This week, Fable and the Verbivore follow up our Skywalker saga episode with a more general discussion of the Star Wars universe, creators, and storytelling.

As with any of our conversations, we acknowledge that our viewpoint is far from definitive and reflects our own preconceptions, emotional baggage, and preferences. Also, Spoiler Alert for the Skywalker saga and Rogue One.

We start off by breaking free the constructs of the Sith Vs. the Jedi conflict from the concept of the balance between the Light and Dark sides of the force. They’re not really the same thing and the stories are not necessarily a good Vs. evil parallel. In fact, the Jedi are described many times in the prequels as blind and stuck in the old ways. The point being that the history of the Jedi is complicated and nuanced, which we feel adds a lot of dimension and drama to the different beliefs and experiences of the force wielders within the stories.

In this episode, we touch on the importance of subtext in dialogue, how intriguing setups also need satisfying endings, and how by having characters redefine concepts across the stories we get a more layered view of this world. We believe that the best thing about Star Wars is it means so many different things to each individual person and there is never one absolute right explanation - which means we each leave it taking away something unique.

We also talk about what characters we’d like to see more of, what stories we hope are explored in the future, and touch briefly on new additions to the cannon such as The Mandalorian as well as the upcoming Cassian Andor and Ahsoka TV series on Disney Plus.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our adventure into the world of Star Wars and may the force by with you. Always!

Keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!

Into the woods,

Fable & The Verbivore

Notes:

Fable mentioned the hero’s journey as part of this episode. Here’s a good description from Reedsy:

• Hero's Journey 101 - https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/story-structure/heros-journey/

The Verbivore consulted many resources while prepping for this episode, including the following:

• “George Lucas Tries to Explain the Real Meaning of the Star Wars Saga” - https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/george-lucas-tries-explain-real-meaning-star-wars-saga

• “Star Wars: Love is the Balance” by Wayward Jedi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEYCYL_9jl8

• “Star Wars Poetry” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7ZW1gtCljs

• “What Do We Want From a Star Wars Movie?” by Patrick (H) Willems - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeUGLUYYYNQ&list=PLK-VmT9palrRVx8KtxmPl4n_UC43uQY09&index=6

• “The Last Jedi and the 7 Basic Questions of Narrative Drama” by Just Write - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE7SkcoyVAI&list=PLK-VmT9palrRVx8KtxmPl4n_UC43uQY09&index=18

• “Rogue One vs. The Force Awakens — The Fault in Our Star Wars” by Lessons From the Screenplay - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsIQa7sH5_Y&list=PLK-VmT9palrRVx8KtxmPl4n_UC43uQY09&index=7

• “The Mystery Box - J. J. Abrams” by Ted Talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpjVgF5JDq8

The Verbivore references that the Jedi peacekeepers appear to be stagnating in the prequels and stuck in their rules to the point that they’re losing touch with the force. There are several lines that allude to their blindness and growing weakness, but the major one is where Mace Windu states in “Attack of the Clones” that their connection with the force is waning.

• “Star Wars Episode II - Attack of the Clones - Obi-Wan Kenobi reports to Yoda and Mace” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTFWEHW_REs

The Verbivore references the 1970s Star Wars Christmas Special. If you haven’t seen it, we definitely don’t recommend that you do. That’s time you can never get back. :-) But, what we do recommend is the 2020 Lego Star Wars Holiday Special on Disney Plus. https://www.disneyplus.com/movies/lego-star-wars-holiday-special/22xf1U47vVe0

The Verbivore mentions that she thinks that at the end of The Rise of Skywalker Rey’s yellow lightsaber and her overall path in the force could point to her being more like a Gray Jedi. Here is a Wookiepedia article on some of what that could mean:

• https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Gray_Jedi

Movies Mentioned:

• Star Wars: A New Hope – Directed by George Lucas

• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back – Directed by Irvin Kershner

• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – Directed by Richard Marquand

• Star Wars: The Phantom Menace – Directed by George Lucas

• Star Wars: Attack of the Clones - Directed by George Lucas

• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith - Directed by George Lucas

• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Directed by Gareth Edwards

• Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Directed by J.J. Abrams

• Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Directed by Rian Johnson

• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Directed by J.J. Abrams

• Lego Star Wars Holiday Special - Released on Disney Plus

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
’Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)