So I previously noted in the conversation between Fett and the train leader, the train leader explains why they were shooting Tuskens (they saw the Tuskens as uncivilized raiders), and Fett explains that the Tuskens claim ownership of the land, but are civilized enough to let them leave with their lives as long as…

What we have been shown so far suggests there is a sort of feudal structure to Jabba’s former organization. There are subsidiary bosses the top boss lets run all sorts of different enterprises, but that the top boss still claims to own, with the power to transfer control if the top boss is unsatisfied. And those…

They are like fat aristocrats who ruthlessly command the services of many other people accomplished in committing violence. They became aristocrats because they are cunning, long-lived, ruthless, ambitious, egotistical, have strong family bonds, and are careful with property . . . basically, the usual reasons. And they…

So again the train leader says something about believing the Tuskens were uncivilized raiders. I think we are supposed to understand that one of the implications of that is the Syndicate did not suspect the Tuskens would have the organizational sophistication to pull off that sort of ambush—and of course they did not…

I think we are supposed to understand the shooting of Tuskens from the train as an attempt to force them to entirely leave the area. The train leader says something like, “We thought you were uncivilized raiders and we were trying to protect our route,” the implication being they were not in fact confident the Tuskens…

I’m getting the vibe that may be a love story (possibly tragic) in the making, which would then be REALLY strange if it was actually Fennec.

Are those really the only two options? Stories that “need to be told” and stories that are nothing more than fan service?

Yeah, I am OK if the basic story structure here is that Fett is eventually confronted with the fact that his vision for how to take over Jabba/Fortuna’s criminal enterprise is naive and unworkable, leading to some sort of conflict with the values he acquired during his time with the Tuskens.

I think the staff will largely make or break each season of this show. I think the easier part will be casting big names to play the endless variety of possible awful/pathetic wealthy people. But coming up with a similar variety of compelling staff stories may be a lot harder.

In fact, Imperioli could just play himself staying at a White Lotus resort!

So at the time, TV stars were typically still considered second tier to the top movie stars and top recording artists. On top of that, Hasselhoff was considered the “star” of Baywatch, and everyone else was part of what was known as an “ensemble” cast. Anderson was certainly one of the more popular female lifeguards…

Yeah, I remember it being discussed very early on. I also remember the dominant (not exclusive) view at the time was that it was surely accidental, meaning surely she did not actually intend people to think of Jews when they read about or saw her goblins.

Probably a bad sign that I as an adult really liked The Mysterious Benedict Society (watching it with our daughter). Hale was brilliant in his dual role, and the whole thing had a really stylish/quirky/subversive vibe to it. But I gather not enough kids found it relatable enough to be a mass hit.

OK, you personally do not like streaming mini-series structured like movies.

It could be simple, but there is potentially still a long path between him first gaining the respect of the Tuskens (as seen here) to rescuing Shand and getting his armor back (as seen in The Mandalorian), and then finally killing Fortuna and sitting on the throne (as seen in the mid-credits). As I recall, that is…

So as many have pointed out over time, a modern streaming series is often more like a mini-series from the broadcast era than an episodic series. And in terms of structure, they are in turn more like movies than episodic series, or for that matter more like novels—and in fact, these episodes are being called…

Indeed.

My favorite character/performance all along was Kate O’Flynn’s DC Lancing. And I was resigned for most of this episode to being disappointed. Obviously the role of the investigator is naturally deemphasized once we get to the trial phase of the Law & Order formula. But even in Susan’s Western fantasy, they are…

So obviously magical realism in general does that on purpose, introducing fantastical elements into an otherwise real-world setting. Often that is at least in part for the purpose of providing social commentary. And of course a lot of satire and other subversive comedies include implausible/impossible elements for…

Excellent point. It would be easy for her character to just be an annoyance, but I find myself really liking her and sympathizing with her, and finding her scenes to be funny.