Man, remember when the AV Club used to have reviews for each new episode of South Park? I mean, for the last few years they were more like really shitty synapses than actual critical reviews, and most of the comments were just people complaining about how much the author sucked but . . . think of all that engagement!

Great episode (well.. they all are) with just the right amount of laughs and sadness and surprises.

And now for another sorrowful year without Poppy and Ian in my life. Look, this wasn’t the smoothest season, and it feels like we got here way too soon. It had some highs, but it felt more focused on “get characters from A to C” storytelling.

Charlotte Nicdao... making one laugh while also making one’s heart pitter-patter!

Your last point is true with regards to American children, but I have it on good authority that Australian children still have to wrestle three crocodiles on the way to school every day, so they must be made of tougher stuff. (Probably Marmite.)

And they had the only pandemic remote episode I’ve ever seen of a show that was both moving and funny!

The look/pause after Poppy said it was Sarian that inspired her.
That was *chef’s kiss* acting by Rob McElhenney. That said so much without words in just a couple of seconds.

She was amazing. One of the only times I could totally believe a child actor would grow up to be their adult counterpart. And she nailed the poppyisms perfectly while also having that naive enthusiasmof youth. It was a perfect performance.

Well, another season, another “experiment episode” that floors me. This is why I tune into this show every week. It’s capable of surprising me.

Sarian? As in: Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter?

This show dares to say hell with the comedy formula which is large reason why it works. Beside the casting of course. Never would have worked on anything but Apple+ and only because Apple was so new that they had yet moved to algorithmic choices like all the other streamers have. Now I doubt it would have been…

How great was Isla Rose Hall as young Poppy? She absolutely nailed it, front to back, from the sly enthusiasm to the “eat shit".

I’m very much looking forward to the MQ movie totally flopping plot.

Great use of the Featureless White Void in Poppy’s big scene this episode.

Think his wry smile showed he's all in on Cassian

The absolute mad lads and laddesses, they stuck the landing.

Thanks Tom for the review recaps and thanks to this wonderful comment section. I’ve loved tuning into every week to see us collectively realize and wax lyrical on how special this show was turning out to be, as if we were watching an underdog unknown team…

The buzz is gaining steam. More tweets and social media people are noticing it. It seems to have generated a massive amount of YouTube content, with all the big Star Wars content creators endlessly theorizing about tiny details — always a good sign (no, nerds, Luthen Rael is not a Jedi).

Syril, you dumb bastard. I was wrong to call Syril “Brownshirt Javert.”” Javert was eventually able to recognize the injustice of the system he supported. Syril still doesn’t realize he’s on the wrong side even after seeing the Empire slaughter innocent people. I will now call Syril “fascist Smithers.”

Pretty much agree with most of this, except that I do think Luthen is intrigued in a good way by taking Cassian in. His gamble paid off! I was more surprised that he lived to the end of the season - I figured the net would catch him, and then Cassian would be his legacy to the rebellion. Glad to see I was wrong,…

Anyone else old enough to pick up on the Irish analogies here? I mean Christ, that funeral scene!