[7.4/10] I remember when Clone Wars kinda sorta introduced a young love interest for Ahsoka. I rolled my eyes at the contrivedness of it, but it was kind of cute. I feel the same way about Rowan gaining a Lerman quasi-girlfriend here. As a Star Wars fan, I’m inherently sympathetic to a teenager from an Outer Rim backwater who dreams of adventure, so while Maynar is pretty lightly sketched -- basically just skepticism of The Force and a want to get away -- that’s enough for things to work pretty nicely in a 22-minute episode.
There’s a good motivation for our heroes and the Empire crossing paths on Lerman, since apparently they cherish kyber crystals, which is not something I remember from the Clone Wars episode that introduced them. What I do remember is that they were ridiculously peaceful, something that seems to have been relaxed in the twenty years since. But either way, it’s a nice excuse for the return of General Durpin, for Kordi to ply her usual conman tricks, and for Rowan to cavort with his new furry crush.
However thin the motivation for all of this, it’s entertaining enough. Grandma Lurman (Pamela Adlon!) and her combative/amorous ways are worth a laugh. Durpin and Plumestriker are always a good addition to the show’s comic endeavors. And even Rowan using his Force Builder powers to defeat M-OC is unique and different.
I like the overall throughline here too. Rowan wasn’t able to search via his force sensitivity because he doesn't have a guide, but when he meets Maynar, he’s guided by love or affection or even just friendship, depending on how you want to think about it, he’s able to use those powers to do what he didn’t think possible and help a neighboring society in the process. Is that a little cheesy? Sure. But it works!
Overall, this is a solid outing for the show, one that leans into a cutesy kid relationship, but which does some good stuff with it.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP9BlockedParentSpoilers2019-11-29T05:05:16Z
[7.4/10] I remember when Clone Wars kinda sorta introduced a young love interest for Ahsoka. I rolled my eyes at the contrivedness of it, but it was kind of cute. I feel the same way about Rowan gaining a Lerman quasi-girlfriend here. As a Star Wars fan, I’m inherently sympathetic to a teenager from an Outer Rim backwater who dreams of adventure, so while Maynar is pretty lightly sketched -- basically just skepticism of The Force and a want to get away -- that’s enough for things to work pretty nicely in a 22-minute episode.
There’s a good motivation for our heroes and the Empire crossing paths on Lerman, since apparently they cherish kyber crystals, which is not something I remember from the Clone Wars episode that introduced them. What I do remember is that they were ridiculously peaceful, something that seems to have been relaxed in the twenty years since. But either way, it’s a nice excuse for the return of General Durpin, for Kordi to ply her usual conman tricks, and for Rowan to cavort with his new furry crush.
However thin the motivation for all of this, it’s entertaining enough. Grandma Lurman (Pamela Adlon!) and her combative/amorous ways are worth a laugh. Durpin and Plumestriker are always a good addition to the show’s comic endeavors. And even Rowan using his Force Builder powers to defeat M-OC is unique and different.
I like the overall throughline here too. Rowan wasn’t able to search via his force sensitivity because he doesn't have a guide, but when he meets Maynar, he’s guided by love or affection or even just friendship, depending on how you want to think about it, he’s able to use those powers to do what he didn’t think possible and help a neighboring society in the process. Is that a little cheesy? Sure. But it works!
Overall, this is a solid outing for the show, one that leans into a cutesy kid relationship, but which does some good stuff with it.