A funny thing happened when I hit 10 years—I started thinking, “Wow, it has ONLY been 10 years since the first Hunger Games?” Not my usual reaction to these things.

Yeah, I guess we are starting from different subjective feelings. My feelings are more that so far the story is pretty basic, but not hard to understand. My wife also seems to be feeling like she is following the plot so far quite easily.

And derivative as it may be, I’d be cool with that!

So I agree the full explanations for everyone’s behavior don’t come before or during the relevant behavior. I personally don’t mind that sort of narrative structure, one where we sometimes learn more about motives and thinking after the fact, but that is a matter of taste.

My assumption is the Mayor is in fact the Mayor (he seems to be described literally as such by the torture-droid when his emissary visits Jabba’s former palace), and yes the city is totally corrupt in that sense. Although exactly who is sovereign in the city at this point in time anyway? I note my understanding is…

So the flashback this episode actually starts with Fett learning their stick-fighting style, before the first train attack. That night when he proposes he can stop the train, he asks only that he be allowed to take their traditional weapons (a rifle and a stick). During the runup to the ambush, he keeps working on his…

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…

They don’t show it, but there is a public hoverbus stop right down on the corner.

Cue MST3K theme song?

To be brutally honest, your question really challenges all “space ship” science fiction, and by extension the dreams of many for the future of the human species.