and the truth about the author of the Acolyte is that she’s an incompetent writer who focused more on over pushing a message and finding roles for her choice actors (including her own wife!) instead of story, universe, characters, plot, setting, etc.
The funniest part about the opening montage is the way that Leslie blatantly admits (and seems proud of the fact) that she got where she is in filmmaking by lying to people and saying she was any good at it and then on top of that had the audacity to state that "all men do that"
That bit actually made me angry. Like, even if she's _right_ and people coming right out of film school are given directorial positions... _at least they went to film school!_ At least they have an education in how to direct! That's not at all the same as her having _zero_ experience. So even her completely one-sided, obviously agenda-driven speech where she can lie and say whatever she wants to make her point, even that isn't internally consistent _with itself!_ What a terrible person.
And the best part is she's like, "Men go straight from film school and say they know what they're doing but they don't! WAAAGH!" ATLEAST THEY WENT TO FILM SCHOOL, LESLYE! 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ GTFO... I can't stand her nonsense that she proudly spews. I don't pretend to know how to fly a plane and then just fake it until I make it. Her ego is bigger than the Death Star that Anakin destroyed. 😂
I can't stand her or the show, but this is actually taught in film school, "take it til you make it". I went to film school, and the lesson is to take every opportunity given to you and learn as much as you can instead of waiting for another opportunity to come up later.
Using sliced up interviews to make a point is disingenuous, dishonest, and it makes this creator look like an amateur. I'm shocked so many of you don't understand that.
@@johnstarks7759 the creator of the Acolyte looks like an amateur from the product that was put on screen, I agree. The interviews provide context for why the product is so shitty.
Lucas: "I have a story, now I need to find a cast of people to tell it" Headland: "I have some people I want to put in a thing. Story? ehh just make something up"
"Finally, I can make my fanfic on the big screen with all the actors I'd mentally cast for the roles when I wrote them!" I know a lot of fanfiction writers do this sort of thing, think up who they'd want playing/voice acting the characters if it got picked up for a film. And there's nothing wrong with that, don't get me wrong! It's a fine little mental exercise to go through and if it brings people joy, that's great. _However._ If you actually get picked up for a film or TV series or whatever. You need to put aside that and do real casting. You need to actually get people to play roles based on how well they fit the role, not based on how much you like how they look or sound. This isn't some fangirling post on twitter, this is a real film with real stakes for the people involved. If you make something that gets horribly panned you can really mess up the chances of your actors. They're the single most visible parts of a film's cast for obvious reasons, people tend to take out their feelings on them in ways that cameramen and members of the prop department don't ever have to deal with. A director owes such people a certain level of respect and passion to actively make as good a work of film as possible.
@@Shenaldrac Its similar to speculating what you'd do if you won the lottery. You always have a few funny ideas, like buying a swimming pool full of (something). I dunno. Rabbits. But then you aren't actually supposed to do it. Though exercises aren't supposed to really happen.
@@Shenaldrac Plenty of screenwriters write characters for specific actors, sometimes they get them and sometimes they don't. What's weird is that Lesley seems to have written *ALL* of her characters for her friends.
The intro montage is already enough to urge a positive comment. Brilliant idea. The contrast is dire, you just let them say all of it. Impeccable. Your content is criminally underrated.
You mean it ends? There's an actual narrated script at some point? I hate these reruns I've seen all these clips before and I don't need them arranged for me to highlight the contrast.
But nah I've seen like clips that show the contrast but like Jesus Christ. The difference is fucking staggering like a drop in quality doesn't even describe what's going on. Like you'll listen to this and it sounds like George was the who had years of established shit to work with and headland was the one who was just making shit on the fly. Like headland talks like she was a random on the street that Disney pulled to make a show. No thought going through her head. Like I know I probably wouldn't be able to make anything worthwhile but if the benchmark is headland I feel like I'd be the new William Shakespeare if a large studio gave me a chance
@@fusionspace175 That arrangement clearly conveys a message (and a powerful one), if you are not inclined to receive an author's message thinking you already know everything then what exactly are you doing here? Or do you absolutely need words to convey any meaning to you? Jeez, patience and subtlety seem to become a forgotten knowledge at that point. You seem to be better off watching SWTheory then Jellyfish, I guess. Closer to your perception.
*What could’ve been:* ✅ Sith perspective story similar to Darth Plagueis or Darth Bane novels; Sith warrior and inquisitor stories from SWTOR. ✅ Mature and grounded story similar to Andor but with the mysticism of the Dark Side. In-depth look at Sith philosophy as we follow a master/apprentice two vs an entire galaxy story. ✅ Well-written Sith protagonists part of a two-person organization in a thousand-year conspiracy to upset the Galactic status-quo. ✅ New Star Wars timeline. Reality: ❌ The Acolyte…. “The power of one, the power of two. The power of many.”
When this was announced, I was legitimately excited because I appreciated the Bane trilogy and would have loved to see something similar… but no. Honestly, there seem to be a few similar beats between this story and some of Zannah’s arc, but this is just so weak.
6:22 "Look, Disney does that, the rest of us can't do that." Oh the mighty irony... Now it's the complete opposite, George does that, Disney just can't do it... Except "Andor", a f'ng miracle born most likely by Disney accidentally passing it to the right hands and having not enough interest in it to f' it up.
@@the_inquisitive_inquisitor Yes, indeed, that one is enjoyable as well. And not surprisingly, as the Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy worked on that one too. Same huge care about the source material and quality approach. But Andor feels even less Disney, like they accidentally were given all creative freedom they deserved. I hope so much this show's audience will expand. I hope we get more of that.
@@shipso6116 Andor has a very passionate fanbase. Quite frankly, y'all won't shut up about it! Lmao I might pirate it someday, but I haven't seen it yet.
@@the_inquisitive_inquisitor Well, sorry for advertisement, I guess )), but people talk about what moves them, especially if it's *that* unusual with SW shows as these days and thus vastly overlooked. Such a work of both competence and passion having the least amount of watchtime, less then ALL the Disney have produced just feels *very* unjust. That's why I personally feel like spreading the word every time I get the chance, in desperate hope to attract some well deserved attention to maybe propel it forward.
@@the_inquisitive_inquisitor It also pales in comparison to the Dark Forces storyline that told the same story in the EU. Even at their best Disney can't match the old stuff.
Plot holes aside, the script writing was so bad that you had to identify the tone or emotions by looking only at the actors. But then the acting was so bad, inconsistent and mismatched that you couldn't tell what the characters were feeling either. Complete failure of script and direction. What a disaster of a show.
That’s definitely the vibe I was picking up from the clips I’ve seen. It also might be because I’m a normie and haven’t brushed up on “the lore”, but there were also a lot of “I don’t understand why you thought this was a good idea” moments. Like killing the wookie Jedi off screen. Or hiring Amandla Steinbergh. Just weird choices everywhere.
I'd say the biggest problem was how everyone had their motivations and actions flipped every 15 minutes. It's like they got 50 writers to write the show in sequence, and none of them were allowed to see each other's work.
The fact people expect jedi to show emotions in any acting capacity is wild. The whole thing is to be emotionless so in that vein. The jedi are exactly as they should be. Flat uninteresting sticks with weapons. That's the whole point.......the show is bad in execution and writing in terms of dialouge and that makes it very hard to watch. But the representation of jedi as tools is actually in line with their characters
As a black woman writer it would make me sick to feel i got to write on The Witcher or Star wars because of my skin colour and not because of my skill.
what's even worse about all of this is that the more they give unqualified writers the keys to these franchises on the basis of what group they belong to instead of merit, the more and more people will automatically assume that diverse creators are automatically bad because of how often companies do this kind of thing.
Their idea of being diverse is the 70s andc80s trope of the token black. It is disingenuous and insulting. Leave us alone. Landon worked because he was written as an interesting character. They can't write anyone
Instead of making a mystery show that included the High Republic Jedi's gradual fall from grace due to complacency and dogmatism they made the show into a very heavy-handed allegory for police violence in America.
No, they didn't. Are you right in the head? Because this isn't an allegory for "MUH POLICE BRUTALITY". It's just a badly written show about shamelessly deconstructing the mythos.
Dogmatism isn’t a problem for the Jedi The problem was they fell into Palps trap, engaged in full scale war and found themselves turning over too much power to one person Anakin wasn’t fit for the necessary conditioning that goes with channeling but he also wasn’t honest with Yoda and Obiwan
@@KRobinson-ko1ne The Jedi were definitely supposed to be flawed. Even from the original trilogy Yoda and Kenobi are proven wrong about Vader. The entire prequels are partially about their failure to protect the republic and almost their pride and overconfidence. Anakins arc is also very much about how the Jedi were wrong about emotions. Whether you want to call it dogma or something else, there's a lot to explore here. The prequels explored it, the EU explored it, and KotOR 2 explored it incredibly well. This show however, did not. It thinks it did, but it didn't.
@@existentialselkath1264 I'm sorry, but Anakin is the POSTER CHILD for the Jedi being RIGHT about emotions. I would agree that the Jedi weren't entirely going about it in the best way possible (see Luke's EU Jedi Order for what in-universe is the best setup), but Anakin literally runs on emotions. No logic. No willingness to take a step back and think things through. No ability to notice that Palpatine has been MANIPULATING HIM the ENTIRE TIME upon realizing that Palpatine is a Sith Lord. Anyone with a brain would have been able to figure out that everything said by Palpatine before that was suspect. Not Anakin. Even when Palpatine basically admits that he fudged what he could actually do, Anakin doesn't do the logical thing and turn him into sushi. Then there's all the subsequent murder without any ability to understand that the person he's supposedly doing this for, Padme, would at best disapprove and at worst kill him where he stood if he were anyone else for being almost cartoonishly evil. How can Anakin be an example of the Jedi's way of doing things is incorrect when he REFUSES to actually do things their way and subsequently falls EXACTLY as the Jedi said someone doing that would?
@@John-fk2kyin defense of Anakin defending palpatine, he was literally groomed by the most evil and powerful sith lord in the galaxy after being taken from his home at a young age. Not defending the actions he took, but I do find it entirely believable that Anakin turned out the way he did.
This is the reason I'm a proud subscriber. Your opening montage isn't an acidic take down with a panel of like-minded guests or a sarcastic mix of out of context clips. You simply remind the viewer that George, for his faults, was an artist with a sense of the core values he wanted to convey in his film, while Leslie and her ilk are all about getting their message out with no sense of how to execute it. That could have been the video. Well done. It's a relief from the eternal same-content that discusses the modern media landscape.
The juxposition is staggering overall, but the biggest differential is the quality and quantity of motivation, and the adversity they faced Lucas pushed through a lot of resistance, built a lot of infrastructure, to satisfy an holistic artistic vision that was present before anything else happened. Leslie had some basic plot ideas and a casting list, had an entire universe and nearly unlimited resources fall into her lap. I refuse the believe this was the best director and script available to Kennedy, even as far as this franchise has fallen, this was one hundred percent Kennedy seeing herself in a young filmmaker (for better or worse) and following that emotional impulse to set millions of investor funds on fire. Given the failures that Disney corporate has already tolerated from her, we have no real reason to believe this will lead to her removal, but you figure the shareholders are going to revolt eventually and force the CEOs hand.
@@mazeofthemind560 No one has made a better argument for not putting women in positions of power than feminists in power have. I am fucking shocked that I'm saying that.
He actually cared. He wanted to tell a story. These ladies responsible for Star Wars just want to tell you. They want to tell you their opinion, their epic statement about the world. They want to tell you what you should think, what the world is, what it should be. They want to tell you what you should like and dislike. They want to tell you how terrible of a person you are if you don't give them a chance.
I personally think Leslie Headland is the kind of fan who doesn't actually understands the thing they're a fan of, or only at the surface level. I have interacted with many fans of Tolkien that were the same since Rings of Power came out. Those people definitely love the franchise, they have read most of the books and watched all the movies, but they don't understand them. That is why they tend to cheer and clap at everything bearing the name of the franchise on its cover.
It’s actually exactly the opposite. If someone cannot accept diversity in a fantasy world with elves or aliens then they are the problem not the medium.
Its "being a fan as an identity" similar to changing clothes. When push comes to shove they would move on. Real Fans got made fun of for decades and never quit. They can't simply swap out what they are a fan of.
I’d like to add that there’s nothing wrong with those types of fans. Those fans tend to add to the profit and push a project from cult classic to worldwide box office hit. The problem comes when those fans start making the decisions and are also activists trying to say a message through everything they create
@@Millicente indeed, I always remember that the most famous feudal haiku poet, Basho, listed out 3 types of poetry fans. You had the true artists, the unintelligent mobs who just want to look cultured, and what we would call "whales" today that sank money into such a luxury to allow ports like him to travel and teach the art. As far back as art goes there have been these subdivisions. But as you say, those mobs that "like" the art for shallow reasons probably shouldn't be calling the shots. Gaining their favor helps the rich guys decide which of the artists should be patronized.
@@Millicente Indeed there is nothing wrong to enjoy something, even if you don't fully understand it. I can admire a painting without comprehending the techniques and skills the painter used to create it. But there will be a problem if I start claiming than anyone criticizing the painting is wrong and a bad person no matter the arguments they use, or if I try to force painters into painting only things I like.
Sad thing is that we already got a story that has a deconstruction of the Jedi and Sith philosophies that while NOT in line with George’s style, still treats the source with immense respectful pride. *Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords!* Quite literally is a scathing commentary of the Light and Dark Sides! It show the complete moral decay that the Jedi were suffering from as they were down to their last true follower… while displaying the cruel truth that the Sith will always eat each other up until all that they have left to consume is themselves! But unlike the Acolyte… KOTOR 2 was written by genuinely passionate fans of the original stories. “Apathy is death. Worse than death, because at least a rotting corpse feeds the beasts and insects.”
The writer of KotOR II, Chris Avellone is not a Star Wars fan. He has stated that his initial reaction to learning he would be working on a Star Wars game was disappointment. What Chris Avellone was more importantly was a professional of the highest calibur. Instead of just moaning about it and giving a half-hearted effort. He went and watched the Star Wars movies and instead of being the dumb kids' films he thought they were, he really came to appreciate the writing and story of Star Wars. He also read every bit of EU material he could get his hands on. Then he went on to write the best God damn story he could, while artfully injecting a lot of his own ideas and philosophical musings about the Star Wars universe into the game. He might not of been a fan, but he was a professional and respected the IP he was working in. He didn't walk over, or disregard what had come before, but added to this canvas called Star Wars that was respectful of what came before and made a substantive contribution.
The opening sequence…just cut, print, we’re done here, no commentary just a perfect summary of how George Lucas’ legacy is being actively grave robbed.
well, i disagree respectfully. He would grow up and try the same like he did before. He did go against actual Systems back Then, and he would do so a any given Time
The most riddiculous thing about this show is still that the whole story relies on a stone fort in a stone mountain burrning down in flames and killing everybody inside
That alone is an egregious plot hole (which is never explained), but it’s fine because…reasons? Also a 10 yr old started it, because…reasons? I guess she must have had some thermite.
May and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration have the chemistry of a rock dropped in a bottle of pure water. They have such a strong bond…especially when May tries to kill OSHA, more than once.
In general, because there are certain people don't believe there is love beyond sexual desire. If you love someone you clearly want to have sex with them. There is no such thing as friendship, parental, or familial love to them. These are deeply messed up people. For Lesley, she clearly has sexual desires for her sister, who rejected her advances. This show was her issues on full display.
Love for siblings? “I will kill you” starts a fire. Steals cloth and let he sister alone on a dangerous planet. True love. Does a lobotomy to her sister - never ending love 🤮
I feel bad for the actor who played master Sol. He was so freaking good, despite the terrible show. Am I the only one to think he deserved better? Anyway, good vid Working Jellyfish. It helped me to elaborate on the cringy emotions this shows left me with.
He was horrible. They all were. Props for learning the language, mostly, for the role, but he's getting props where none are due. He didn't shine despite horrendous script and direction. He suffered as all the actors did. It just so happened every other actor was even worse. Yes, he can act, but not in the Acolyte.
@@jdstudios1912 Ayup. [And don't try to shift the blame. They literally bullied him into oblivion over the Prequels. They're the ones who killed Star Wars and Modern Lucasfilm are just trying to reanimate its corpse with varying results each time]
@@NebLleb Prequel hate in media and some fans was definitely strong. But it seems sort of a non-sequitur to say that is definitely the reason he sold 🤔 If anything, the reason seems closer to him passing Star Wars onto the next generation. Copy-Pasted a couple GL quotes for reference "For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime." “I felt that I really wanted to put the company somewhere in a larger entity which could protect it. Disney is a huge corporation. They have all kinds of capabilities and facilities, so that there’s a lot of strength that is gained by this…I’m doing this so that the films will have a longer life, and so that more fans and people can enjoy them in the future." _ _____ _ That being said, before the sale itself, is it possible that he never made any new Star Wars movies due to the backlash? Probably. There were likely other factors, but Its hard to say that the prequel-backlash wasn't one of them As far as Star Wars being 'dead' goes however; I would not go as far as to say that the prequel-backlash "killed" Star Wars. While there were no new movies, there was still a strong cultural presence, and tons of fantastic games and books being released over the years.
@NebLleb you're blaming the fans? The fans didn't write this new show. And you think they all wanted disney to buy it? Or even had a choice in it? You think the Prequels had so much hate? Dude. Do you know how much spin-off shows, books, and games have been made because of the Prequels? Are you just thinking of the RLM review?
4:30 I will never understand why EVERYTHING has to be 50 : 50. If there are more male StarWars fans, why is it a problem? I mean it is not that women don‘t like Star Wars because of oppression or patriarchy. There just are many women that don‘t like Star Wars and for some reason this is a problem?
@@the_inquisitive_inquisitor What? G.I. Joe is an entirely different toyline by an entirely different company aimed at a different demographic. If you're going to try and come up with a clever counter-example, you would need to find a *single* property that managed to successfully appeal to a much broader demographic specifically due to balanced representation.
You really shouldn't be admitting to be writing fanfiction when your multi-million dollar project goes something like: "Ackshually! My original characters are better and more special and unique than the main character of the work I'm piggybacking off of!" It kind of undercuts your plausible deniability. Not that you had much to begin with when "Make the main character a Mary Sue who power creeps the crap out of the old guard." Is Hollywood's MO these days
I think admitting you've written fanfiction is fine. But admitting you've written fanfiction and you are _explicitly including parts of that in your current professional work_ is a Big Red Flag and something that should not be done.
@@Shenaldrac yeah, fanfics are great, but they are usually not canon compliant. The author typically exclusively focuses on their favorite characters/mary sue/OC's and bends the rules of the universe around them to serve as wish fulfilment. It's a fun read, but it feels wrong to see it on TV.
From my limited understanding... (you can't make me watch this show) Tynnans in EU: highly intelligent, speak basic, have their own senator, can rise to prominence as clever bureaucrats "Basil" that has presumably spent time with the wise Jedi: semi-feral tracking dog, can't communicate with anyone except Yord, humps people's legs and does shitty Bruce Lee impressions Seems like Disney writers once again saw something and only looked at the surface.
It's definitely much less of a character. The Gungans as a whole were interesting to learn about as a species and we saw them fight for their planet. Jar Jar was a loyal and courageous friend by his actions with his own motivations and development... This thing was less of a character than a device acting completely random. No other than one of the random beeping droids
Love your work, Mr. Jellyfish. But that opening montage mortally wounded me. I think I need to sail into the west and just die. It's actually depressing.
I have my suspicions that the show suffered from heavy rewrites and reshoots. The show begins one way that implies some heavy stuff only to later reveal that a lot of what's happening is because of a misunderstaning that led to the ACCIDENTAL deaths of a community. I believe that originally the Jedi under Indira and Sol were meant to have slaughtered the coven but Disney didn't want the Jedi to commit such a heavy warcrime and so the death of the coven was rewritten as accidental, it would explain why episode 7 has such bad lightning and camera work, because a lot of episode 7 was reshoot.
Funny how Gorge talks about when he was starting out. No money, doing all sorts of little jobs to scrap enough to eat, and on the grind to create something. And that just what you got to do. Lesley talks about how she just given the job, pretends she knows what she doing, and talk about how the patriarchy is keeping her down. Funny how Patriarchy makes the men struggle to get something, and just hands women stuff. And men are the privileged ones.
The difference in demeanor between Lucas as Headlamd says everything. George is very humble and quiet, but someone who clearly understands the importance of storytelling. Lesley is arrogant and loud with no love for stories, just herself.
That opening montage is scathing. Leslye Hedland cannot be a fan, she openly hired people who knew nothing of Star Wars. That speaks to a hatred of the material, not fandom.
Comment for the algorithm: No matter how many times I notice the Jellyfish's superimposed bubbles on the video, they always makes me think my screen is dirty.
Oh wow not even a minute in and I'm facepalming. No, Star Wars is and has always been (for the FILMS) extremely, unambiguously black and while morally speaking. The dark side of the force physically marks a person who uses it indelibly, like how it made Palpatine all wrinkly. The Empire was not a morally ambiguous institution it was clearly a very evil and oppressive one. Fuck me, why are you trying to act like "Hey maaan, the space fashists aren't evil, it's all about perspective maaaaan!" No fuck off, they explicitly use slave labor, they are entirely xenophobic with humans being first-class citizens and alien species facing discrimination. It is unambiguously a good thing that the Rebellion overthrew it. This black man talking about how this nation that oppresses certain citizens based on their appearances isn't actually evil and it's all about perspective is WILD! Maybe he missed learning about Jim Crow laws growing up?
Well she’s pretty ate up after sending a bunch of other women to a casting couch. Tell me how his assistant didn’t know what Weinstein did after a decade of working for him. When everyone else did. SHE HELPED TO MOVE HIGHER UP THE LADDER
LH single-handedly created the most contradictions and plot holes in a single series, by far, in the Star Wars lore. Good thing I don't see 'Disney Sar Wars' as canon.
Leslie: gets the opportunity placed nicely in her lap and pretends to struggle and pretends all the backlash on her project is because she’s a woman George: Struggles to get his idea recognized struggles to get the project finished and it’s a massive success in a cinema market that wasn’t favorable
You know what would destroy Disney even more is if they complain that fans dont like their shows/films, but the fans dont even respond, just silence. Then Disney will just be argueing by themselves. That would be embarrassing.
Well, this is the same company that edited a Star Wars poster for China by shrinking the black guy in it. Obviously not the same as condoning genocide, but Disney's proclamations of "diversity and inclusion" has left the building a looong time ago.
Are you surprised? Really? Thats Marketing. They learned Their Lesson. No Black or Korean Chicks on Posters, no overweight Asian female Power Monger. Wont sell there. If the Guardian, some laughing Numbers at UN(which America left btw, so who cares neh?) or else are enraged, Disney dont care anyway. But 500+? Mios of Ppl can be bombarded with Messages like:"Hey see our Gvmt is doing it right, look at the Credits of even an Disney Film, go buy some Tickets." Win Win for the Ppl that do the Accounts in the Backround.
You know friend, I watched several of your essays. I was left with this simple thought that I need to share and thank you for: “This guy gets it!” Simple as that. No hidden politics, no pandering to analytics, no nonsense. You get it mate. And thank goodness you get to be the voice we can’t be. Cheers!
Thank you, that is very kind. I do my best to approach all my topics in good faith, appreciate it holistically, and then offer my leveled opinion. I am fortunate that so many share my opinions (mostly).
They see the metal bikini but not her choking out Jabba by herself before she escapes. Everyone else had weapons and she just needed a chain with a small window. The witches, Rey, and Osha all get cool lore breaking abilities to do what Leia did without any Force/Thread(ffs) to make her go super saiyan when it was needed for plot armor.
To cast doubt on “the Jedi” is to cast doubt on the force itself…any singular Jedi can fall from grace as they’re sentient individuals that are fallible but to suggest the Jedi as an institution are corrupt is to suggest the force itself is corrupt. Adepts of the light side are servants to the very will of the force
God it makes me incredibly sad seeing the interview with Carry... And knowing this is what they've done to her legacy of an actual strong female character.. and not whatever this BS has all been.. Also she must just not be hanging around the right woman. I know plenty of women who like star wars.. including myself. So, she just needs more cool friends I guess? Well, liked star wars... I still like the original content and some extended universe... But
I love how you approach your criticisms: these are intellectual exercises, as fair as possible in their arguments. I love watching videos bashing the new Disney Star Wars shows, but few dive as deeply into the WHY of it all as you do. Instant sub. Thank you. May George be with you.
Thank you. It is easy to say something sucks, but its much harder to explain why. So I try my best to put words to those feelings (mostly becasue someone once did it for me). Regardless, welcome to the Sheltered Harbour, Skipper.
love the fairness you had for leslie, in a time where everyone is quick to hate and "split" on people, you bring maturity and understanding...thank you
Thank you. I don't believe any creator sets out to tell a bad story (at least I hope not). So its only fair that I consider all the information available to me before making a video.
@workingjellyfish that's not really given on the internet. Hopefully, the culture generally matures as time passes. In my mind, you are participating in the shift, so I'm thanking you for it
Yeah Leslie is such a good person who doesn’t deserve anything to happen to her. Especially after setting so many meeting for Mr Harvey. And conveniently she didn’t know anything after years. Then conveniently she gets to be a head honcho on a massive project that she has absolutely no skills for. Hmmm maybe she was given that position as a token of her silence.
Screaming this from the rooftops. What this show got wrong (among so many other things) is the Jedi aren't against rage or fear or guilt or any emotions. They don't want people to become blank robots. They just don't want people (with power) ruled by those things. They teach tolerance and balance. The Jedi are stewards first and foremost even for people who hate them because they know better than to amplify hate. Emotions are powerful and lend the dark side strength, but running 'hot' all the time is volatile, exhausting and impulsive which is DANGEROUS when you are tasked with literally taking care of a diverse universe of unique souls. To say to people: "actually feeling all these things all the time, letting them rule you and you should succumb to them" leads to narcissism, myopia and selfish decisions something the Jedi are against for the sake of unity, balance and progress.
Excellent review, Mr. Jellyfish. I really appreciated the deep dive into the lives and personal histories of both Lucas and Headland to analyze how that informed their creative process.
I hadn't seen that senator speech yet. It's unbelievably awful. Are they intentionally trying to remove any and all subtext they can? Or do they think it's a smart interpretation they've come up with?
Headland is convinced she's a genius with every garbage scene that gets filmed. I almost wanted to skip past the senator scene because it was just more unwarranted slander in an already contrived plot. There's zero balance or nuance, and everything she does is one step removed from her personal bias.
"You try to control what is uncontrollable. Emotions." Or words to that effect. Which is like... so it's fine if I go on an unrestrained emotional tirade at any point? I shouldn't be expected to ever have any control over my emotions or feelings? Wow, thanks Headland! Hell, I guess we can't be too upset with Weinstein can we? I mean he just couldn't possibly be expected to control his arousal and *not* sexually assault all those people right?! Like yeah, everyone has their tipping point, everyone loses control sometimes. But that's just it, they _have_ control and sometimes lose it. It's not that they _never_ have control, that you can't control your emotions.
@@Shenaldracit's plain false too. Most of our emotions are direct reactions to our thoughts, conscious and unconscious. We definitely can control and even change our emotions by controlling our thoughts. That's what children learn to do growing up. We all control our emotions to an extent all the time. And emotions are separate from actions too. You don't have to act on your emotions and again we frequently do just living our lifes. Makes you question if these people are just dumb or what their goal is.
The Senator is intended to set the scene of how they could've allowed the mass extinction of the Jedi, due to a century of mistrust to follow. The irony is that their mistrust of the Jedi allowed the Sith to flourish through the Empire.
Leslye’s understanding of art is so surface level it’s painful. She’s never read a philosophy book in her life. She’s never studied history on her own in her life. She’s never SOUGHT new knowledge on her own accord. She really thinks she knows it all. She cannot fathom she was a pawn used to launder money for Disney. They KNEW she was a hack, but they needed an overconfident hack “to put their all” into this show to more effectively hide (and lose) the money. It’s also annoying because she sets feminism back like 4 years in the realm of Star Wars. WHICH WAS DISNEYS GOAL. Disney was playing 4D chess while lesyle is playing with Lincoln logs. But I will admit the reactionary TH-camrs also played into disneys hands. Everyone got played.
Oh, they have shades of grey- if you only remember KOTOR II... ... thing is, some writers have the talent to pull it off, while recently involved people...are not even writers to begin with.
I think you hit the nail on the head in this and I'm glad you waited till the show was over to make this, unlike many other youtubers who commented on each and every episode. I think the focus on the execution of the Acolyte from a technical perspective, helps explain why the show is bad, but the reason why it's so aggravating, is how immoral the show is, and how it reeks of adolescent views about morality, in contrast to Lucas who literally was obsessed and supremely focused on morality. To a child morality is an ideal, to an adult ,it's a tool for ensuring the survival of the next generation; but for a rebellious adolescent it is a prison sentence that prevents them from enjoying the freedoms and privileges of "adulthood" or "power", in the more political sense. I think that's the best way to explain postmodernism: an intellectual attempt to justify a state of permanent adolescence in intellectuals and artists, where you're too old to see yourself as a child, but also disinterested in accepting the responsibilities and burdens that come with adulthood i.e. teaching right and wrong, which is necessary to pass down wisdom to the next generation. And it's infestation of Star Wars is really one of the worst tragedies of our times.
One of my favorite points about Acolyte: Creating a whole new witch cult - instead of just continuing on the Night Sisters and extending on their factions. I mean, why? The Lesley witches are too dumb to even live. How can you take them (and their leader) seriously? They fail against four Jedi or something. I just hate the actress' interview performance when she said: "Yes, yes, yes! A strong powerful female leader!" - Her character is toxic, even against her wife (see episode 3) and can not de-escalate anything at all (see episode 7). She can't even educate her children good enough to be good people - look at it again, she talks to her, and then basically gives up midway. Take me as a critical viewer, but if ordinary people on set don't even understand what they are filming, I am not surprised about the bad end result.
There was a Reddit post I saw, that this whole cult could just be a Leslie's fetish material. I mean... We don't even know their fucking name, let alone history or culture, or specific practices, or their recruitment process. We know they were vaguely prosecuted by the Jedi (how? when? why?) and we know they use the Force in an identical manner as the Jedi (Thread my ass there's no difference but semantics until one of the leaders turns into a demon, then it becomes full blown magic). It all looks like a poorly disguised fetish. Headlamp probably did or would like to scissor with her wife while a bunch of cloaked lesbians chant and do weird vaguely - occultic stuff.
Ah, but the Night Sisters are evil. And these are supposed to be Good Witches who are Good and pure and lesbian and are outcast by the eeeevil Jedi! Why _are_ they all women anyway? I mean it's not like the force, even if they interpret it differently from the jedi, is something only for women. It's not like there wouldn't be men who are receptive to their ideology. Hell, what would have happened if one of the twins had been a boy? Would they have cast him out for being male? Forced him to be raised like a girl? Hell, what would happen if a trans woman wanted to join? Or a trans man? Come on Headland, you're the one wanting to be super progressive and ram your personal moral views down our throats! Lemme hear what you think about this!
feels like a lot of people knew this show was awful by episode 3 including me but I am happy you waited so you can review this show is in all of its awfulness
I find this review especially refreshing after not being able to escape any sort of discourse of "woke" whenever the Acolyte has been mentioned, and I fault Disney Star Wars for that most of all. In particular as an avid SWTOR player, it just seems to be the norm for any chat conversation to devolve to open homophobia and transphobia just from Disney SW and the Acolyte being mentioned at all. I'm aroace, heavily leaning towards non-binary, and despite not living in the US I can feel the plight of the people who merely wish to live the lives they want. Disney's aggressive and reactionary take on lgbtq+ and feminist issues is tarnishing them far more than any right-wing campaign possibly could, and it's frustrating and depressing to witness. I really wish they could finally give the reins to people who actually care, not just for the lore and SW at large, but about the message they're trying to convey. You said it best, this show is a product of a selfish self-indulgent creator, nothing more and nothing less.
As a person who works in Hollywood, you gave Leslye so much more insight than most in this industry would. I appreciate the effort you put in to be fair. Great video!
Star Wars, or the Jedi, are essentially, Space Buddhists, Zen or Tibetan Monks. You can tell Lucas is a Buddhist and that he read the Buddha. You can tell Headland didn't.
Marcia Lucas's contribution is blown out of proportion in modern day to spin some sort of female empowerment message. The fact is that it was really academy award nominated editor Paul Hirsch who saved the original star wars in editing. George and Marcia were basically taking turns trying to edit Star Wars into something salvageable before Paul was brought in to edit everything from scratch. It's Hirsch who in certain interviews mentions that there are certain shots in the original Star Wars that go to the very last frame that was filmed on set in the moment. Just to get more time with each shot and stretch out the cinematography as far as possible. Something that neither of the Lucas's employed prior to him coming on.
The Jedi did nothing wrong and Headlamp definitely blackmailed someone to get this show.. The big fight scene with sithman vs jedi was crap. It was not good at all. There is no consistency and it brings up the point again 'if you can just use the force on other force users, why not just do that, constantly and win?' Or 'if you have lightsaber proof equipment, how do you not win in 12 seconds?' and also 'how does one hold a conversation in a 'sensory deprivation helmet'?'
Thanks for making this video, I totally agree with the idea of making our opinions known. They need to hear the fans so they can correct their mistakes. We are the ones who pay for the content. Without us, they don't have a business.
I judge Star Wars shows in 4 categories. 1. How does it tie in with the rest of Star Wars. 2. How does the story work. 3. Are the ideas good/interesting. 4. Are the details good. In my opinion category 3 is the only one where Acolyte doesn't fail massively.
@@geraldapollyon655 I should've clarified that these are the categories beyond the basic "Is it good or at least enjoyable". The execution of ideas was so bad I didn't even realize to put that in the idea category, just fell straight into the overall failure of the show😂
I love that Headland had concept art and sroryboards made with lead actress' face before the actress was even approached for the role. That's some serial killer shit right there.
This intro is the best content I've seen on this subject. You nail it. It even closes in when LH weirdly touches her arm when she fake laughs. That whole bit is creepy, the way she looks at her.
Agree but it’s not exactly “Star Wars” at heart. It’s got the right paint but it doesn’t feel mythological, Y’know. Feels practical. Good, yes! Great even. But it doesn’t have that grand mysticism and sense of hope.
About the fight scene: -It's horrible in terms of choreography, actors stop existing once they leave the screen it's unreal, only to come back whenever the director felt like it, the fight makes no sense if you have object permanence, what SquareHeadland clearly doesn't have. -Kortosis basicaly destroys every lightsaber fight we ever saw. Even if you say it's super-duper-hyper rare, the fact some random sith guy was able to make a full helmet and bracer out of it means people like Palpatine, Vader and Yoda would 100% have access to it too and would have used it when need be, Vader for his suit and cybernetics, Palpatine against Yoda and Yoda against Dooku and Palpatine. Every lightsaber fight we saw in Star Wars makes no sense now because they introduced this stupid metal (that was already stupid in the EU but at least there you could just ignore it and pretend it doesn't actualy exist outside of the comics it come up in). -As usual, most of the moves are out of reach or they just simply ignore openings that even a 10yo child would see and go "if I hit now you're dead". Tho the final fight is tremendously shittier than the Ep5 one in this aspect.
I think the biggest mistake people make is thinking a fan will make good entertainment. While it is a bonus and the fan is probably more likely to respect the IP. What you need more are true professionals who respect the IP's they are working with. Leslye Headland maybe a Star wars fan, but she is not a professional story teller and she created the Acolyte. Chris Avellone was not a Star Wars fan, but was a true professional and he wrote Knights of the Old Republic 2. A game considered to have one of the best and most thought-provoking Star Wars stories ever.
This is the most powerful indictment against the Acolyte and modern Star Wars in general. Their own words reveal a complete misunderstanding of what made Star Wars timeless. It's sad that the once great franchise has been mismanaged to a point where fans who used to sit outside theaters for days in anticipation of a movie bounce between anger and apathy with each new Disney Star Wars release.
I think a lot of people at Disney knew this project would bomb and feel the same about upcoming projects but they can't say a word. Kathleen Kennedy is extremely focuses on making activism the centre of her job, over making money, hiring the best talent etc. Everyone at LucasFilm has to pretend to agree with her out of fear for their jobs.
"A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author." G. K. Chesterton
and the truth about the author of the Acolyte is that she’s an incompetent writer who focused more on over pushing a message and finding roles for her choice actors (including her own wife!) instead of story, universe, characters, plot, setting, etc.
@@pufffincrazy5275 "Hm, I want my wife in this show, let me take a fan-favorite character and make her a jaded asshole that went bald!"
Leland is all about making her own message in the vapid-iest way possible.
Fking amazing quote
A quote straight from the best Chesterton book I’ve ever read: _Tommy Wiseau’s The Room: A Complete Analysis_
The funniest part about the opening montage is the way that Leslie blatantly admits (and seems proud of the fact) that she got where she is in filmmaking by lying to people and saying she was any good at it and then on top of that had the audacity to state that "all men do that"
That bit actually made me angry. Like, even if she's _right_ and people coming right out of film school are given directorial positions... _at least they went to film school!_ At least they have an education in how to direct! That's not at all the same as her having _zero_ experience. So even her completely one-sided, obviously agenda-driven speech where she can lie and say whatever she wants to make her point, even that isn't internally consistent _with itself!_
What a terrible person.
And the best part is she's like, "Men go straight from film school and say they know what they're doing but they don't! WAAAGH!" ATLEAST THEY WENT TO FILM SCHOOL, LESLYE! 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ GTFO... I can't stand her nonsense that she proudly spews. I don't pretend to know how to fly a plane and then just fake it until I make it. Her ego is bigger than the Death Star that Anakin destroyed. 😂
oh yeah,
like the Dunning-Kruger effect?
I can't stand her or the show, but this is actually taught in film school, "take it til you make it". I went to film school, and the lesson is to take every opportunity given to you and learn as much as you can instead of waiting for another opportunity to come up later.
@@Atom-E.B.E. Wow. And people wonder why entertainment media is turning to crap.
The 16 minutes of opening interviews was a bold and beautiful choice. Excellent comparison between the old and the new Star Wars.
Between real SW stories and …. the other stuff
Thank you, it was meant to be short and sweet. But the more I pulled the thread, the more crap I found.
@@workingjellyfishSometimes the thread keeps pulling, and pulling, and pulling, and then your (her) pants are around your (her) ankles
Using sliced up interviews to make a point is disingenuous, dishonest, and it makes this creator look like an amateur. I'm shocked so many of you don't understand that.
@@johnstarks7759 the creator of the Acolyte looks like an amateur from the product that was put on screen, I agree. The interviews provide context for why the product is so shitty.
Lucas: "I have a story, now I need to find a cast of people to tell it"
Headland: "I have some people I want to put in a thing. Story? ehh just make something up"
"Finally, I can make my fanfic on the big screen with all the actors I'd mentally cast for the roles when I wrote them!"
I know a lot of fanfiction writers do this sort of thing, think up who they'd want playing/voice acting the characters if it got picked up for a film. And there's nothing wrong with that, don't get me wrong! It's a fine little mental exercise to go through and if it brings people joy, that's great.
_However._ If you actually get picked up for a film or TV series or whatever. You need to put aside that and do real casting. You need to actually get people to play roles based on how well they fit the role, not based on how much you like how they look or sound.
This isn't some fangirling post on twitter, this is a real film with real stakes for the people involved. If you make something that gets horribly panned you can really mess up the chances of your actors. They're the single most visible parts of a film's cast for obvious reasons, people tend to take out their feelings on them in ways that cameramen and members of the prop department don't ever have to deal with. A director owes such people a certain level of respect and passion to actively make as good a work of film as possible.
Sheep led by a lion to lions led by a sheep
@@Shenaldrac Its similar to speculating what you'd do if you won the lottery. You always have a few funny ideas, like buying a swimming pool full of (something). I dunno. Rabbits. But then you aren't actually supposed to do it. Though exercises aren't supposed to really happen.
@@Shenaldrac Plenty of screenwriters write characters for specific actors, sometimes they get them and sometimes they don't. What's weird is that Lesley seems to have written *ALL* of her characters for her friends.
@@Pangora2 Exactly.
The intro was very much an ode to Napoleon. "Never interrupt your enemy when (s)he is making a mistake."
I will never believe that this isn't just a cover up for laundering money. It's just that terrible.
It is, look up esg and all the shady stuff they get up to.
Obiwan was a shining example of that. How in the world did it get greenlit in it's current state?
Russia hacked Disney internal communications for the last several years. Going to be interesting seeing what they find.
What? Harvey's assistant doing something shady? Nooooo... :)
Nods aggressively... something's fishy for sure! 🤦♀️
The intro montage is already enough to urge a positive comment. Brilliant idea. The contrast is dire, you just let them say all of it. Impeccable. Your content is criminally underrated.
I was gonna leave this same comment but you beat me to it!
You mean it ends? There's an actual narrated script at some point? I hate these reruns I've seen all these clips before and I don't need them arranged for me to highlight the contrast.
But nah I've seen like clips that show the contrast but like Jesus Christ. The difference is fucking staggering like a drop in quality doesn't even describe what's going on. Like you'll listen to this and it sounds like George was the who had years of established shit to work with and headland was the one who was just making shit on the fly.
Like headland talks like she was a random on the street that Disney pulled to make a show. No thought going through her head. Like I know I probably wouldn't be able to make anything worthwhile but if the benchmark is headland I feel like I'd be the new William Shakespeare if a large studio gave me a chance
@@fusionspace175 That arrangement clearly conveys a message (and a powerful one), if you are not inclined to receive an author's message thinking you already know everything then what exactly are you doing here? Or do you absolutely need words to convey any meaning to you? Jeez, patience and subtlety seem to become a forgotten knowledge at that point. You seem to be better off watching SWTheory then Jellyfish, I guess. Closer to your perception.
You thief. You stole my comment.
*What could’ve been:*
✅ Sith perspective story similar to Darth Plagueis or Darth Bane novels; Sith warrior and inquisitor stories from SWTOR.
✅ Mature and grounded story similar to Andor but with the mysticism of the Dark Side. In-depth look at Sith philosophy as we follow a master/apprentice two vs an entire galaxy story.
✅ Well-written Sith protagonists part of a two-person organization in a thousand-year conspiracy to upset the Galactic status-quo.
✅ New Star Wars timeline.
Reality:
❌ The Acolyte…. “The power of one, the power of two. The power of many.”
When this was announced, I was legitimately excited because I appreciated the Bane trilogy and would have loved to see something similar… but no. Honestly, there seem to be a few similar beats between this story and some of Zannah’s arc, but this is just so weak.
At this point you can only hope they never do a movie or series just for the Sith.... I don't want sexy time w Darth Bane
@@exomake_mehorololo 🤢… and once the orbalisks were in the picture… 🤮
They need to stop trying to make bad be good and good be bad.
I have seen this comment so many times if your the same person think of new comments please.
Your fifteen minutes opening is all the rebuttle needed to explain why Disney keeps failing at making Star Wars. Excellent video!
6:22 "Look, Disney does that, the rest of us can't do that."
Oh the mighty irony... Now it's the complete opposite, George does that, Disney just can't do it...
Except "Andor", a f'ng miracle born most likely by Disney accidentally passing it to the right hands and having not enough interest in it to f' it up.
Rogue One was pretty good too, at least compared to the sequels.
@@the_inquisitive_inquisitor Yes, indeed, that one is enjoyable as well. And not surprisingly, as the Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy worked on that one too. Same huge care about the source material and quality approach. But Andor feels even less Disney, like they accidentally were given all creative freedom they deserved. I hope so much this show's audience will expand. I hope we get more of that.
@@shipso6116 Andor has a very passionate fanbase.
Quite frankly, y'all won't shut up about it!
Lmao
I might pirate it someday, but I haven't seen it yet.
@@the_inquisitive_inquisitor Well, sorry for advertisement, I guess )), but people talk about what moves them, especially if it's *that* unusual with SW shows as these days and thus vastly overlooked. Such a work of both competence and passion having the least amount of watchtime, less then ALL the Disney have produced just feels *very* unjust. That's why I personally feel like spreading the word every time I get the chance, in desperate hope to attract some well deserved attention to maybe propel it forward.
@@the_inquisitive_inquisitor It also pales in comparison to the Dark Forces storyline that told the same story in the EU. Even at their best Disney can't match the old stuff.
Plot holes aside, the script writing was so bad that you had to identify the tone or emotions by looking only at the actors. But then the acting was so bad, inconsistent and mismatched that you couldn't tell what the characters were feeling either. Complete failure of script and direction. What a disaster of a show.
You could read Stenbergs emotions from her face? The acolyte should be used in psychology departments as an Autism simulator
That’s definitely the vibe I was picking up from the clips I’ve seen. It also might be because I’m a normie and haven’t brushed up on “the lore”, but there were also a lot of “I don’t understand why you thought this was a good idea” moments. Like killing the wookie Jedi off screen. Or hiring Amandla Steinbergh. Just weird choices everywhere.
They also killed the only good Actor in a disrespectfull way. Soul deffinetly wasted.
I'd say the biggest problem was how everyone had their motivations and actions flipped every 15 minutes. It's like they got 50 writers to write the show in sequence, and none of them were allowed to see each other's work.
The fact people expect jedi to show emotions in any acting capacity is wild. The whole thing is to be emotionless so in that vein. The jedi are exactly as they should be. Flat uninteresting sticks with weapons. That's the whole point.......the show is bad in execution and writing in terms of dialouge and that makes it very hard to watch. But the representation of jedi as tools is actually in line with their characters
"Best season ever" -Emilia Clarke, Mother of dragons.
As a black woman writer it would make me sick to feel i got to write on The Witcher or Star wars because of my skin colour and not because of my skill.
what's even worse about all of this is that the more they give unqualified writers the keys to these franchises on the basis of what group they belong to instead of merit, the more and more people will automatically assume that diverse creators are automatically bad because of how often companies do this kind of thing.
As George Lucas said, "you hire someone because of their work"
If people knew they weren't being hired mainly for their abilities then many wouldn't train/study or maybe not as hard.
Something earned will always have a greater value. You clearly have a higher standard for yourself and that is to be commended.
Their idea of being diverse is the 70s andc80s trope of the token black. It is disingenuous and insulting. Leave us alone. Landon worked because he was written as an interesting character. They can't write anyone
Instead of making a mystery show that included the High Republic Jedi's gradual fall from grace due to complacency and dogmatism they made the show into a very heavy-handed allegory for police violence in America.
No, they didn't. Are you right in the head? Because this isn't an allegory for "MUH POLICE BRUTALITY". It's just a badly written show about shamelessly deconstructing the mythos.
Dogmatism isn’t a problem for the Jedi
The problem was they fell into Palps trap, engaged in full scale war and found themselves turning over too much power to one person
Anakin wasn’t fit for the necessary conditioning that goes with channeling but he also wasn’t honest with Yoda and Obiwan
@@KRobinson-ko1ne The Jedi were definitely supposed to be flawed. Even from the original trilogy Yoda and Kenobi are proven wrong about Vader.
The entire prequels are partially about their failure to protect the republic and almost their pride and overconfidence. Anakins arc is also very much about how the Jedi were wrong about emotions.
Whether you want to call it dogma or something else, there's a lot to explore here. The prequels explored it, the EU explored it, and KotOR 2 explored it incredibly well. This show however, did not. It thinks it did, but it didn't.
@@existentialselkath1264 I'm sorry, but Anakin is the POSTER CHILD for the Jedi being RIGHT about emotions. I would agree that the Jedi weren't entirely going about it in the best way possible (see Luke's EU Jedi Order for what in-universe is the best setup), but Anakin literally runs on emotions. No logic. No willingness to take a step back and think things through. No ability to notice that Palpatine has been MANIPULATING HIM the ENTIRE TIME upon realizing that Palpatine is a Sith Lord. Anyone with a brain would have been able to figure out that everything said by Palpatine before that was suspect. Not Anakin. Even when Palpatine basically admits that he fudged what he could actually do, Anakin doesn't do the logical thing and turn him into sushi. Then there's all the subsequent murder without any ability to understand that the person he's supposedly doing this for, Padme, would at best disapprove and at worst kill him where he stood if he were anyone else for being almost cartoonishly evil. How can Anakin be an example of the Jedi's way of doing things is incorrect when he REFUSES to actually do things their way and subsequently falls EXACTLY as the Jedi said someone doing that would?
@@John-fk2kyin defense of Anakin defending palpatine, he was literally groomed by the most evil and powerful sith lord in the galaxy after being taken from his home at a young age. Not defending the actions he took, but I do find it entirely believable that Anakin turned out the way he did.
This is the reason I'm a proud subscriber. Your opening montage isn't an acidic take down with a panel of like-minded guests or a sarcastic mix of out of context clips. You simply remind the viewer that George, for his faults, was an artist with a sense of the core values he wanted to convey in his film, while Leslie and her ilk are all about getting their message out with no sense of how to execute it. That could have been the video. Well done. It's a relief from the eternal same-content that discusses the modern media landscape.
Thanks, skipper. It almost was, but the more research I did, the more I wanted to say about the juxtaposition of Lucas and Headland.
The juxposition is staggering overall, but the biggest differential is the quality and quantity of motivation, and the adversity they faced
Lucas pushed through a lot of resistance, built a lot of infrastructure, to satisfy an holistic artistic vision that was present before anything else happened.
Leslie had some basic plot ideas and a casting list, had an entire universe and nearly unlimited resources fall into her lap.
I refuse the believe this was the best director and script available to Kennedy, even as far as this franchise has fallen, this was one hundred percent Kennedy seeing herself in a young filmmaker (for better or worse) and following that emotional impulse to set millions of investor funds on fire.
Given the failures that Disney corporate has already tolerated from her, we have no real reason to believe this will lead to her removal, but you figure the shareholders are going to revolt eventually and force the CEOs hand.
@@mazeofthemind560 This is an excellent analysis, Maze.
@@mazeofthemind560 No one has made a better argument for not putting women in positions of power than feminists in power have. I am fucking shocked that I'm saying that.
He actually cared. He wanted to tell a story.
These ladies responsible for Star Wars just want to tell you. They want to tell you their opinion, their epic statement about the world. They want to tell you what you should think, what the world is, what it should be. They want to tell you what you should like and dislike. They want to tell you how terrible of a person you are if you don't give them a chance.
I personally think Leslie Headland is the kind of fan who doesn't actually understands the thing they're a fan of, or only at the surface level. I have interacted with many fans of Tolkien that were the same since Rings of Power came out. Those people definitely love the franchise, they have read most of the books and watched all the movies, but they don't understand them. That is why they tend to cheer and clap at everything bearing the name of the franchise on its cover.
It’s actually exactly the opposite. If someone cannot accept diversity in a fantasy world with elves or aliens then they are the problem not the medium.
Its "being a fan as an identity" similar to changing clothes. When push comes to shove they would move on. Real Fans got made fun of for decades and never quit. They can't simply swap out what they are a fan of.
I’d like to add that there’s nothing wrong with those types of fans. Those fans tend to add to the profit and push a project from cult classic to worldwide box office hit. The problem comes when those fans start making the decisions and are also activists trying to say a message through everything they create
@@Millicente indeed, I always remember that the most famous feudal haiku poet, Basho, listed out 3 types of poetry fans. You had the true artists, the unintelligent mobs who just want to look cultured, and what we would call "whales" today that sank money into such a luxury to allow ports like him to travel and teach the art.
As far back as art goes there have been these subdivisions. But as you say, those mobs that "like" the art for shallow reasons probably shouldn't be calling the shots. Gaining their favor helps the rich guys decide which of the artists should be patronized.
@@Millicente Indeed there is nothing wrong to enjoy something, even if you don't fully understand it. I can admire a painting without comprehending the techniques and skills the painter used to create it. But there will be a problem if I start claiming than anyone criticizing the painting is wrong and a bad person no matter the arguments they use, or if I try to force painters into painting only things I like.
Sad thing is that we already got a story that has a deconstruction of the Jedi and Sith philosophies that while NOT in line with George’s style, still treats the source with immense respectful pride.
*Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords!* Quite literally is a scathing commentary of the Light and Dark Sides! It show the complete moral decay that the Jedi were suffering from as they were down to their last true follower… while displaying the cruel truth that the Sith will always eat each other up until all that they have left to consume is themselves!
But unlike the Acolyte… KOTOR 2 was written by genuinely passionate fans of the original stories.
“Apathy is death. Worse than death, because at least a rotting corpse feeds the beasts and insects.”
The writer of KotOR II, Chris Avellone is not a Star Wars fan. He has stated that his initial reaction to learning he would be working on a Star Wars game was disappointment. What Chris Avellone was more importantly was a professional of the highest calibur. Instead of just moaning about it and giving a half-hearted effort. He went and watched the Star Wars movies and instead of being the dumb kids' films he thought they were, he really came to appreciate the writing and story of Star Wars. He also read every bit of EU material he could get his hands on. Then he went on to write the best God damn story he could, while artfully injecting a lot of his own ideas and philosophical musings about the Star Wars universe into the game. He might not of been a fan, but he was a professional and respected the IP he was working in. He didn't walk over, or disregard what had come before, but added to this canvas called Star Wars that was respectful of what came before and made a substantive contribution.
The opening sequence…just cut, print, we’re done here, no commentary just a perfect summary of how George Lucas’ legacy is being actively grave robbed.
By popular request - I have done just that.
If George Lucas was born today, his idea wouldn't ever have happened.
well, yeah.. newborns don't make movies.
@@moonblink _badum tsh_ XD
well, i disagree respectfully. He would grow up and try the same like he did before. He did go against actual Systems back Then, and he would do so a any given Time
@@alexandersteinmetz6857 They're not saying he wouldn't try, they're saying it would be infinitely harder for him nowadays.
@@TaoScribble ok, on that i agree.
The most riddiculous thing about this show is still that the whole story relies on a stone fort in a stone mountain burrning down in flames and killing everybody inside
That alone is an egregious plot hole (which is never explained), but it’s fine because…reasons? Also a 10 yr old started it, because…reasons? I guess she must have had some thermite.
@@pufffincrazy5275 it's probably just "the force works in mysterious ways"
Not Lucasfilm, just Disney driving another great franchise into the ground again.
Most ridiculous thing is still that the whole story relies on hyperspace travel
No, the witches all collapsed dead when Inara committed the horrible, unforgivable sin of breaking their telepathic control of Kelnacca.
All the insanely talented women from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s acting in actual “girl boss” roles and now we have this… there is over correction
When two sisters love each other it's not hetero or homo it's love for a sibling, its NOT Sexual! why does everything have to be about sex?
Even then, one of the sisters gets the man at the end of Frozen, and it is nowhere near as good as other projects.
May and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration have the chemistry of a rock dropped in a bottle of pure water. They have such a strong bond…especially when May tries to kill OSHA, more than once.
In general, because there are certain people don't believe there is love beyond sexual desire. If you love someone you clearly want to have sex with them. There is no such thing as friendship, parental, or familial love to them. These are deeply messed up people.
For Lesley, she clearly has sexual desires for her sister, who rejected her advances. This show was her issues on full display.
Love for siblings? “I will kill you” starts a fire. Steals cloth and let he sister alone on a dangerous planet. True love.
Does a lobotomy to her sister - never ending love
🤮
@@Bailonus seriously? That’s _really_ f*cked up.
I feel like this is almost animal cruelty, making a jellyfish watch this whole show.
Lol
I drifted by and got stuck in the stagnant water...
Wow you broaden my understanding of funny insults. That was a very good one sir
I feel bad for the actor who played master Sol. He was so freaking good, despite the terrible show. Am I the only one to think he deserved better?
Anyway, good vid Working Jellyfish. It helped me to elaborate on the cringy emotions this shows left me with.
Headland got several talented actors and wasted them in her absurd fan fic. It's a disgrace to Sol's actor because he learned english for such drivel.
Sol was by far the best character i would love to see a series of his own.
I thought Manny Jacinto (Qimir) was pretty good, too.
They did the actor and character dirty.
He was horrible. They all were. Props for learning the language, mostly, for the role, but he's getting props where none are due. He didn't shine despite horrendous script and direction. He suffered as all the actors did. It just so happened every other actor was even worse.
Yes, he can act, but not in the Acolyte.
If only the "creators" of the acolyte had actually watched star wars.
The level of incompetence at lucasfilm is just incredible.
The fans got us into this mess (long story), but Modern Lucasfilm is woefully incompetent.
@@NebLleb are you referring to the idea that the fans are responsible for George selling?
@@jdstudios1912 Ayup.
[And don't try to shift the blame. They literally bullied him into oblivion over the Prequels. They're the ones who killed Star Wars and Modern Lucasfilm are just trying to reanimate its corpse with varying results each time]
@@NebLleb Prequel hate in media and some fans was definitely strong.
But it seems sort of a non-sequitur to say that is definitely the reason he sold 🤔
If anything, the reason seems closer to him passing Star Wars onto the next generation. Copy-Pasted a couple GL quotes for reference
"For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime."
“I felt that I really wanted to put the company somewhere in a larger entity which could protect it. Disney is a huge corporation. They have all kinds of capabilities and facilities, so that there’s a lot of strength that is gained by this…I’m doing this so that the films will have a longer life, and so that more fans and people can enjoy them in the future."
_ _____ _
That being said, before the sale itself, is it possible that he never made any new Star Wars movies due to the backlash? Probably.
There were likely other factors, but Its hard to say that the prequel-backlash wasn't one of them
As far as Star Wars being 'dead' goes however; I would not go as far as to say that the prequel-backlash "killed" Star Wars.
While there were no new movies, there was still a strong cultural presence, and tons of fantastic games and books being released over the years.
@NebLleb you're blaming the fans? The fans didn't write this new show. And you think they all wanted disney to buy it? Or even had a choice in it?
You think the Prequels had so much hate? Dude. Do you know how much spin-off shows, books, and games have been made because of the Prequels?
Are you just thinking of the RLM review?
4:30 I will never understand why EVERYTHING has to be 50 : 50.
If there are more male StarWars fans, why is it a problem?
I mean it is not that women don‘t like Star Wars because of oppression or patriarchy. There just are many women that don‘t like Star Wars and for some reason this is a problem?
Never saw them making barby or desperate housewives more masculine.
@@brotbrotsen1100 G.I. Joe, _The Entourage._
Want to try again?
@@the_inquisitive_inquisitor What? G.I. Joe is an entirely different toyline by an entirely different company aimed at a different demographic.
If you're going to try and come up with a clever counter-example, you would need to find a *single* property that managed to successfully appeal to a much broader demographic specifically due to balanced representation.
@@grantmonsma3569 Dawg, G.I. Joe is Barbie for boys. Cope harder
@@grantmonsma3569 TH-cam is censoring my replies. EDIT okay, NOW it shows up....
You really shouldn't be admitting to be writing fanfiction when your multi-million dollar project goes something like: "Ackshually! My original characters are better and more special and unique than the main character of the work I'm piggybacking off of!"
It kind of undercuts your plausible deniability. Not that you had much to begin with when "Make the main character a Mary Sue who power creeps the crap out of the old guard." Is Hollywood's MO these days
I think admitting you've written fanfiction is fine. But admitting you've written fanfiction and you are _explicitly including parts of that in your current professional work_ is a Big Red Flag and something that should not be done.
@@Shenaldrac yeah, fanfics are great, but they are usually not canon compliant. The author typically exclusively focuses on their favorite characters/mary sue/OC's and bends the rules of the universe around them to serve as wish fulfilment. It's a fun read, but it feels wrong to see it on TV.
@@dukkulisa3542 Exactly.
"There were no casting process..."
Must be the second craziest thing I ever heard
The south park episode about the panderverse is accurate and correct.
That sniffing beaver-creature might be more annoying/cringe than Jar Jar Binks.
From my limited understanding... (you can't make me watch this show)
Tynnans in EU: highly intelligent, speak basic, have their own senator, can rise to prominence as clever bureaucrats
"Basil" that has presumably spent time with the wise Jedi: semi-feral tracking dog, can't communicate with anyone except Yord, humps people's legs and does shitty Bruce Lee impressions
Seems like Disney writers once again saw something and only looked at the surface.
@subtract
I have to respectfully disagree with you. This show has redeemed Jar Jar.
It's definitely much less of a character. The Gungans as a whole were interesting to learn about as a species and we saw them fight for their planet. Jar Jar was a loyal and courageous friend by his actions with his own motivations and development... This thing was less of a character than a device acting completely random. No other than one of the random beeping droids
Man was Italy during the entire debacle
Dark Lord JarJar is nothing to scoff at. But, crybabies ruined that also
Hey man please please please make that George/Lesley montage a separate video so more people watch it. It needs to be seen
By popular request, I have done just that.
@@workingjellyfish Huzzah! Thank you!
Love your work, Mr. Jellyfish. But that opening montage mortally wounded me. I think I need to sail into the west and just die. It's actually depressing.
I'm sorry to hear that, but it was an important primer for those who may not be up to date with current Star Wars discourse.
Anyone who cried through Frozen needs help.
I have my suspicions that the show suffered from heavy rewrites and reshoots.
The show begins one way that implies some heavy stuff only to later reveal that a lot of what's happening is because of a misunderstaning that led to the ACCIDENTAL deaths of a community. I believe that originally the Jedi under Indira and Sol were meant to have slaughtered the coven but Disney didn't want the Jedi to commit such a heavy warcrime and so the death of the coven was rewritten as accidental, it would explain why episode 7 has such bad lightning and camera work, because a lot of episode 7 was reshoot.
Or, Headland is just a really poor writer.
@@Shenaldrac this is the only answer
@@Shenaldracexactly. Good stories don’t need insane amounts of butchering in the editing room.
@@pufffincrazy5275 I'm not saying she's a good writer but that the show was already on shaky ground to begin with.
I think many of the inconsistencies in the story are due to reshoots and maybe story scrapbooking. But it could just be due to bad writing.
Funny how Gorge talks about when he was starting out. No money, doing all sorts of little jobs to scrap enough to eat, and on the grind to create something. And that just what you got to do.
Lesley talks about how she just given the job, pretends she knows what she doing, and talk about how the patriarchy is keeping her down. Funny how Patriarchy makes the men struggle to get something, and just hands women stuff. And men are the privileged ones.
Extra crazy because she was Harvey Weinstein's assistant
Don't forget how she put virtually no effort into casting, and got what she paid ( worked) for( for the most part. She lucked out on a couple).
The difference in demeanor between Lucas as Headlamd says everything. George is very humble and quiet, but someone who clearly understands the importance of storytelling. Lesley is arrogant and loud with no love for stories, just herself.
That opening montage is scathing. Leslye Hedland cannot be a fan, she openly hired people who knew nothing of Star Wars. That speaks to a hatred of the material, not fandom.
Comment for the algorithm:
No matter how many times I notice the Jellyfish's superimposed bubbles on the video, they always makes me think my screen is dirty.
It’s always important to check your screen hygiene. 🪼
That preamble says so much. And is masterfully edited together--well done.
Oh wow not even a minute in and I'm facepalming. No, Star Wars is and has always been (for the FILMS) extremely, unambiguously black and while morally speaking. The dark side of the force physically marks a person who uses it indelibly, like how it made Palpatine all wrinkly. The Empire was not a morally ambiguous institution it was clearly a very evil and oppressive one. Fuck me, why are you trying to act like "Hey maaan, the space fashists aren't evil, it's all about perspective maaaaan!" No fuck off, they explicitly use slave labor, they are entirely xenophobic with humans being first-class citizens and alien species facing discrimination. It is unambiguously a good thing that the Rebellion overthrew it.
This black man talking about how this nation that oppresses certain citizens based on their appearances isn't actually evil and it's all about perspective is WILD! Maybe he missed learning about Jim Crow laws growing up?
The reason it was black and white is because how the prequels show the extreme flaws in jedi upbringing and how bad their society is.
"True love is between two sisters and not a heterosexual romance"
Excuse me... WTF did she say?
Well she’s pretty ate up after sending a bunch of other women to a casting couch.
Tell me how his assistant didn’t know what Weinstein did after a decade of working for him. When everyone else did. SHE HELPED TO MOVE HIGHER UP THE LADDER
Very well put together. The intro montage alone could stand, without needing further commentary, but you follow it up with solid points, well argued.
It almost was the video complete. But the more research I did, the more I had to say.
@@workingjellyfish I believe it, it's certainly lacking on pretty much all fronts.
LH single-handedly created the most contradictions and plot holes in a single series, by far, in the Star Wars lore. Good thing I don't see 'Disney Sar Wars' as canon.
I’ve heard the defense “well can you do better?!” and I can confidently say yes, yes I can.
I believe a drunken Octopus could do better.
Leslie: gets the opportunity placed nicely in her lap and pretends to struggle and pretends all the backlash on her project is because she’s a woman
George: Struggles to get his idea recognized struggles to get the project finished and it’s a massive success in a cinema market that wasn’t favorable
Dude just wanted to tell a story and make the best film he could.
Angry lesbian: I'm a narcissist and a liar. And I just want people to think like me.
You know what would destroy Disney even more is if they complain that fans dont like their shows/films, but the fans dont even respond, just silence. Then Disney will just be argueing by themselves.
That would be embarrassing.
54:54
WHAT THE F#CK?!
Well, this is the same company that edited a Star Wars poster for China by shrinking the black guy in it. Obviously not the same as condoning genocide, but Disney's proclamations of "diversity and inclusion" has left the building a looong time ago.
@@ceebee Oh yeah,ı totally forget about Finn
@@Vilgax00did it for Black Panther too actually. Had T'challa with his mask on in the Chinese poster so you couldn't tell his race.
@@LevonBlueoak Wow,that is low even for them.
Are you surprised? Really? Thats Marketing. They learned Their Lesson. No Black or Korean Chicks on Posters, no overweight Asian female Power Monger. Wont sell there. If the Guardian, some laughing Numbers at UN(which America left btw, so who cares neh?) or else are enraged, Disney dont care anyway. But 500+? Mios of Ppl can be bombarded with Messages like:"Hey see our Gvmt is doing it right, look at the Credits of even an Disney Film, go buy some Tickets." Win Win for the Ppl that do the Accounts in the Backround.
You know friend, I watched several of your essays. I was left with this simple thought that I need to share and thank you for:
“This guy gets it!”
Simple as that. No hidden politics, no pandering to analytics, no nonsense.
You get it mate.
And thank goodness you get to be the voice we can’t be.
Cheers!
Thank you, that is very kind. I do my best to approach all my topics in good faith, appreciate it holistically, and then offer my leveled opinion. I am fortunate that so many share my opinions (mostly).
They see the metal bikini but not her choking out Jabba by herself before she escapes. Everyone else had weapons and she just needed a chain with a small window. The witches, Rey, and Osha all get cool lore breaking abilities to do what Leia did without any Force/Thread(ffs) to make her go super saiyan when it was needed for plot armor.
I've only finished watching the primer montage, but your skill in communicating a conceptual thread solely through editing is incredible.
Thank you.
I was a kid when Phantom came out. I adored it! It was my first true experience with SW. Also, Liam Neeson was awesome.
The older I get, the more I appreciate Qui-Gon as a character.
To cast doubt on “the Jedi” is to cast doubt on the force itself…any singular Jedi can fall from grace as they’re sentient individuals that are fallible but to suggest the Jedi as an institution are corrupt is to suggest the force itself is corrupt. Adepts of the light side are servants to the very will of the force
You can't spoil what is already spoiled.
It doesn't hurt to be courteous, but I agree in sentiment.
God it makes me incredibly sad seeing the interview with Carry... And knowing this is what they've done to her legacy of an actual strong female character.. and not whatever this BS has all been..
Also she must just not be hanging around the right woman. I know plenty of women who like star wars.. including myself. So, she just needs more cool friends I guess?
Well, liked star wars... I still like the original content and some extended universe... But
I love how you approach your criticisms: these are intellectual exercises, as fair as possible in their arguments. I love watching videos bashing the new Disney Star Wars shows, but few dive as deeply into the WHY of it all as you do.
Instant sub.
Thank you. May George be with you.
Thank you. It is easy to say something sucks, but its much harder to explain why. So I try my best to put words to those feelings (mostly becasue someone once did it for me).
Regardless, welcome to the Sheltered Harbour, Skipper.
love the fairness you had for leslie, in a time where everyone is quick to hate and "split" on people, you bring maturity and understanding...thank you
Thank you. I don't believe any creator sets out to tell a bad story (at least I hope not). So its only fair that I consider all the information available to me before making a video.
@workingjellyfish that's not really given on the internet. Hopefully, the culture generally matures as time passes. In my mind, you are participating in the shift, so I'm thanking you for it
Yeah Leslie is such a good person who doesn’t deserve anything to happen to her. Especially after setting so many meeting for Mr Harvey.
And conveniently she didn’t know anything after years. Then conveniently she gets to be a head honcho on a massive project that she has absolutely no skills for.
Hmmm maybe she was given that position as a token of her silence.
Hollyweird showing you who they are once again and all we do is bash their show 🤡 should be cancelled.
@@SavedByFaith9981 or maybe her beliefs align with those of Kathleen
Screaming this from the rooftops. What this show got wrong (among so many other things) is the Jedi aren't against rage or fear or guilt or any emotions. They don't want people to become blank robots. They just don't want people (with power) ruled by those things. They teach tolerance and balance. The Jedi are stewards first and foremost even for people who hate them because they know better than to amplify hate. Emotions are powerful and lend the dark side strength, but running 'hot' all the time is volatile, exhausting and impulsive which is DANGEROUS when you are tasked with literally taking care of a diverse universe of unique souls. To say to people: "actually feeling all these things all the time, letting them rule you and you should succumb to them" leads to narcissism, myopia and selfish decisions something the Jedi are against for the sake of unity, balance and progress.
one of the best and most in-depth critiques of the show I’ve seen. thanks for reminding me why I love Lucas’ work so much
Excellent review, Mr. Jellyfish. I really appreciated the deep dive into the lives and personal histories of both Lucas and Headland to analyze how that informed their creative process.
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
"Star wars is not about good vs evil"?
fuckkking wow
I hadn't seen that senator speech yet. It's unbelievably awful. Are they intentionally trying to remove any and all subtext they can? Or do they think it's a smart interpretation they've come up with?
Headland is convinced she's a genius with every garbage scene that gets filmed. I almost wanted to skip past the senator scene because it was just more unwarranted slander in an already contrived plot. There's zero balance or nuance, and everything she does is one step removed from her personal bias.
"You try to control what is uncontrollable. Emotions." Or words to that effect.
Which is like... so it's fine if I go on an unrestrained emotional tirade at any point? I shouldn't be expected to ever have any control over my emotions or feelings? Wow, thanks Headland! Hell, I guess we can't be too upset with Weinstein can we? I mean he just couldn't possibly be expected to control his arousal and *not* sexually assault all those people right?!
Like yeah, everyone has their tipping point, everyone loses control sometimes. But that's just it, they _have_ control and sometimes lose it. It's not that they _never_ have control, that you can't control your emotions.
@@Shenaldracit's plain false too. Most of our emotions are direct reactions to our thoughts, conscious and unconscious. We definitely can control and even change our emotions by controlling our thoughts. That's what children learn to do growing up. We all control our emotions to an extent all the time. And emotions are separate from actions too. You don't have to act on your emotions and again we frequently do just living our lifes. Makes you question if these people are just dumb or what their goal is.
ironically the senator couldn’t even control his own unchecked emotions while pointing a finger at nothing
The Senator is intended to set the scene of how they could've allowed the mass extinction of the Jedi, due to a century of mistrust to follow. The irony is that their mistrust of the Jedi allowed the Sith to flourish through the Empire.
The acolyte, a lesson in how the work of someone who actually learned their craft through struggle and adversity is art, and the opposite is trash.
3:47 "Anakin blowing up the death star" 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀
The opening montage is actually extremely powerful and fantastic about how much it contradicts everything that everyone in modern disney is saying
Leslye’s understanding of art is so surface level it’s painful. She’s never read a philosophy book in her life. She’s never studied history on her own in her life. She’s never SOUGHT new knowledge on her own accord. She really thinks she knows it all.
She cannot fathom she was a pawn used to launder money for Disney. They KNEW she was a hack, but they needed an overconfident hack “to put their all” into this show to more effectively hide (and lose) the money. It’s also annoying because she sets feminism back like 4 years in the realm of Star Wars. WHICH WAS DISNEYS GOAL.
Disney was playing 4D chess while lesyle is playing with Lincoln logs. But I will admit the reactionary TH-camrs also played into disneys hands. Everyone got played.
How to create a proper prequel: Rogue One.
How to not create a proper prequel: The Acolyte.
I don't care about her trauma the Jedi are good guys no shades of grey
Oh, they have shades of grey- if you only remember KOTOR II...
... thing is, some writers have the talent to pull it off, while recently involved people...are not even writers to begin with.
I think you hit the nail on the head in this and I'm glad you waited till the show was over to make this, unlike many other youtubers who commented on each and every episode.
I think the focus on the execution of the Acolyte from a technical perspective, helps explain why the show is bad, but the reason why it's so aggravating, is how immoral the show is, and how it reeks of adolescent views about morality, in contrast to Lucas who literally was obsessed and supremely focused on morality. To a child morality is an ideal, to an adult ,it's a tool for ensuring the survival of the next generation; but for a rebellious adolescent it is a prison sentence that prevents them from enjoying the freedoms and privileges of "adulthood" or "power", in the more political sense.
I think that's the best way to explain postmodernism: an intellectual attempt to justify a state of permanent adolescence in intellectuals and artists, where you're too old to see yourself as a child, but also disinterested in accepting the responsibilities and burdens that come with adulthood i.e. teaching right and wrong, which is necessary to pass down wisdom to the next generation. And it's infestation of Star Wars is really one of the worst tragedies of our times.
Thank you. To understand the great mystery, one must study all its aspects. Your points are also well made, I concur.
Man... that first 16 minutes about made me cry.
It was equally painful to edit. The contrast is stark.
One of my favorite points about Acolyte: Creating a whole new witch cult - instead of just continuing on the Night Sisters and extending on their factions. I mean, why? The Lesley witches are too dumb to even live. How can you take them (and their leader) seriously? They fail against four Jedi or something. I just hate the actress' interview performance when she said: "Yes, yes, yes! A strong powerful female leader!" - Her character is toxic, even against her wife (see episode 3) and can not de-escalate anything at all (see episode 7). She can't even educate her children good enough to be good people - look at it again, she talks to her, and then basically gives up midway. Take me as a critical viewer, but if ordinary people on set don't even understand what they are filming, I am not surprised about the bad end result.
There was a Reddit post I saw, that this whole cult could just be a Leslie's fetish material. I mean... We don't even know their fucking name, let alone history or culture, or specific practices, or their recruitment process. We know they were vaguely prosecuted by the Jedi (how? when? why?) and we know they use the Force in an identical manner as the Jedi (Thread my ass there's no difference but semantics until one of the leaders turns into a demon, then it becomes full blown magic).
It all looks like a poorly disguised fetish. Headlamp probably did or would like to scissor with her wife while a bunch of cloaked lesbians chant and do weird vaguely - occultic stuff.
Ah, but the Night Sisters are evil. And these are supposed to be Good Witches who are Good and pure and lesbian and are outcast by the eeeevil Jedi!
Why _are_ they all women anyway? I mean it's not like the force, even if they interpret it differently from the jedi, is something only for women. It's not like there wouldn't be men who are receptive to their ideology. Hell, what would have happened if one of the twins had been a boy? Would they have cast him out for being male? Forced him to be raised like a girl? Hell, what would happen if a trans woman wanted to join? Or a trans man? Come on Headland, you're the one wanting to be super progressive and ram your personal moral views down our throats! Lemme hear what you think about this!
I laughed out loud remembering that interview when I saw what a weak, ineffectual leader that character was.
@@TaoScribble A writer can never write a character who is smarter than they are.
Doesn't the jedi who killed himself call them Night Sisters in ep 7.
"attack me with all your strength" - the DUMBEST line in film history, not to mention that stoopid stance
Did you forget Vader chasing after Obi Wan only to say "so you have come to kill me."
feels like a lot of people knew this show was awful by episode 3 including me but I am happy you waited so you can review this show is in all of its awfulness
My mind was concluded by episode 4, but I fought the urge to drop the review early (fortunately - as the finale was a goldmine).
Underrated channel, TH-cam algorithm sucks. Hopefully with more likes and comments it will start to be recommended.
Thank you.
Great intro bro!! Subbed in like 20 secs.
Welcome aboard, skipper.
I find this review especially refreshing after not being able to escape any sort of discourse of "woke" whenever the Acolyte has been mentioned, and I fault Disney Star Wars for that most of all. In particular as an avid SWTOR player, it just seems to be the norm for any chat conversation to devolve to open homophobia and transphobia just from Disney SW and the Acolyte being mentioned at all. I'm aroace, heavily leaning towards non-binary, and despite not living in the US I can feel the plight of the people who merely wish to live the lives they want. Disney's aggressive and reactionary take on lgbtq+ and feminist issues is tarnishing them far more than any right-wing campaign possibly could, and it's frustrating and depressing to witness.
I really wish they could finally give the reins to people who actually care, not just for the lore and SW at large, but about the message they're trying to convey. You said it best, this show is a product of a selfish self-indulgent creator, nothing more and nothing less.
I aim to please.
As a person who works in Hollywood, you gave Leslye so much more insight than most in this industry would. I appreciate the effort you put in to be fair. Great video!
Star Wars, or the Jedi, are essentially, Space Buddhists, Zen or Tibetan Monks. You can tell Lucas is a Buddhist and that he read the Buddha. You can tell Headland didn't.
There more like the Knights Templar, Knights of Malta or Teutonic Knights.
The legend of the Jelly continues
What gets lost is how Marsha Lucas helped George in the development phases of SW in the 70s.
Marcia Lucas's contribution is blown out of proportion in modern day to spin some sort of female empowerment message. The fact is that it was really academy award nominated editor Paul Hirsch who saved the original star wars in editing. George and Marcia were basically taking turns trying to edit Star Wars into something salvageable before Paul was brought in to edit everything from scratch. It's Hirsch who in certain interviews mentions that there are certain shots in the original Star Wars that go to the very last frame that was filmed on set in the moment. Just to get more time with each shot and stretch out the cinematography as far as possible. Something that neither of the Lucas's employed prior to him coming on.
The Jedi did nothing wrong and Headlamp definitely blackmailed someone to get this show..
The big fight scene with sithman vs jedi was crap. It was not good at all. There is no consistency and it brings up the point again 'if you can just use the force on other force users, why not just do that, constantly and win?' Or 'if you have lightsaber proof equipment, how do you not win in 12 seconds?' and also 'how does one hold a conversation in a 'sensory deprivation helmet'?'
What's the saddest thing about that fight scene... It was the "best" part of the WHOLE thing 😂
In the fight, characters just blipped out of existence until the plot said they needed to be present again.
Thanks for making this video, I totally agree with the idea of making our opinions known.
They need to hear the fans so they can correct their mistakes.
We are the ones who pay for the content. Without us, they don't have a business.
Dave Filoni nodding knowing he’s gonna ignore that and make stuff how he wants in the future
I judge Star Wars shows in 4 categories. 1. How does it tie in with the rest of Star Wars. 2. How does the story work. 3. Are the ideas good/interesting. 4. Are the details good. In my opinion category 3 is the only one where Acolyte doesn't fail massively.
And even then you could argue that there's like a point 3.5 which is How are those ideas executed, which again it failed miserably at.
@@geraldapollyon655 I should've clarified that these are the categories beyond the basic "Is it good or at least enjoyable". The execution of ideas was so bad I didn't even realize to put that in the idea category, just fell straight into the overall failure of the show😂
I love that Headland had concept art and sroryboards made with lead actress' face before the actress was even approached for the role.
That's some serial killer shit right there.
Well, she said that she identified with the evil twin, and young Mae shows herself to be an obsessive nutcase.
3:51 "I just assumed everyone had an imagination" - I will never not laugh at this section 🤣🤣🤣
I almost felt some sympathy for Headland while watching this video. I didn't think that was possible! Your diligence and fairness are very impressive.
I endeavour to be fair (it’s always a struggle).
The dichotomy between George Lucas and Lesley Headland is insane!
This intro is the best content I've seen on this subject. You nail it. It even closes in when LH weirdly touches her arm when she fake laughs. That whole bit is creepy, the way she looks at her.
Ik this video took a lot of work, well done man! This is great
Thanks, mate.
@@workingjellyfish np keep it up!
I would buy the witches being opressed for being gay if this wasn't Star Wars, the same universe where Lando Calrissian wants to sleep with a droid
Andor season 2 is probably the last peice of star wars media i will consume, then I'll just move on.
Agree but it’s not exactly “Star Wars” at heart. It’s got the right paint but it doesn’t feel mythological, Y’know. Feels practical. Good, yes! Great even. But it doesn’t have that grand mysticism and sense of hope.
You're right...but it's the closest we have to a "good atarwars show"@@wytho3751
About the fight scene:
-It's horrible in terms of choreography, actors stop existing once they leave the screen it's unreal, only to come back whenever the director felt like it, the fight makes no sense if you have object permanence, what SquareHeadland clearly doesn't have.
-Kortosis basicaly destroys every lightsaber fight we ever saw. Even if you say it's super-duper-hyper rare, the fact some random sith guy was able to make a full helmet and bracer out of it means people like Palpatine, Vader and Yoda would 100% have access to it too and would have used it when need be, Vader for his suit and cybernetics, Palpatine against Yoda and Yoda against Dooku and Palpatine. Every lightsaber fight we saw in Star Wars makes no sense now because they introduced this stupid metal (that was already stupid in the EU but at least there you could just ignore it and pretend it doesn't actualy exist outside of the comics it come up in).
-As usual, most of the moves are out of reach or they just simply ignore openings that even a 10yo child would see and go "if I hit now you're dead". Tho the final fight is tremendously shittier than the Ep5 one in this aspect.
MY KING HAS RETURNED!!! LETS GO!!!!!!
I think the biggest mistake people make is thinking a fan will make good entertainment. While it is a bonus and the fan is probably more likely to respect the IP. What you need more are true professionals who respect the IP's they are working with. Leslye Headland maybe a Star wars fan, but she is not a professional story teller and she created the Acolyte. Chris Avellone was not a Star Wars fan, but was a true professional and he wrote Knights of the Old Republic 2. A game considered to have one of the best and most thought-provoking Star Wars stories ever.
Oof the intercutting of the interviews… poignant ! Also terrifying how the system around heady panders to her
Oooof I need to do a running commentary lol it’s so painful watching how bad it acolytes is when given such stark contrast 😂😂
"They become the antagonist because they are the bad guys to the bad guys..."
Must be the craziest line I ever heard
This is the most powerful indictment against the Acolyte and modern Star Wars in general. Their own words reveal a complete misunderstanding of what made Star Wars timeless. It's sad that the once great franchise has been mismanaged to a point where fans who used to sit outside theaters for days in anticipation of a movie bounce between anger and apathy with each new Disney Star Wars release.
I think a lot of people at Disney knew this project would bomb and feel the same about upcoming projects but they can't say a word. Kathleen Kennedy is extremely focuses on making activism the centre of her job, over making money, hiring the best talent etc. Everyone at LucasFilm has to pretend to agree with her out of fear for their jobs.
I remember when Jedi were honourable not quick to anger, I don't even ... FIRST 2MIN and I wanted to scream EXACTLY!