Look at you, a general!

By Pranks Paul

[Spoilers for Star Wars Rebels and Rogue One.]

My roommate loves military sci-fi.  One criticism he often levels at Star Wars is that it’s ridiculous that Han and Lando are given generalships after their short stints with the Alliance.  I don’t agree with him because I think he’s missing some fundamental points about Star Wars:

  1. In Star Wars, heroes are often created by accident or coincidence.
  2. Star Wars heroes are combat monsters.
  3. The Rebel Alliance literally cannot survive without relying on outside recruits.
  4. Star Wars is making a point about trust.

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Working Blue

By Pranks Paul

—This article will analyze the usage of Grand Admiral Thrawn in the TV show Rebels, and will feature heavy spoilers from Rebels’ third season.  Continue at your own risk. —

Last July, hundreds of Star Wars Celebration attendees around me erupted in cheers when they heard fan-favorite Grand Admiral Thrawn would be returning to new canon.  I was happy for them, but I had a bad feeling about this.  I had grown tired of Thrawn by the end of the Expanded Universe, and I wasn’t sure new canon would be able to rehabilitate the character for me.  This past season of Rebels has led me to think more deeply about the character, but I am still disappointed by his usage in new canon so far.  I’ll first explain who Thrawn is, then move on to how he has been utilized in Rebels.

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