka has had to do in the past, as well. But what I liked about it was that Ahsoka, being basically a padawan from the wars, she had a very different mindset. And now, she has to be basically not in war-mode. It is great to see how a person can switch their personality, and their reflexes, because the situation demands it.
Mon: That's a nice observation. I feel like there's far more passion in how Johnson writes Queen Amidala than there is in how she relates to Ahsoka.
Ron: Interesting. I didn't see it like that, but I can understand that point of view. I think Johnston does really love the female characters of the Star Wars universe. As somebody who follows her online, she talks about them so often, and she really, really wants to expand the universe around them.
I got Queen’s Shadow-vibes from this book, in the sense that, if EK Johnston had been given the option to write a sequel, and I don't know whether she will be able to eventually, I think we’d get a lot more of Ahsoka’s personality and her inner thoughts in a sequel.
Mon: What I found interesting is that this book seems to have been written before the finales of Star Wars: Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Yet the writers of Clone Wars seem to have leveraged some of the content in this book to conclude Ahsoka’s story. So, I found myself constantly wondering, hey, is that what happened? Is that really true? But, you know, it's just how the book and TV universes panned out. So, I don't think you need to get too involved in that, but you might find yourself, especially if you read this book after watching the finale, is that something doesn't add up.
Ron: So, what I understand from when we saw EK Johnston at the Toronto Fan Expo, she did say that when she writes certain things, she has to get back to the Disney higher-ups and find out whether she can use particular characters, whether she can send somebody off on a particular mission. I think they probably had a lot of input into the direction of this story, and how it played into the finale of Clone Wars.
Mon: Cool. That's interesting. But I really enjoyed this book.
Ron: This year has been great for Ahsoka content. We saw her in Clone Wars season seven, we saw her in The Mandalorian, and we finally managed to get this book, so it's been great getting to know my new favorite character.
Mon: Let's move on to something that we recently watched. A highly talked-about, highly-anticipated film from 2020 was Christopher Nolan's Tenet. This cerebral thriller-crime-drama-heist stars john David Washington as our lead. He is supported by Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, and Kenneth Branagh. Now, what is this film about? It's about time.
Ron: Or is it?
Mon: There is no doubt that Christopher Nolan has amazing ideas. He also has great visual style, and visual storytelling ability. You will be immersed in his films, irrespective of whether you understand them or not. But, at the end of the day, you still need to understand them. And with Tenet, you don’t.
Ron: I think my main issue with this film isn't so much that I didn't understand it. You and I definitely enjoyed the concept of it. The time-reversal gimmick that was used for this film, I really liked it. Of course, the way it was shot and actually presented to us was quite mind-boggling. The setup for the shots must have been absolutely manic to put together. So, seeing them was quite the experience and I can understand why Nolan pushed for it to be shown in the theaters. Because watching those scenes on a big screen would have been quite amazing. I don't think watching it at home took away anything from the experience. But I didn't like the editing of this film, which I feel like I've never thought of when I'm watching a Christopher Nolan film. We've seen a lot of his stuff; the editing is always really tight. It flows really nicely. This one, it just didn't.
Mon: What I found with this film is that it has a lot of exposition. Now one thing is, we know that Christopher Nolan, he'll put exposition in all his films. But they're always interesting. It's not like they're slowing things down. In this film, I felt like the exposition seemed to be happening every other scene. And so, we were building on this universe, we are building on the mechanics of this universe, and the mechanics of the gimmick, every time the plot needed to be moved forward. The exposition was basically a plot device where, instead of adding layers to the storytelling, it only convoluted the storytelling.
Ron: And it was like, every scene we were almost learning something new. Which I could have understood if the protagonist was taking as much time as we were to understand what was happening. But he seemed to be figuring it out, whereas the audience was just like, hang on, I need some more time to understand how this exactly is working. If you look at Nolan's other films, like Inception, Interstellar, these films needed a lot of exposition. But the way that they were overlaid over action made it feel like you were learning something while it was happening. I don't know why this film, which needed that strategy, didn't use it.
But I think the main issue that I had was the ending. The setup was fairly good. We had a pretty good understanding of how Tenet worked. But that last act became confusing, because everyone was wearing a similar uniform. There were signifiers to differentiate them, but I don't think they were strong enough or visually powerful enough for us to actually make that out. So, I ended up feeling confused and it ends up feeling a bit boring.
Mon: I blanked during most of the action sequences in this film, which I've probably never said about any film before. And for me, the problem is that the stakes weren't written out properly. We're told that, basically, someone has their hands on a powerful weapon that could destroy the world. But the stakes for our protagonist is to save this woman that he's just met. And I don't know why we have this dichotomy. It also really annoys me that we have this one integral female character, and she's in an abusive relationship. And the problem is Elizabeth Debicki seems to be cast in these roles time and time again. It's tedious.
Ron: I've seen a lot of Debicki’s work. She is really, really good at what she does. The fact that I've seen, now two roles back to back where she's played a similar character, is very irritating. She deserves way better roles. She's got fantastic talents and this film just doesn't do right by her.
Mon: I just don't understand why that entire subplot was even in the film. We don't necessarily have to have female characters in a movie if you're going to write them badly, or write them stereotypically. Which is exactly what happens in this movie. Instead, we have an arms dealer who was a much more interesting character, and she could have stayed as the supporting character just the way she was. Nobody wouldn't mind it. We would not have missed the fact that you have a poor, battered wife on the side.
Ron: Shoutout to Bollywood legend Dimple Kapadia. I was thrilled to see her. I would honestly see half a movie of just her. She was so good!
Mon: It is heavily implied that there is a central relationship that has instigated the current proceedings. Yet, that relationship is not built up at all. It felt so much like Terminator: Dark Fate. And if you've seen that film, you will understand exactly what I mean. I just feel like this entire film was backwards. Which is funny considering it's about reverse-time.
Ron: You know what this film really needed? It needed to be a television series. I can easily see how the four or five different elements of Tenet could actually become a season in their own. Or otherwise this film should have been a trilogy. It packs in so much, tries to explain so much, that you can't actually enjoy it. And I can understand doing all that to make it more rewatchable, so that we have a little bit more information, we know what to look out for a second time around, but it felt too much of a slog for me to want to go back to it. Which is not how I feel about Nolan's films. We've seen the Dark Knight trilogy, I don't even know how many times. We've seen Inception, god knows how many times. Even Interstellar, I’ve gone back to that film so many times. This one, I don't feel like it.
Mon: Yeah, I definitely don't feel like it, mostly because of the subplot. Which is a complete shame because the actors really give their all. John David Washington is so charming. The only thing is, his performance feels like it should belong in a different film. He's got this swagger and this charm going on, whereas everybody else is so earnest, and I just don't know if that's because his character is out of his depth and doesn't belong in this world, or if it's because he just is that way.
Ron: There's a level of intensity in the majority of the cast that is not there in the protagonist, but it kind of makes sense in a way because he's an audience stand-in. He's a bit like the Elliot Page character in Inception. So, in that sense it works.
I guess I feel like sometime in the future, I may want to watch this film again. But unlike Nolan's other films, which I really enjoyed and I couldn't wait to see them for a second or third time, this one will be more for research.
Mon: Yes, it's going to be a very academic reason that makes me sit down and watch this film again. Moving on to more fun stuff.
Ron: So, the Doctor Who: New Year's Special was a great way to cap off our New Year's Day for 2021. It's been a while since we saw the Doctor, so getting back to her and her wonderful companions, Yaz, Ryan, and Graham, was great. Of course, we did leave the Doctor in a very precarious situation so we were desperate to find out what had happened to her. I loved it!
Mon: You would say that.
Ron: Anything with the Daleks is cool. Of course, we need to also mention the fact that we're not huge Doctor Who fans. We really only started watching Doctor Who regularly because of Jodie Whitakers’ Doctor. And the fact that she has a very diverse group of companions. But yes, we've really enjoyed all the episodes so far. They're very UK, which is different from the American TV shows that we're used to. But I like the direction these stories have gone, and I really like Jodie Whitaker's Doctor. She is so sweet, and she's funny, and she's so quirky. I used to find the Doctors’ eccentricities a bit too much. The few episodes that I've seen of Eccleston, Tennant, Smith, and Capaldi, they were nice, I guess, but it’s not for me. Whitaker is much more fun. I really enjoy spending time with her.
Mon: What I like most about the new Doctor is that she has this great rapport with her fam. And, you know, you just return to meet your friends every time the show returns. And I think we knew we were in for quite a ride in this one-and-a-half-hour special, and it definitely didn't disappoint. We even have Captain Jack back. John Barrowman was obviously very excited to play the character again and he brings his A-game here. He's fun. He's fantastic, but he's also like a dad figure?
Ron: Yeah, he has definitely taken on the mentor role now. Having the experience that he has with the previous Doctors, and now with another Doctor, so for him, he's showing the way for other companions.
Mon: Yeah, I really thought that he had this easy chemistry with all the characters and didn't sort of push his more eccentric side, which is great. And also, Captain Jack wasn't like, stealing the limelight from the Doctor, which is something that I always worry about every time a known male character steps in to a property which now has a female protagonist. But we didn't have to worry about that.
Ron: And of course, the companions themselves, Ryan, Graham and Yaz, they have such great personalities that the actors stand on their own. The Doctor has been part of this whole new journey for them, and she's helped them see things differently, understand the world differently. So, even if they're not always going to be a part of the show, I think they're going to be memorable for a Doctor Who fans.
Mon: Yeah, I hope so. They were just so different. And also, the fact that you know with Graham and Ryan, having that familiar relationship, it sort of changed how the Doctor also worked. And how Graham being a grandfather basically brings Yaz into the fold, as well. There is a reason why they call themselves ‘fam’, because they feel like a family.
Ron: Yeah. Let's go into spoiler territory for a little while here. By the end of the episode, we know that Ryan and Graham are leaving. We had an inkling as to Ryan's intentions from probably the end of last season. He has wanted to stay back, help his friends, help people around him. So, I guess this was always going to be on the cards. On the other hand, despite all the craziness that comes with being a Doctor's companion, Graham was really looking forward to more adventures. And I think it’s really sweet that he realizes that since Ryan is going to stay back, that he should also spend time with him. They are very connected by the fact that Graham's wife, Ryan’s grandma, died on their first mission with the doctor, and that kind of did bring them together. So, it's gonna be really empty in the TARDIS without them, but I like that they're spending more time together.
Mon: I’m glad we were forewarned that these two weren't coming back, because, as much as I hate spoilers, I don't think I would have liked that ending that much if I hadn't known in advance. Because honestly, the family has such a great dynamic; breaking them up is super hard.
Ron: It's definitely going to be very difficult to move on without the two of them because their chemistry with each other, with the Doctor—Ryan and Yaz have been good friends—and a lot of people thought that there would be more to that story, as well. Them not being together anymore is going to be very difficult.
I think a lot of people are hoping that there's going to be a Ryan-Graham spinoff, which is very sweet, but I don't think that's possible. Tosin Cole is going to be playing another lead in a show, so there's definitely not going to be time for him to do a spin-off alongside the other role. And Bradley Walsh has a lot of issues with the amount of time taken to shoot these Doctor Who episodes, the shooting schedule is a grueling task. So, I'm not surprised that he's left the show. We do get an inkling of them maybe helping with some extraterrestrial stuff happening on Earth. But the way the last scene played out, maybe they’ll keep an eye on things, but they're going to prioritize each other.
Mon: Yeah, I thought that was sweet. At the end of the day, they’re just gonna make up for lost time and being with the Doctor made them realize that they can.
Ron: From the little bits that I've seen and read, the Doctor does leave an impression on the people that they meet, and for some people, their lives are completely changed. But I kind of liked the fact that for Ryan and Graham, they're just going back to their life, but as more enriched people. Everything doesn't need to change around you because of one experience.
Mon: Yeah. Also, I feel like one of the foreshadowed scenes was that Captain Jack talks about how the Doctor leaves you and you don't leave the Doctor. But that's exactly the opposite of what Graham and Ryan do, and I really appreciate that. Because first of all, storytelling-wise, you're sort of afraid of what's going to happen. But secondly, this is showing that this is a different kind of Doctor. She doesn't kick up a fuss when they say goodbye. She walks away, and she's just telling them that, at the end of the day, they still have time.
Ron: Yeah, I don't know how the previous Doctors lost their companions. But I know that some of them, from what we hear from this episode, Jack does tell us that Rose ended up in an alternate universe somewhere and she’s trapped. That's not great. I'm much happier with this ending for Ryan and Graham. They’re just happily biking in the middle of nowhere, in this beautiful green land. Please do that! And for Yaz, I'm really excited for her to continue her adventures with the Doctor. There's a lot of chemistry going on there, she had a really strong reaction to the Doctor returning after 10 months, pretending like nothing had happened. In the Doctor’s defense, the TARDIS time circuits are a bit off, so she was trying to come back a few minutes later and she ended up 10 months later. But Yaz is very protective of the doctor, but she also needs more from her. I'm interested to see how that relationship goes.
Mon: I like how they subverted the usual trope of men being obsessive about something. But here it's Yaz, and for 10 months, she's been obsessively trying to figure out what happened to the Doctor. And Graham was trying to reassure her by saying the Doctor probably died, which is why she left them. [Laughs] I think that's just so funny.
Ron: I also love the fact that Yaz is being so obsessive about this whole thing, I understand why, because, you know, it's an adventure, and the Doctor is their friend. But I love the fact that Ryan and Graham are like, going along with it. They're not trying to dissuade her or anything, they're just doing what she's asking them to do because they want to help find out, as well.
But we do know that there's going to be a new companion joining next season, which apparently is going to happen this year. John Bishop is a British comedian, we've seen him in some places, but I'm not quite sure how he's gonna fit into this particular show. We have had comedians before and Graham himself was very funny,
Mon: But yeah, someone who is intentionally comedic? Let's see. I think it's just gonna take us some time to get used to the new dynamic with a new character. Hopefully they do right by not only him but definitely the Doctor and Yaz.
Ron: Yes, I think a lot of people just want to see the Doc and Yaz travel through space and time, so I don't know how exactly he's going to fit into that. I hope he doesn’t take anything away from them and I hope he's not going to be added as a love interest for either.
Mon: Or worse, some kind of negative foil for the two characters, who's like, always negating everything they do.
Ron: Yeah. I don't know. I am a little bit worried but I'm hoping for the best. Doctor Who: New Year’s Special spoilers end here.
Mon: So, one of the books that I was excited to get my hands on this year was Why Wakanda Matters: What Black Panther Reveals About Psychology, Identity, and Communication. This is a collection of essays edited by Sheena C. Howard, she also contributes one of the essays herself.
These essays, basically, look at the cultural and social impact of the film, especially on African-American communities through a varied lens. So, you have essays which discuss the psychological impact of this film, they assess how the social dynamics of the film reflect reality. They also talk about other factors which affect Black people's lives, especially in the US, which is intergenerational trauma, systemic racism. There's a lot going on in this book, it's quite heavy reading, but it's not difficult to get through.
It should come as a surprise to anybody that this film has captured the imagination of so many people, and it's not just Black people, it's people of color around the world. And, I've not come across a film which has driven people to write about it and its influence on communities around the world.
You know, we talk about films mostly in the film realm, and how it's a cultural or storytelling phenomenon, but Black Panther really goes far beyond that. You learn so much about the culture of people in America just by reading this book, there's so much stuff that you do not know about a community because you're not part of it, and you know, here, they really talk about it as, this is life, this is why this movie is important, because it reflects this aspect of life.
The book starts off with a foreword by Black Panther art director Phillip Boutté Jr. He was a child actor till he realized that he wasn't going to get the roles that he wanted, as he grew older. Thankfully, he's still in the film business, and he's worked on amazing films, including Black Panther, and Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time. His foreword, I think really gives you a feel of what this book is going to be about.
You know, sometimes when I read forewords, I always feel like they're so invasive and it's like a pat on the back for the person, but Boutté Jr.’s foreword is almost like an essay in itself—it's a manifesto and it's so powerful, and I guess it's a good starting point for the rest of the book.
So, I won't go into each and every essay, you're going to have your favorites, some you’re going to connect with others you might just find very academically interesting. But I'll mention a couple that really stood out to me.
One of them is Evan Jones's entry, which is basically a checklist for how Black families should parent. It's hard hitting. It's really sad to read that these are the conversations that parents need to have with their children to make sure that they are protected in a world which is systemically biased. But I think that it should be integral reading for everyone.
My favorite has got to be Mercedes Samudio’s essay. She talks about how, as a young African-American girl, she was often bullied or teased for liking stuff that's white, and I guess it sort of reflects how people from other nations and other communities, when they enjoy media and entertainment which is not from their community, how people react to that and why we enjoy those things. So, as kids who grew up in a different country who always watched Hollywood and, you know, loved Star Wars and Star Trek, and having to constantly defend that, this essay really spoke to me.
There were a lot of deep dives into Erik Killmonger’s characterization. I just feel like with Killmonger, he actually isn't given that much screentime, or such a huge backstory, but when you're watching it, you understand everything. You understand why he's doing what he's doing, why he's reacting the way he is. And the way these essays break down the motivations of this character goes to show you just how well thought out this character is, even if at surface level he seems to have less screen time and less backstory than the rest. But he doesn't, as this essay collection will show you.
I was just so enthralled by this book. You can take each essay as one reading session; you can read the whole thing together, but it might be a bit heavy on, like, just your soul. B,ut to think that academics and scholars have been captivated by this film enough to actually write essays about it, to analyze it, to critique it, it just shows you the impact of the film, and how important it is.
This book is out on February 2, 2021, I would highly recommend everyone goes out and gets it, whether you are a huge fan of Black Panther, or you just have a passing interest, get this book, check out why this film is so important to so many people, and let's look forward to the sequel.
Ron: I think it's no surprise that the two of us have been watching The Mandalorian Season 2. This season has been a lot of fun to watch. The way it's tied into the larger universe of Star Wars has been phenomenal. I think, overall, the writing was a lot sharper here. The directing was definitely better than the first season, and I really found myself enjoying almost every episode.
I think what I really loved this season was the action. The first season had some great action sequences, that's for sure. But this season, it felt so vivid, and so beautifully edited. Every time there was an action scene, I just couldn't get my eyes off the screen. So good.
I think the Mandalorian himself has softened a lot. It almost felt like they were leaning into Pedro Pascal's personality for the character. Season 1, he definitely felt more like a bad guy, but by the end obviously, you know, with his time with the child, things have changed. This season, his focus is very much on the child and getting him to his people. I really like daddy Mandalorian. He's adorable.
So, heading into spoiler territory here.
I love that we get to see Bo-Katan, Ahsoka, Cobb Vanth, of course, and that wonderful, exciting, unexpected cameo in the season finale, Luke Skywalker. Imma break it down.
Timothy Olyphant’s Cobb Vanth is the first character from the expanded universe that we get to see this season. Apart from the fact that he looks very fine, he was a really fun addition. He was wearing the Mandalorian armor—which we realized later was Boba Fett’s—but he's not really a Mandalorian, he's just using the armor to protect himself. We get it!
It made for a really good opening episode. He's funny, he's light, he makes a good contrast to the Mandalorian, who is quite serious. There was a lot of really good CGI, action, Star Wars monsters, Star Wars creatures. We got the Mandalorian conversing with the Tusken Raiders, using ASL, because one of the Tusken Raiders was being played by a deaf person who knew ASL. I thought that was great. That was such a great addition, the moment I saw it, I was like ‘this looks like ASL’. You know what, we need more stuff like that.
But aside from that, that episode also gave us our first glimpse of Boba Fett. I don't think it was much of a surprise to people that Temuera Morrison was returning as Boba Fett. He did play Jango Fett, so it was great that the universe had managed to bring him back again.
The fact that he's gonna be getting a spinoff series of his own is fantastic. I've always thought Boba Fett was a bit overrated. I never understood the appeal; we barely saw him on screen actually. But the version that Temuera Morrison is bringing to us in The Mandalorian is so good. He is the actual badass that we have heard about, and he has so much personality, it's great.
And his pairing with Fennec Shand, who is a fellow mercenary, very good. Just seeing Ming-Na Wen again, I was so relieved.
Bo-Katan Kryze started off as a bad guy in The Clone Wars, but by the end of Rebels, she'd already become a very valuable member of the Alliance, and she was fighting to get Mandalore back from the Empire. Katee Sackhoff, who I figured out later on was actually voicing Bo-Katan on the animated shows, was able to play her in live-action on The Mandalorian. She was a great addition; really cool. We’ve loved her since she was Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica. She is so much fun as Amunet on The Flash. Bo-Katan is obviously a little bit more staid than those characters. After all, she is the ruler of Mandalore, but there’s still lots of personality and character there.
Mon: I think just being able to see all these incredible characters that we love in the animated shows, to bring them alive in live-action, has been fantastic. I do worry that the series is relying too heavily on other properties.
But at the same time, a lot of these characters, their stories were never concluded, so it's kind of nice to return to them and hopefully see that they do have closure in some form or the other.
Ron: I definitely agree with that. We all felt like the Rebels characters didn't get the ending that they deserved; it kind of just finished. So yeah, being able to see characters from those animated shows is great. Ahsoka did have a kind of conclusion in both shows but seeing her here was a lot of fun. She had some really cool and badass fight scenes. She brought so much energy to the show. And I love the fact that, despite the Jedi pretty much becoming a myth thanks to the Emperor, there are enough people who know them that, when Mando actually does meet Ahsoka, he feels comfortable enough with her and Grogu connecting through the Force.
I'm still not 100% sold on the name Grogu.
Mon: I don't think we're gonna see Grogu. He's in safekeeping now, so Mando gets his own story now from Season Three onwards.
Ron: Wow, okay.
Mon: That's me speculating. But seriously, Grogu's gone now. His quest has ended and it's time for Mando to fight alongside Bo-Katan and get back Mandalore back.
Ron: Yeah, I would definitely like to see that. I'm assuming that Season 3 will probably have them doing that. I do hope that we can see Moff Gideon again. Giancarlo Esposito is so good.
Mon: I mean, he hasn't had much screen time and yet he's such a presence, people just love this character and it's just because of what he brings to the role.
Ron: He deserves to be seen more. I don't care if he's wielding the Darksaber or not, I need more of this character.
And we also get quite a few hints about how Moff Gideon’s work may be tied into the Emperor. So yeah, I feel like we need to go back to this particular era.
Of course, we do know that there are going to be spinoffs from the show, and I think sometimes this season felt a bit bogged down by the fact that it was basically acting as a backdoor pilot for at least two other shows—well, three shows as we found out at the end of the season finale.
I really like Mando being able to interact with other people from the universe, it gave him more of an understanding of his place in the world. Being a bounty hunter is kind of a rigid way of life for somebody who's learned as much as Mando has. I'm also wondering whether Din Djarin is actually going to be taking off his helmet more often. We did see him having to do that a couple of times this season, one time was not because he wanted to. I’m a bit disconcerted by that.
Mon: But in the finale, he voluntarily takes it off. So maybe he’s embracing a less rigid form of the Mandalorian creed that he grew up with. Because, at the end of the day, if he's going to be alongside Bo-Katan, he's going to realize that some of his beliefs and his understanding of Mandalorian lore may not be as up to date as he thought.
Ron: I think so too. I just want it to be his choice, and not thrust upon him by others.
Mon: I agree with you on that 100%.
Ron: So let's talk about that finale!
I think, when we saw the X-Wing, and the lone Jedi with a lightsaber, we kind of guessed that it would be Luke Skywalker, but I love the way they did it. There were parallels to the way he was taking out the Dark Troopers and Darth Vader's assault on the rebel troops above Scarif in Rogue One. So that was a fun little throwback that I really enjoyed. Just seeing Luke again was great.
Mon: Yeah, I think they did a great job with the CGI. I don't think they need to overuse it, and we don't need to have it in every single property, but when you're bringing this Expanded Universe in And we don't need to have you every single property. But when you're bringing this Expanded Universe in, might as just go the whole way.
And Mark Hamill seems to have been so, so happy and excited to have returned to the character. And honestly, if everybody had a great experience, and they've made the story so memorable for the fans, I am not going to complain.
Ron: Yeah, I thought that was a great way to end the season. We kind of knew that Grogu would take the path of the Jedi, we just didn't know how that was going to work out. And, it's good to know that he's going to be with somebody like Luke. Of course, knowing what happens in the future, I'm not entirely sure what Grogu’s fate is going to be.
Some people have done some calculations and it seems that Grogu may not be at the July Temple at the same time as Ben Solo. So hopefully he is alive and maybe he'll team up with Rey in the future. But for now, his fate is up in the air.
Mon: Yeah, that's the one reason why I would have expected them to have chosen a different Jedi to help Grogu in the ways of the Force, because we do know Luke's legacy. And how that affects Grogu, how that convolutes the storyline, it makes you wonder if they needed to go down that route.
But despite that, I have to say the excitement of seeing Luke was incredible.
Ron: I think all in all, this was a really great season. As a follow up to an inconsistent opening season, this was much better put together and it had these little surprising moments that made fan sit up. So yeah, I can't wait for more.
Mon: Absolutely.
Ron: Spoilers for The Mandalorian Season 2 end here.
Mon: So, we're going to end this episode with a horror story that I recently read. This book isn't out yet, but it's one of the most anticipated books of 2021. No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull is out on September 7, 2021.
This is an anthology story collection. The stories are interlinked in this world which has just suffered the Fracture. I'm not going to go into any specifics because honestly, the entire book is full of spoilers. But, in this universe, it is now inundated with monsters. And it asks the age-old question of who really is the monster, especially when you get to know who these monsters are—who these people are, what their interactions are like, ambitions, personalities—they’re real people.
And each story is, sort of, interconnected with another one, because somebody is related to somebody, somebody is somebody else's colleague, they knew each other at some point, you know, there's a lot of overlap. It's also got diverse characters, diverse genders, sexualities, it's just in there. It doesn't define who those people are, the story does.
Honestly, it's like a really cool, modern perspective on classic age-old horror stories. I guess, I would say that it can get gory at times. I'm not a gory horror fan, so for me, I was like, I don't like those. The psychological, the scary and the suspenseful ones, those stories I like more.
But more than anything, it's the fact that they really build up these characters who are not always likable, who are morally ambiguous, but they're very real. That's what really compelled me to continue reading this book.
A couple of the characters who really stand out for me are Laina and Rebecca. I really love these characters. I think they’re also featured in a lot more stories, so you really get to know them better. People like Melku and Dragon—not for me. But, hey, you know, those stories might be what you like.
This is a really immersive book. You really get swept up in this world and it's for a modern audience. It does talk about the cultural upheavals of modern society. There's an undercurrent to all the stories and I really liked that, because most often, anytime anybody who's a creator of color or from a marginalized community, their stories are always expected to be like, the voice of their community, talking about the ailings [sic] of humanity. Um, no.
This is just what happens in life. But, hey, we also got to deal with monsters. So yeah, this is a really interesting book. I highly recommend anybody who's a horror fan, especially if you’re into gore as well, you'll really be okay with this book.
If you're not you might want to skip some of the stories. For a very unique and new perspective on a classic genre, go and pick up No Gods, No Monsters.
Ron: Wow, that sounds really interesting.
What have you been busy with? We'd love to find out. Let us know.
Ron: You can find us on Twitter @Stereo_Geeks. Or send us an email [email protected]. We hope you enjoyed this episode. And see you next week!
Mon: The Stereo Geeks logo was created using Canva. The music for our podcast comes courtesy Audionautix.
[Continuum by Audionautix plays]
Transcription by Otter.ai, Ron and Mon.