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A favorite pastime of internet nerds is to put the new Star Wars films under a microscope and ask questions about anything doesn’t make sense. We ask how the First Order became so powerful after the Empire’s fall, how Maz got a hold of Luke’s … read more »
Conflict is the engine that moves the plot and lights up characters. But what happens when a storyteller forces conflict into places where it doesn’t make sense? That’s when you get contrived conflict, and it’s usually followed by audiences asking things like “Why are they fighting?” and … read more »
It’s no secret that The Last Jedi diverges significantly from its predecessor, The Force Awakens. Whether this is the death of the Star Wars franchise or the greatest event in the history of science fiction depends on who you talk to, but it’s clear that … read more »
The Force is an energy field created by all living things, except it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with living things. Is it just a collection of Jedi superpowers, or does it mean something more? What is the ‘Dark Side,’ and can there … read more »
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is an ode to the power of failure. The main characters fail at many of their plans. However, the more they fail, the more they learn and grow. This film shows the benefit of learning from mistakes, giving this tale … read more »
Everyone loves a good protagonist, but what about the unsung side characters who faithfully serve their role without any thanks? What if they were the main character? How would that change the story, and would the story be better for it? We consider the changes … read more »
Prequel stories have a reputation for being terrible, and it’s well deserved. The Star Wars prequels, which are awful in almost every way, come to mind of course. Not to be left out, the Harry Potter franchise now has Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find … read more »
Since we’re discussing heroes with dark counterparts, we brought on a new guest host: Graham, who is basically evil Oren. With our evil new co-host, we discuss all the ways in which a villain can be used to show us the darker side of a hero, and … read more »
This week, the normal voting process for deciding a topic was suspended, and it was decided by tyrannical dictate that we would discuss democracy in speculative fiction. Why is there so little of it? Can it be used to tell good stories? Why are we … read more »
The exciting conclusion of Last Ship of the Republic! Will our heroes triumph in their battle against the evil Empire? Will their efforts all be for naught? Will Captain Pinok ever get a chance to have a fist fight? You’ll have to listen to find … read more »