Star Wars: Rogue One Comic Adaptation, Part 2 - Atop the Fourth Wall

Part 2 of 2.
Welcome to Atop the Fourth Wall, where bad comics burn. In this episode, Star Wars Prequels Month concludes with Rogue One's comic adaptation!
Check out more AT4W shirts at Shark Robot: sharkrobot.com/collections/at...
atopthefourthwall.com
Originally released May 30th, 2020.
ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: Maybe you shouldn't bring guys called "Death Troopers" if you want to take people alive?
#at4w #StarWars #RogueOne

[@MetalB1985]

"Inform Lord Vader" "But sir!" "Yes, yes, he has standing orders to not land on any planet with sand on it." ... Is this reason, why Obi Van thought, that Luke was save from Vader on Tatooine?

[@morganyoung3557]

I loved that joke so much.

[@herosshade2247]

Funnily enough, in the Vader comic it shows how much he hates going there, and there's even a flashback of kid Anakin saying he hates sand. So yes, that's the canon explanation.

[@HyugaBlood881]

@@herosshade2247 that and the memories of not only his childhood but the death of his mother haunt him too

[@Zenn_Chan]

personally I loved the vader scene, because it's the perfect symbol of this movie: This movie is about showing fear of the empire. There's been so many jokes over the years about how goofy and useless the stormtroopers are, and so many people saying the empire sucks, so this was a movie saying: NO! The empire is a galaxy spanning military force that subjugated billions, possibly trillions of lives. They are terrifying, and there is a reason they kept such an iron grip for so long. As you say at the end, they show the death star with it's size, they show the unrelenting force of the AT-ATs, and then there's just the second in command of this empire: Vader. And yeah, that scene is known for him, but it's the reaction of the rebels in that scene that is the cause of brilliance. The genuine terror you see on the man in front's face as he looks at Vader....but he still opens fire. All of those rebels gave their lives desperately to gain just the precious few seconds each one would be worth. And really, that's a microcosm of what this entire movie is about. Hundreds of people desperately spending their lives as well as they can, even if all it got them was a few seconds.

[@BlueHero45]

Ya, and Saw shows that there are other people out there struggling to fight in their own way. The Rebel Alliance is just that, an Alliance of many little forces coming together in the end.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

It's still just done for fanservice.

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

@@GeneralKenobi75 That was fanservice in best possible way.

[@SpedeVesku]

@@GeneralKenobi75 There's nothing inherently wrong with fanservice.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

@@ExtremeMadnessX Not really. And what does it matter? In the end, Vader failed to get the plans. Its just for fans who get a boner from seeing Vader being "just super awesome". Its pointless.

[@eliweisenfeld2593]

In defense of the Vader scene: Darth Vader is supposed to be the most terrifying figure in all of star wars. And the OT shows this for all the reasons you mentioned. But do you know what's happened since A New Hope came out? Lunchboxes. Or merchandise in general. Vader has become as close to star wars' mascot as possible. And he's not really as scary when he can be on my band aid. And, in a meta sense, that's why the hallway scene is not only excellent but necessary. Because sometimes people need a reminder that Darth Vader is an unstoppable juggernaut on par with Jason Vorhees. Because of that scene, a lot of people remembered that they were supposed to fear the Dark Lord of the Sith

[@InvaderNaj]

yeah darth vader has been parodied far too much for him to be the same level of intimidating. hell one german kids tv show actualy has a segment called "darth vader privat" (darth vader in private) the punchline of these is that he acts extremely over dramatic while doing menial stuff and getting shot down by regular people

[@ChandlerVanFossen]

I see it as a way to show the brutality of Vader. Of course he can be intimidating when he's either standing or choking a Rebel out (or his own comrades), but other than the fight scenes with Luke, it seems like he's holding back his power. And that last scene sells how strong and brutal he truly is. It's like his scenes in The Last Order. It shows that you can be a powerful dictator with intimidating features, but if you don't got the brute strength to back it, no one will truly fear you. But hey, that's just me.

[@peggyliepmann5248]

Exactly. It's become easy to see Vader as just a cool costume, this movie took the opportunity to make Vader terrifying again. You can't imagine this movie's Vader dancing as a convention or entertaining at birthday parties.

[@poiuppx]

To me, what really made it work is that it is not a scene that belongs in a war movie, which is what Rogue One is. It's all about being in this human tragedy, where people are dying and suffering and hope is being snuffed out in inches, but it still exists and even if it costs everything to do so, maybe there's a way to make everything right. And then in comes Darth Vader. In comes this monster from out of left field. This nightmare that, had he been involved earlier, could have killed the entire cast without even trying. He doesn't care who gave their lives. He doesn't care about your hope. He's an unstoppable force of nature, and if he catches you, you die. In terror. In pain. Without hope. He's not cool, he's not badass... he's the end. It really helps remind the viewer what's at stake here, and how desperate the Rebel Alliance really is. It's not just got overwhelming force against it in terms of manpower and material, but utterly out-of-context abominations like the Death Star and Darth Vader. It's not just that they're the bad guys, they're bad guys with disquieting power imbalance in their favor and no shame in making use of it. If they win, then odds are nothing is pulling the galaxy back out of it this time.

[@exalt1470]

This was more or less what I was going to talk about. Return of the Jedi came out 34 years before this film.

[@dvass7253]

Linkara: I hate this scene. Me: It's treason, then.

[@kryptonavenger2024]

To be fair, he does acknowledge that it is a very popular scene and that he's in the minority, not to mention that he makes it clear that it's just how he personally feels about it. I for one love this scene because it shows how powerful someone like Vader is compared to the feeble rebel soldiers, how he's the Empire's top dog.

[@dvass7253]

@@kryptonavenger2024 I know, right? Just for the record, I respect Lewis' thoughts on the scene, I just saw an opportunity to use that quote from good ol' Palpy and went for it.

[@kryptonavenger2024]

@@dvass7253 That, and Palpy is just so quotable. Though, if I were to say anything bad about Vader in this film from my point of view, and this is not anyone's fault but time itself, is that James Earl Jones is getting really old. It's pretty easy to hear his age through his performance. I still love the man's Vader, but you can tell time has not been on his side. Anyway, now that prequel month is all wrapped up, I'm hoping Linkara gets to do some non-Star Wars related comics. I've been rewatching The Incredibles on Disney+ a lot (think I'm on my fifth rewatch) and I've heard that there are some comics for the movie. Maybe he can review some of those?

[@dvass7253]

@@kryptonavenger2024 Yeah, that'd be nice.

[@Kekkersboy]

@Darth_ Madara He like me were expecting Vader to simply not be in the scene. It's a fun scene but for me it detracts from the story.

[@danielbrant6740]

*Vader:* _[Lives in a palace that stands out hundreds of metres taller than anything in the surrounding area on the planet where he suffered his most devastating defeat]_ "WHO HAS THE HIGH GROUND NOW, OBI-WAN!?"

[@Quickpatch12]

Lets just hope that in terms of where the planets are located, that Tatooine is not above Mustafar in the Galaxy.

[@genesismultiverse4896]

Obi: well I have a mandalorian jetpack Vader: hah yeah right it is only temporary and not that high (I played Lego Star wars the force awakens)

[@zqfmgb4335]

Linkara : I hate the Vader scene. Me : We're starting our attack run ! In all seriousness though, regarding Anakin's characterization, Padme's death is the moment he stopped caring about other people. It's what finally broke him and turned him into Darth "do as I say or I'll choke you to death" Vader. He tried to save the people close to him, and failed multiple times. Also I'm pretty sure being Sidious' apprentice would mess up anyone's moral compass.

[@danmenard6917]

Not to mention that 20 years is a long time. People change over the years, and so Anakin's empathy gave way to Vader's sociopathy over the years.

[@morganyoung3557]

That is pretty much it, I always say that Anakin doesn’t 100% become Darth Vader until he is told that Padmé has died. Though we like to make fun of it, him screaming no is the last thing he says as Anakin before he lets himself become Darth Vader. There is also the fact that Rogue One takes place nearly 20 years after the events of Revenge of the Sith so a lot more has happened to Vader which probably added towards the anger, bitterness, and despair he was already feeling. We are supposed to get the feeling that finding out that the pilot who destroyed the first Death Star is his son with Padmé brings about a spark inside of him that is Anakin and thus when he sees his son being attacked by Vader’s master and begging for his father to save him, it makes him become Anakin again and destroys Vader. The prequels had a brilliant story idea about a man becoming a monster because he feared loss and had nowhere else to turn to except an even more horrific monster, except that it didn’t have a good execution. I believe if Lucas had some restraints put on him when he made the prequels just like he did the original trilogy it could have been a brilliant set of movies and held in higher regard that it is now.

[@Azmodeus87]

To offer a different take on the same main idea: I would argue that Vader's "quirks" in this movie can be read as peaks of Anakin coming trough, the same way it did in the Rebels show. Anakin Skywalker got frustrated with petty officers, Darth Vader forces them to listen. Vaders jokes about casually doing what Anakin secretly wished he could do. I agree that Vader lacks much of Anakins sympathy for the same reasons you mentioned,though. The only times he actually cares about any person, it's someone related directly to his old life as Anakin.

[@PolarPhantom]

It's a shame, however, that no film really goes into that aspect, even though it's absolutely true.

[@buchiklop110]

Eh, I think the Vader scene also had him at his limit. He was tired of Krennic's incompetence and how far the Rebels got and subconsciously decided to take out the Rebel officers in such a showy way as a way to relieve stress. Basically, Vader needed to vent and he didn't have Animal Crossing over on Mustafar.

[@kryptonavenger2024]

But did he have a copy of DOOM on Mustafar?

[@morganyoung3557]

Maybe he does have Animal Crossing and he got pissed off that there was sand in the game.

[@BlueHero45]

It's also a call scene in showing the plans being passed like a baton from one dying group to another, that it really was a race against time.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

Seems more like fans are trying to justify this scene for being here other than it just being fanservice.

[@RobertRottenThe2nd]

*Everyone else sees the hallway scene*: YES! YES! YES! *Lewis sees the hallway scene*: I hate this scene. " -She- He can't do that! Shoot -her- him, or something!"

[@LetruneInedil]

I agree with Lewis there. If Vader would just imposingly walk there, just ignoring the soldiers and cut them down when they are in the way, it would have been more frightening, I think. I saw such in different movies, where the bad guys done what would have been the "awesome action" in an US action movie in the 80s, and recontextualising it into this freaky thing...

[@artsman412]

@@LetruneInedil Uh, what exactly did you think he did? They were trying to be in his way and stop him, so he killed them all.

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

@@LetruneInedil Lewis is wrong and idiot here for hating on this amazing and outstanding moment. It was brilliant and what you said Vader did is ACTUALLY what he does in the scene. The hell are you not paying attention? He does actually what you said, are blind or your eyes damaged? It’s like the problem with you Star Wars fans, always tryin to find something to complain about. Like holy shit.

[@tyrxian6452]

6:20 the way I see it, Vader stopped caring for life after Padme's death and the apparent loss of his child. We see throughout the Prequels how devoted Anakin is to his wife and after the Emperor tells him that HE was the one who killed her, he just becomes Apathetic to the lives of others

[@ultra6671]

THANK YOU! Someone finally said it.

[@ToHoldNothing]

It's like Lewis entirely forgot that the Vader doing this is 20 years removed from the situation where he was still a nice person, misguided as he was. Now he's jaded, cynical and apathetic, a broken man

[@ultra6671]

"nO, AnAkIn Is ToO wHiNy."

[@arturoreyes2119]

The way I see it, the Jedi I are evil! (Sorry, I had to respond to a "the way I see it")

[@genesismultiverse4896]

Or he was on drugs

[@charleshockenbury353]

If I could defend the Darth Vader hallway scene, for someone from who didn’t grow up with the Original Series as others did, this is the first time Darth Vader ever made me scared. Like I’ve found him *intimidating* before, but never scary. He’s just not that threatening to me. He’s slow and clunky and he doesn’t do anything that impressive. Sure, force chocking in real life is scary, but maybe that’s just been watered down for people like me. Otherwise I think the worst thing I ever saw him do was throw chunks of metal at Luke. And I think that’s more a limitation of the effects of the time. But in *this* scene? He’s a relentless killing machine, mowing down anyone in his way. This is the Darth Vader I expected to see when I hear people who watched the Original Series describe him. This guy I’d be afraid of Luke going up against after only training for a week. Why doesn’t Vader just do everything himself then? I don’t know, why doesn’t the Emperor just take care of this stuff? You have armies of goons to do the grunt work for you. That’s what also makes him so scary here. He’s mowing down these people not necessarily because he’s scared they’ll get away with the plans, he’s pissed off and annoyed that his incompetent underlings couldn’t do their jobs, had to wake him up from his car nap, and now he’s got to clean up their mess. He’s like a dragon who’d rather just slink off to his cave, but he has the power to wipe you out in a second. As for it being God-mode? Frankly that’s a weak sauce God-mode. Crushing an entire rebel ship with the power of his mind like a soda can? That’s God-mode. Mowing down a punch of nobody rebel troops? That’s just what I expect of a Sith Lord.

[@jurassickaiju14]

Agreed. Up until I saw Rogue One, Vader was always that one popular culture character that everybody hyped up. Then I saw this and...yeah.

[@MrCUTigerB]

Agreed. I get Linkara’s thought behind it, though.

[@gtsgreatteacherscathach5550]

@@MrCUTigerB same here but I still think it's a cool scene.

[@FinestFantasyVI]

Amen! I agree with you. Amen. THIS is scary and intimidating. Him just looking ominous and taking Han Solo's gun is... not really scary. More like.... huh neat. Original Star Wars is slow and clunky. He is scary looking, but you dont get why he is a threat is he moves slow as molasses. THIS showed what kind of a power and killing machine Darth Vader is. THIS is the chosen one who turned Dark. This isnt god mode. This is a tuesday for Vader

[@charleshockenbury353]

I do think it’s mostly I’m of another time. I’ve seen better effects so watching these older ones just doesn’t have the same “oomph” to it. Also Vader is so prevalent. I’ve seen the force choke so much now that I’m not scared of it. It’s just his signature move. it’s not the movie’s fault.

[@LupineShadowOmega]

Setting up the castle on Mustafar...the Sith way. Take all the worst things in yourself and use them to make you stronger. Vader does what he does, because he never stopped being angry. Angry is what gets him through the day and the night and every moment, because if he stops being angry he'll never stop crying. So angry Vader it is. While I get your criticisms of Anakin, his character is pretty consistent. Yeah he cares too much, or at the very least focuses on his relationships to others way too much in the eyes of the Jedi. But even Vader doesn't escape it completely, because Rebels is full of Vader meeting his former apprentice and knowing that its too late for him, but also remembering the girl she was that even now was like a daughter to him. And even if the retcon bothers you, it was still similar to Vader's fights with Luke in the original trilogy. Luke is his son. He wants to turn Luke to the Dark Side, not kill him. Robot Chicken's excited Vader is way too accurate. XD Anakin loves his family, all of them (even the adopted ones) and that's what actually leads to him being redeemed.

[@benreilly9513]

[Han Solo voice] I like this guy.

[@treygoldsworthy1402]

Which of course is enhanced by The Clone Wars.

[@mcpics4448]

Trey Goldsworthy love the show

[@alexiaNBC]

It's also a reminder that Vader/Anakin despite being so powerful with the force is not 100% committed to the Dark Side. Anakin is struggling with the equivalent of a dual personality between his previous self and his Vader persona that the two are in much conflict together as Luke mentions in ROTJ (as well as demonstrated in another comic where Boba Fett was the one to tell him Luke was a Skywalker... and Vader was so angry that he nearly shattered the glass on the Star Destroyer he was in showing his anger that someone connected to his previous self is still alive after all these years). His decision to build his palace on Mustafar is to reinforce that Vader side of himself so his anger can keep him focused on the Dark Side. The parts of him and Ahsoka do show that he has a slight bit of good in him when he called out her name (and you can see his hesitation and sadness through the crack in his mask when she said she wouldn't leave him again). But when he learns that Luke is his son, that's when the conflict within him rebuilds and he grapples with Vader wanting to kill Luke and Anakin who wants to turn him to rebuild what he once lost.

[@jordanreed7570]

Also because it has a “dark side nexus” that could open to time travel portal or some such bull crap

[@abv9118]

"The problem with Anakin is that he cares too much, and here's Vader slaughtering rebels" Ok. Not that i agree that "caring too much" is the best way to describe what Anakin problem was. But there has been a *decade* of separation between Anakin, the compassionate Jedi, And Darth Vader the lord of the Sith. It's more then enough time for Anakin to lose his compassion.

[@kryptonavenger2024]

Actually two decades since this is set almost immediately before the events of A New Hope.

[@damianjaviervediamcmahon7149]

Let's not have any arguments about "AT-AT" or "Att-Att".... but do let's have a pile on Linkara since those are All-Terrain Armoured Cargo Transports or "AT-ACT"

[@Ahturos]

I just called them Four-Walkers and the two legged one Two-Walkers.

[@treygoldsworthy1402]

Then do you call AT-APs 3 walkers, or the AT-TEs 6 walkers, or the AT-OTs 8 walkers hmm?

[@samalinder]

AT-AT All Terrain Attack Turtle

[@pygmalion0451]

"This is a consular ship. We're on a diplomatic mission." "You know, I'm not mad at your bad lying, I'm frankly disappointed." snap

[@kaicreech7336]

18:11 That is compelty in character for Anakin 'drama queen' Skywalker how dare you sir

[@benreilly9513]

So I realize this comment is framed as a joke, but this is absolutely in character with a dude who'll strangle the shit out of someone to get them to shut up, toys with his son when they're fighting, and kills officers to motivate other officers, because it's all about instilling fear.

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

Anakin isn’t a “drama queen” at all. He’s only whiny in the 2nd movie and he’s amazing in episode 3. Jesus Christ I don’t know what you want out of his character. You people are insanely unreasonable.

[@kaicreech7336]

@@Gadget-Walkmen no he's not a drama queen in universe, he's a drama queen the same way Batman is a drama queen. He's a 'fly a TIE fighter with the force while standing on the outside purely for aesthetic reasons' drama queen. ( Which is Canon BTW) like it would be way easier snap people's necks with the force but strangling them is just cooler, you know? Like he wears a cape all day everyday.

[@kaicreech7336]

@@Gadget-Walkmen he's a drama queen that exists in the universe that absolutely facilitates the best impulses of drama queens

[@spyrofan9681]

CAT MOMENTS!!! 01:07 11:27

[@starwarsnerd100]

I do not get the complaint about Vader. Sure, the prequels lightsaber fights are flashy. But the Vader scene? There's no jumps or flips or anything like that, he's not sprinting through the hallway. He moves at the same speed as we see in the OT, but in a menacing way. He's slow and with limited range, but he's an unstoppable juggernaut. Yes Vader in the OT is menacing just from his presence, but here we see he can back it up. As for why he needs stormtroopers? The same reason the Jedi go into battle with clones. It does not seem overpowered to me at all.

[@kryptonavenger2024]

While I agree on the Vader scene, Linkara does have a preference when it comes to certain characters. For Vader he doesn't really like when Vader does a lot. He prefers him to not have to do a lot and command through presence. It's more that he doesn't want him to do stuff like this to show how menacing he is because for him he doesn't need to and doing so is pointless in his eyes. And again, he does stress that he's well aware that his view on the scene is in the minority and that this entirely falls into his personal preference. Though to undermine that part about him having stormtroopers, there was one comic in the new continuity that this is part of that I remember reading where Vader wipes out an entire rebel army by himself, so... yeah, troops become kind of pointless. Again, not in the movies, but I felt I had to bring it up.

[@buchiklop110]

You could also argue that Vader got frustrated at how inept Krennic was at stopping the Rebellion and subconsciously took out his frustrations on the poor Rebel officers.

[@christianfarren1179]

Exactly. For all the scenes he mentioned in the OT, I didn’t really feel fear as a kid, but rather awe, even though I didn’t yet have the word for it. Up until the end, he’s in control of Imperial forces, someone who commands fear and respect. A capable warrior who toys with his opponents for sport before killing them. I can get behind that kind of villain. Now if I saw *this* scene as a kid? I’d be legit terrified. He’s slow and lumbering, thrashing rebels around and cutting them up while they’re tripping over themselves trying to escape. He’s the monster the Empire invokes to keep everyone in line. A brave, but foolish choice, Linkara. You’re impossibly outnumbered.

[@NatsuMatto]

Biggest problem, aside from the obvious fan service, is that Vader *never* does any of those things or shows that level of power/badassery again for the rest of the original trilogy. It's like he burned out all his "force points" in that one corridor before Episode IV even started.

[@ianbrennan9635]

Not to mention, this scene also helps to back up why Vader was such an intimidating presence in the original trilogy. He doesn't always get into the action like he does here, but whenever he does, it's a terrifying sight to behold.

[@alexandersturnn4530]

Sorry, Linkara, but I believe you are completely wrong about the Vader-Scene. That said, I do respect your Opinion.

[@Makverus]

Same here. He can hate it, but the reasoning he has for that fate seems nonsensical. And there's a lot of commentors pointing out the same thing in other comments here.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

@@Makverus Actually, I agree with him. Its just fanservice and rather pointless at that. Its an awesome scene, but people trying to justify it constantly for being there when its purely just fanservice is ridiculous.

[@arashimiyazawa8165]

18:03 The chest piece in the original Star Wars didn't have lights on it, so that's actually very good continuity from the costume department. The lights on his chest aren't there until Empire Strikes Back when the costume was redesigned.

[@Shadeius]

While the chest plate didn't have lights his belt certainly did as shown when he found lack of faith disturbing. imgur.com/2cOcPE3

[@sereneavatar]

@@Shadeius True, but are the belt lights indicators of any life support functionality? If not, then there's no break in continuity of Vader's character and all is well in the galaxy.

[@SpiderboyN2Jesus]

Also, he's standing in the doorway of a dark/dimly lit corridor with bright light haloing behind him. Unless the tiny LEDs on his suit are really powerful, they wouldn't really shine bright enough to be seen there, anyway. Just try holding a toy with tiny LEDs in front of a window with the sun near the horizon oustide. You'll have a hard time seeing those little LEDs, lol.

[@JaelinBezel]

It is shinier in Dynasty's Retaliation.

[@KurganMacLeod]

Two defenses of things here, assuming you aren't tired of them: re: Anakin's character, the key context for the difference between Anakin and Vader is that Vader isn't a different person from Anakin, but he's desperately trying to be. As far as Vader's concerned, Anakin was weak, and it was his attachment to people that made him so, so Vader makes a habit of murdering the people under his command to prove to himself that he isn't as weak as Anakin, because Anakin was foolish enough to care about the clones. Its only when he finds an attachment he can't deny (Luke) that he slowly realises that he's fooling himself, and he is still Anakin Skywalker in all the ways that matter, and that's what saves the galaxy. The other point is probably more controversial, but I've never seen the corridor scene as being about Vader being badass. Vader being badass in it is a nice touch, I'm not going to deny that, but what it's actually about is that split-second moment of hesitation on the rebels' faces before they start shooting at Vader. Because here's the thing about Rogue One - the general message of the final battle is that if any of these people falter or give up then the Empire wins. There's probably more moving pieces in that battle than ate strictly necessary for the plot, but they're completely necessary for the theme. If Chirrut doesn't pull that switch, the Empire wins. If Bohdi doesn't get out that message, the Empire wins. If K2SO doesn't sacrifice himself to seal the vault, the Empire wins. And further than that, if any of those pilots on both sides of the shield don't fight and die for the Rebellion, the Empire wins. If that Hammerhead Corvette doesn't sacrifice itself to break the shield, the Empire wins. And circling back around, if any of those soldiers don't face down the single most terrifying being in the galaxy and decide to shoot at it, the Empire wins. Its why the scene I'm most disappointed they cut out is when the last person alive on the ship is brought before Vader, and Vader demands to know where the plans are going, and this nameless extra in a Star Wars movie looks Darth Fucking Vader in the face and says 'Away from here. Away from you.' That's the point of Rogue One, I find. That the galaxy isn't saved by magic farm boys with laser swords, but by ordinary men and women saying that they won't stand for it.

[@danmenard6917]

Beautifully put. And exactly right. Vader's not the main focus of the corridor scene, but the terrified soldiers who are desperately trying to buy precious few seconds for the plans to be safely transported away.

[@depreseo]

wondefuly put. In my opinion rouge one captures the message we all kind of overlook with the original trilogy (helped by the prequils, and which they tried to re-establish with the sequils) - these wars aren't won by the Jedi, but by the random nobodies willing to put themselves in danger to fight and die for a cause. Episodes 1-3 show us the Jedi as the central figures of the conflict, the leaders, and their fall. Come the original trillogy era the Jedi (whats left of them) have another role...they're the distractions. Obi-wan deactivates the Death Star tractorbeam which allows the falcon to escape, yes, but his confrentation with Vader is to allow the others to escape and deliver the plans to the Rebellion. He/the jedi are expendable distraction. When Luke (now calling himself a Jedi) surrenders himself to Vader on Endor he's taken to see the emperor, but in doing so he removes himself and Vader from Endor (distracting the sith order) allowing Han Leia and co to deactive the sheild with no hinderence from the Sith lord, and therefore allowing Wedge and Lando to deliver the killing blows. In respect to the wider conflict Luke's biggest contribution as a Jedi was surrendering himself as a distraction. The major victories against the empire were not done by magic space wizards with laser swords, but by the nobodies who were overlooked but who were willing to face down ginormous odds, even for a couple of seconds, for the faint promise of a better tomorrow.

[@gundamfan7541]

Honestly I found the scene as both a reminder why vader is as terrifying as rebels sees him as and the perspective of how terrifying the rebels see vader and how powerful he is compared to "regular people". That said what you said is another awesome perspective to the scene.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

No, its pretty much just having Vader be badass for the fans. That's it.

[@treygoldsworthy1402]

Ha ha jokes on you cause those walkers in Rogue One are actually called AT-ACT’s so no one gets to complain about the pronunciation of AT-AT’s.

[@playererror4044]

Is their actually a difference besides having a big orange box in the middle? like what does AT-ACT actually stand for?

[@treygoldsworthy1402]

@@playererror4044 It stands for (All. Terrain- Armoured. Cargo. Transport)

[@goblinsrevenge]

@@playererror4044 From what I remember in a Star Wars Explain's video, the AT-ACT weren't built for combat so weren't as well armoured. Also due to the weight of the carge their knee joints had a eletric field to help reinforce them. Which explains the eletric static looking effect when the rebel in the U-wing was shooting at them.

[@RabblesTheBinx]

I find that argument hilarious since both "A-Tee-A-Tee" and "At-At" are used in canon, so both are perfectly valid (I, myself, prefer the former)

[@walterlopez5054]

Vader's corridor scene was all about psychological warfare. he walks down the halls. the security cameras see him. see him walking through a whole platoon like a hot chainsaw going through a stick of wet butter. its about demoralizing the enemy. showing them how futile rebellion is.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

But the point Linkara makes is that its utterly pointless except as fanservice.

[@myriadmediamusings]

What I love is how Rogue One’s exploits allows them a new excuse and reason for the later Rogue Squadron to exist. An issue of the recent Marvel comic Star Wars run in fact showed that moment, when Luke, Wedge and a few others defy high command orders to execute a near suicide raid, and they rename themselves into Rogue Squadron.

[@_NIKOS9_NIKOS]

To be fair Scarif is a remote planet in which ships come and go very rarely and its imperial base is the only place of any interest so it makes sense that it has such shield. Coruscant however has ships both civilian and military coming and leaving all the time so having such a shield would be very impractical

[@InvaderNaj]

well they could still have a shield emitter in orbit just shut off while not under attack

[@johnmcclure40]

@@InvaderNaj Maybe they do, by the time of the original trilogy. Is there anything to suggest that one wasn't installed after Revenge of the Sith?

[@punkrockbttrfly]

While I wouldn't try to "logic" you into enjoying something you don't, I disagree on the final Darth Vader scene. Yes, based on his powers he could have just choked them all and taken the plans - but what's important is that he doesn't. Because Darth Vader is unbearably arrogant and loves being extra. He's revelling in the slowly approaching terror of the Rebels and it's his arrogance that costs him the day. It also explains his anger at the beginning of A New Hope: if he'd moved just a little bit faster he'd have taken the plans back and the Empire would have won. But he didn't, because his arrogance got the best of him, just like it did time and time again in the prequels and will continue to do time and time again in the originals.

[@danmenard6917]

Yes, thank you for voicing what I thought about this scene too!

[@morganyoung3557]

That and he doesn’t seem to get that maybe the reason why he inspires so much fear in the soldiers that work under him is because they have seen what can happen when he unleashes the powers that he has. They know that he can utterly destroy a person like that. I usually love listening to Linkara’s ideas, but this was one that I really disagreed with.

[@phoenixshadow6633]

He's also still Anakin who was a pretty big showboat himself.

[@zexalbrony4799]

That's pretty much true of all Sith, there arrogant. Look at Darth Maul, in his battles with Obi-Wan in Episode 1, Ahsoka in the Clone Wars, and Kanen in Star Wars Rebels, he let his arrogance get the better of him thinking he had it won and that his opponents were beneath him, and because of that, every time he gets his butt kicked by opponents he probably could have defeated if he didn't let his arrogance get the better of him.

[@PolarPhantom]

Inflicting fear and terror is also a common Sith tactic. Vader does that well. ...could he have just choked them all? MAYBE. I dunno if he could. Like, he'd have to concentrate and maybe one guy would get a shot off while he's doing so.

[@shadowlinkbds]

The last third of rogue one is definitely the best part of the movie and one of the most epic parts out of all the star wars films. A cool epic space battle, lot of great action and Vader just owning the last few minutes by just showing how badass he is. Rogue One is worth seeing just for the climax alone.

[@chippertoddshow]

Well in Anakin/Vader’s defense, 20 years in a very crude and uncomfortable life support suit would probably make anyone crabby enough to choke subordinates for so much as sneezing.

[@RoastedPheasant]

Anakin DOES care too much. But caring doesn't necessarily mean "being nice". Empathy is not the same as being supportive, though the two are often conflated. He sets up his castle on Mustafar to always remind him of what happened there. If you have a good eye for it, you'll see exactly where his castle is located: overlooking the exact spot where he failed to kill Obi-Wan. He does feel too much. And over the prequel trilogy it shows how someone who does not have good control over their emotions can ruin everything they try to build. So when I see Vader striding into the hallway, confidently swatting away blaster fire, I don't just see fanservice (though it is). I do see Darth Vader finally being realized as the Force of Nature we see in the original trilogy. This is the movie where they stop treating him like he's Anakin and start treating him like he's Vader.

[@smilingnid4276]

One of the important bits is the distinction of why he cares, and it goes back to his flirt with fascism in II. He cares about "his" people. The clones are his people and they love him so he loves them back. His fall is all about the emperor narrowing that circle making him remove the jedi from it, then the clones, then Padme, until all that is left is Palpatine himself just like an abusive relationship.

[@ThatCatWithoutAHat]

@@smilingnid4276 That could have been something they could have put in the prequels, maybe Anakin have a fun conversation with one of the clones and him being detained when talking with a politician. I know this is stuff we see in the Clone Wars series, but we shouldn't need supplementary material for the movie.

[@smilingnid4276]

@@ThatCatWithoutAHat I am not say this stuff is't poorly explained in the movie , it is the novel did a much better job of showing it, but the psychology is still there, you just have to be able to recognise it under the wooden writing. there has never been a point where Anakin wouldn't intimidate Krinneck because there is never a time where the director would have been "his" people.

[@fermintenava5911]

I agree on that "caring to much" is not the same like "being nice". There are points in life when you have to shut your feelings down and be at inner peace to accomplish something. Vader can't find this peace anymore. He never could shut down his feelings of regret or fear or anger. That's why he takes so much on a personal level - he wants to convince himself that with the force (whether light side or dark side) he can finally get to the level of a god and leave what makes him human behind. That's why I think the sand people massacre works. He was angry that in a momentary decision, he was powerless, and so he seized control by destroying what forced him into this position. Padme wanted to remind him that he's just a human. After her death, he gave up on this humanity, therefor he shut everything down what reminded him of this humanity.

[@JaelinBezel]

I have a character literally born out of human Wrath, but by the time of the present story, her main problem is that her emotions run away from her. Her village out to kill her baby and husband and she turns into living flame and burns said husband because he's trying to restrain her and keep her from killing them all, just on instinct. She keeps her distance away from her now grown up son because she knows that if she makes contact with him, she won't be able to stop herself from coddling him too much out of love, and that is the last thing he needs in her opinion, no matter how much she wants to speak to him. She tries to soothe and comfort an orphaned girl but when that girl puts herself down one too many times, she loses her temper and yells at and hits her... while wearing the face of the girl's dead mother. She's not a bad person anymore, despite being programmed to be, but she's still really bad at doing good.

[@Smashguy96]

HARD disagree on the Vader hallway scene

[@SpoonDude]

I personally think the Darth Vader scene was awesome. I don’t think his abilities in the scene are too much greater than what we see in the original trilogy, especially since even thru his “fancy” twirling he’s still slowly lumbering forward as he kills the rebels. He isn’t doing Prequel flips and force dashing or doing expanded universe lightning- he’s using about as much effort as he’s shown in lightsaber duels later. It’s also cool to see Vader against someone troopers, something we didn’t get much of in the original movies. To me it’s obviously fan service but in an unharmful way compared to... other films that have it I also don’t think it’s an entirely unnecessary scene, sure the main characters are already dead but it shows just how _barely_ the Rebellion is able to get away, and as we know in A New Hope, they aren’t even able to completely get away. What better to show the empire’s strength and unrelenting power than with Vader? I also like to think of the hot potato game they play with the Death Star plans as the Rogue One group passing the torch to the main characters of Star Wars, going from them to eventually Leia’s hands.

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

He is doing all the nessarcy movement for him to fight and deflects blasters shots and somehow this moron think it’s “Bad thing” when it’s universally loved and adored upon. Besides all the prequel fights are better because their much more faster and deadly while actually showing how powerful Jedi are supposed to be. It’s a movie, you have to entertain your audience through style and grace and this dumbass reviewer thinks it’s a bad thing. Be flashy! Be stylish! You have entertain your audience, there is nothing wrong with that at all. Thank god this idiot isn’t a film maker because he would be a insanely shitty one if he’s stupid enough to think the Vader scene is bad in anyway.

[@firstnamelastname8107]

...okay I'm one of the 'Anakin's problem is that he cares too much' people, but as far as how he's now the total opposite of that, I think it comes back to the much-maligned line "Only the Sith deal in absolutes." Yeah, it's an absolute. I do agree with the criticism that the prequels' showing of the hypcrisy and decay of the Jedi Order left a lot to be desired and needed more focus, but the subtext was there, and I think that's part of it. The Jedi deal in absolutes. The Jedi have no room for ambiguity, uncertainty, and that's the environment Anakin was raised in since childhood. Any emotion, even love, is the path to the dark side. Any anger is unforgiveable. The Jedi Order is absolute. He does one wrong thing, and by the view of the Jedi and Sith both, he's irredeemable. He cares too much, and by the logic of the Jedi ingrained in him, and the manipulation of the Sith, that's morally equivalent to just going full Sith Lord, so why wouldn't he? The Jedi aren't allowed to be morally ambiguous. If they do something questionable, they don't acknowledge it, they either insist it's absolutely right or cast out the person/people responsible. (Part of that's why I love the end of RoTJ. Luke gives in to anger, lashes out in what's almost the dark side, and then takes a step back anyway. And seeing that, seeing someone reject the absolutes, makes Vader turn on the Emperor).

[@kryptonavenger2024]

Another factor is that Anakin had been Darth Vader at this point for two decades. That's a lot of room for someone to change, especially when you consider that Anakin was about 23 when he became a Sith Lord. While I can understand Linkara, it sorta feels like he missed that this isn't a minor time gap and Anakin has been working for Palpy for a long time. Granted, he just finished Episode III and he's very clear on only going by the context of the films, so going from one end to another is odd for him, but I still can't help but feel like he missed the twenty year time gap.

[@zexalbrony4799]

@@kryptonavenger2024 Agreed. Even discounting all the spin-off and EU stuff that happens in between the 20-year gap, I think most can logically assume that after 20 years of being Vader he's gotten used to it and is completely different from who he is as Anakin.

[@playererror4044]

Personally I love the corridor scene; something worth noting: Rouge 1 was the second star wars film I saw on the big screen (first one was Force awakens) I'd only seen Vader on DVD and well... He didn't scare me. Him choaking the generals was a gag in empire (the punchline being the guy who he lets live at the end) Stopping the blaster bold with his hand was cool, but blasters can be stopped by lightsabers, soemthing we'd already scene before so it wasn't all that bad ass to me. most of the people he intimidates are the bad guys, so I didn't care if he was scaring them, other than that he was a threat and he never scared me. Tourturing Han Solo was offscreen and he looks mostly fine afterwards, same with Leia. point is to me Vader wasn't scarry because he never seamed to make that large of an impact or is interacting with people he has to keep alive for one reason or another. The Corridor scene on the other hand was absolutley terrifing, just walking through them and showing how he treats his enemy, no talking, just striking them down in the most brutal way possible, also the terror on the soliders faces as they try to hold out and realise their completly screwed; that scared me, they didn't get cool lines or to be a punchline, they were in the way and Vader was going to destroy them. that uncaring and hopless atitude... that was, basically the first time I was ever scared of Darth Vader and I love it.

[@Cheshire_Grins]

I understand the comments about Vaders scene. But to me, those exact comments only show why this scene is awesome. We finally do see the power the prequels talked up and we see why people fear Vader and just his presence is commanding. The OT scenes were strong and had menace but we never got to see Vader back up that menace. He was always holding back trying to turn Luke but here, he's showing why he is the Sith Lord. I get that Linkara likes Vader doing less and having him do more would lessen his imposing nature; but in this scene everything he does takes no effort. His lightsaber twirls arent the exaggerated prequels stuff, it's standard sword parries that he does without breaking stride or even moving faster than his standard pace. He barely even turns to look at the rebels even while choking someone and pushing them out of the way. Yes its pure fanservice, but done with no dialogue from Vader and showing how easily he could just walk through an entire squad if he wanted. I will agree with the question on why he'd need storm troopers later though

[@kryptonavenger2024]

Also, with how troops get killed an masse, you have to wonder what kind of payments they receive to make this job worth it. Do Stormtrooper even get payed?

[@GeneralKenobi75]

That though, is the exact reason why Linkara doesn't like this scene. It's just fanservice for people to go "OMG Darth Vader's so awesome!!!" That's the only reason its there.

[@BodySprayMan]

Rogue One is probably one of the few pieces of media out there with a "everyone dies" ending that I think actually works. Most of the time, those endings always hurt the material more than help for a simple reason: the entire experience feels pointless. It feels like nothing is accomplished and we just watch a whole movie or show just to see everyone suffer and still die. It's so irritating, especially in horror media. Rogue One works because while everyone died, they still accomplished their goal and the day will eventually be saved. That makes the experience a lot better in my mind. I even like how the comic ends with the opening crawl to A New Hope, driving that sense of accomplishment further. At least, that's how I feel about all of this.

[@what0080]

Plus, if Rogue Squadron in ESB and ROTJ are any indication, their sacrifices were not forgotten...

[@morganyoung3557]

I agree, if you want a story where all the major characters die at the end it has to be earned and mean something. The heroes going down in a huge battle to get the plans of the Death Star is one where the ending was earned and goes along with the set of lines cut from a New Hope said by Leia talking about how many people sacrificed their lives to get the plans. It also helps that even though the main cast was killed off at the end, the movie still ended with a glimmer of hope with the Death Star plans being given to Leia showing that their deaths were not in vain.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

Eh, I disagree. The fact that they all died when you go through the trouble of setting them all up like that is really quite pointless and empty. And you could easily have them survive and even do more movies with them. Just say they were in another part of the galaxy fighting the Empire at the time the original movies were going on. The Rebel Alliance is more than just Luke, Leia and Han.

[@TDWTB]

I know I’m gonna sound like a huge nerd but the castle on Mustafar makes total sense. He literally lost everything there his wife, his best friend, his body, and most importantly his children. There is no other planet in the galaxy that has this significance. Even then it is revealed in the Vader comic that there are strong Darkside powers lingering there. So it does make complete and total sense that he would put his castle there. As the rest account to point out that it’s not an AT-AT, it’s an AT-ACT. I don’t expect everyone to know that simply because the movie doesn’t say anything about it. The only ones in this franchise that are competent, especially for the imperials, are The Emperor and Vader. Tarkin is Also competent but out of everyone else these three are the only ones who know what the hell they’re doing. Let’s face it a large portion of the Empire are terrible at their jobs and he kills them in order for Empire to get anything done. That scene is essentially him doing what has to be done in the most efficient way, murder. We just witnessed a man ruin over 20 years of R&D simply because he thought he could trust someone who clearly did not want to be there. Even then he’s not doing super prequel moves that we’ve seen in the previous films. He’s not twirling or using force powers to the extent of destroying armies. He’s just killing them in the most effective way possible. I know you don’t like the scene but it’s a lot better done then you make it out to be.

[@viralshadow]

The old EU explained it that Vader has respect for the rank and file troopers of the Empire. Its the command level Imperials that he has contempt for. Given how they act, its easy to see why. Yeah, I know, its the old EU. I just thought I'd point it out.

[@ToaArcan]

I'm of the mindset that Vader's portrayal here and in the OT compared to Revenge of the Sith actually makes a fair bit of sense, and really plays into the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker as a whole. Anakin is emotional, to an extreme degree. That's part of what makes him so vulnerable to the Dark Side. He's attached extremely strongly to everyone he cares about, most obviously with Shmi, Padme, and to an extent Palpatine in the movies, but it's also greatly apparent with R2-D2, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka in The Clone Wars. And then over the course of Revenge of the Sith, he loses all of it. Everyone and everything he cared about, except for Palpatine and some of his Clone Troops, dies or is turned against him. Many of them because of him. There's this excellent moment in Matthew Stover's adaptation of Revenge of the Sith, where Anakin, whom has been characterising the thing tearing his family and friends away from him as a "dragon", finally realises that there *is* no dragon. It's him. He's the one that ruined his life. He's the reason why he's a quadriplegic in a robot suit with a skull face. Vader buries himself in his rage, his anger and his hate, because that's the only thing he has left. That's why the version of his character we see in all of his post-RotS appearances is the stoic badass with moments of impulsive aggression. That's why a man who cared deeply for the Clone soldiers he fought beside can so casually kill a whole corridor of Rebels.

[@benreilly9513]

[Matt the Radar Technician voice] Yes, exactly. EXACTLY.

[@kryptonavenger2024]

Yeah, but in regards to TCW, Linkara does keep stressing that he's going by the movies since these are comic adaptations of said movies, and TCW didn't exist when Episode III was out anyway. I love TCW and all it does with Anakin's arc, Ahsoka's development, almost all of Darth Maul, almost everything with the Clone Troopers (Fives and Rex especially), but he has to go by the films and only the films for these.

[@ToaArcan]

@@kryptonavenger2024 Yeah, but TCW only enhances those elements, doesn't invent them whole-cloth.

[@the-aspiring-creator4249]

@@ToaArcan Of course... but the point is it still didn't exist at the time and just made what was a lot of the times perception more concrete. Aside from that, the biggest problem is that an entire TV series shouldn't be required to fix the development for your film characters.

[@erickcastaneda9589]

a hard disagree on the vader bit, we're seeing Vader thru the eyes of a common trooper, it's supposed to be inpersonal

[@Gyarretto7]

You wanna know how hardcore Vader really is for having his castle on Mustafar? That castle was situated specifically so that it would overlook the exact place where he got burnt to a crisp in Revenge of the Sith!

[@DCMarvel2009]

Calling an AT-ST a chicken walker is as accurate as calling the AT-ATs “giant robot camels”. And as Family Guy proved, it’s legitimate.

[@rexstocephirxiii4263]

Living with constant reminders of his pain and loss feed his anger and thus his power in the dark side.

[@benwasserman8223]

Just saying Lewis, if you watched seven seasons worth of Clone Wars episodes (plus Rebels Season 2), then Anakin's descent into Vaderism becomes legit compelling. Also the Vader comic explains why he wanted to live on Mustafar. Ancient Sith mystic power was buried there.

[@the-aspiring-creator4249]

Of course TCW and Rebels make the change work... but neither of that stuff is actually in the movie and quite frankly, the idea of needing to watch an entire television series to understand the film is absurd.

[@benwasserman8223]

@@the-aspiring-creator4249 Well it's part of the new film/TV symbiosis, similar to what old novels did for the Extended Universe. Plus TV shows have more time and episodes to flesh out the storylines of these sprawling galactic conflicts. The fact that we knew about the Anakin/Ahsoka bond made her confrontation with Vader all the more heartbreaking...

[@cartooncritic7045]

@@benwasserman8223 Yes, all of that stuff that happened in the TV shows makes sense within the context of the TV shows....but the prequel trilogy was supposed to be all about Anakin's fall, and it only really shows the beginning and end of it all. Saying that everything is cool beans now because of a couple of good TV shows or comics doesn't make the structural problems of the movies themselves go away.

[@benwasserman8223]

Cartoon Critic No but you can’t deny the animated results are effective. In the end, people are ok waiting so long as the payoff solves their past issues. And Clone Wars ultimately did that

[@cartooncritic7045]

Ben Wasserman I’ll be sure to remember that when a new animated series set before Episode 7 comes around and tries to fill in the stupid plot gaps left by The Rise of Skywalker.

[@stonecoldku4161]

The ending with Leia saying "Hope" will always make me emotional, because the day that I saw this movie for the first time was the day that Carrie Fisher passed away. My friend and I were sitting down in the theater before the previews started and he was checking his phone one last time, before shutting it off. It was then that he saw the news and told me that she had passed. Needless to say it took a lot for me to not turn into a complete mess when Leia came up on screen.

[@heidifedor]

When I saw this in the theater with my sister, and her family, my brother in law jokingly cried out “No don’t go!” When Bail says he’s returning to Alderaan.

[@benreilly9513]

I think we all know what needs to come next. Marvel Comics '77 Star Wars reviews. Even ignoring the wonky, off-model art, the bizarre stories the instant you get out of the film adaptations, and the characters introduced that end up showing up in canon (like the cyborg Valance, who made his first appearance in Marvel's Star Wars run and is currently leading up the comic Star Wars Bounty Hunters) I think the AT4W readership deserves to meet Jaxxon, the green anthropomorphic rabbit in a flight suit, and Don-Wan Kihotay, the crazy old man who thinks he's the last of the Jedi.

[@buttherewasnojanus6637]

I thought the fact that "Rogue One" was just a name made up on the spot for Jyn's gang made it unique and special. And criticizing that it "wasn't assigned to them" kind of... you know, defeats the whole point of them being "Rogue." Otherwise, great review! Keep up the good work!

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

His review was shitty bro.

[@ImmortanDan]

An important detail about Anakin’s character is that, simply put, he likes fighters and fighting and hates bureaucrats and bureaucracy - meaning his respect for a person is proportional to their willingness to act strongly and personally. Example: In Empire, he has a rapport with Gen. Veers, a land forces commander who personally operates an AT-AT, and spares Piett, an admiral who actually takes the initiative but has shitty luck. However, he kills Ozzel and Needa without a second thought because all they’re good for is making up excuses. Now, this personality trait of his has been expanded on much more in Cone Wars and other EU stuff, but the point is that Anakin/Vader has always hated career desk jockeys.

[@Catalyst375]

As far as the Vader scene goes, I can see where Linkara is going with it. The scenes he referenced get the point across about Vader with less involved. It is about Vader controlling the room in the scenes he is in that shows his dominance and power. Han tries to shoot Vader, but Vader doesn't even need his lightsaber to block his blaster bolts and disarm him; Luke tries to fight him, but Vader puts in minimal effort at the beginning, gets progressively more batter as Vader puts more effort in, and quickly loses a hand when Vader stops holding back. Every military leader and soldier in the Empire is terrified of him because they know that failing him can result in death. The hallway scene is meant to lead into Rogue One, and it's...Vader failing to stop the plans from being taken aboard Tantive IV despite cutting through all the Rebel troopers in his way. It's flashy, it's cool-looking, it cements Vader as a force of nature compared to Rebel troopers, but it's also Vader failing because he opts to cut through them with his lightsaber to get to the guy with the data, rather than him flooring everyone with the Force and pulling the trooper with the data towards him, as Linkara pointed out. Flash and style is no substitute for efficiency, which is key to Vader's rep.

[@TevyaSmolka]

Personally I would’ve loved to have Kyle katarn and his story adapted to steal the Death Star plans but that’s just my opinion as for this movie I thought rogue one was okay at best not the best but way better then solo but that’s just my opinion.

[@pokemastercube]

we could use more legends charaters bruoght back into cannon, afterall we got thrawn

[@TevyaSmolka]

@@pokemastercube agreed and that's why i would really love to see Kyle katarn make a comeback just like thrawn.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

@Mackenzie Bauroth Honestly, I think Kyle's story fits much better in a story about getting the Death Star plans than Rogue One. Rogue One is just one big battle scene we've seen throughout Star Wars. But Kyle's is a spy story, which fits much more with the Rebels getting the plans than Rogue Ones. Actual espionage, spy work, and a game of cat and mouse with the Empire chasing him. Rather than just another big space battle.

[@TevyaSmolka]

@@GeneralKenobi75 agreed and you're right about that

[@grantmoore8228]

@@GeneralKenobi75 wasn't that entire segment relegated to the tutorial? Isn't that like Harry Potter destroying a Horcrux at the beginning of a philosopher stone video game?

[@TechnicalJimActual]

[To the tune of the Friends theme song.] "I'll be there for yooooou. Cassian said I had to."

[@w1ndgeneral226]

"We own it, it LITERALLY belongs to the government and we still have to pay for it, *that's how expensive it is"*

[@DarthStauffer84]

I don't know why. But the name "Captain Crispy" made me laugh harder than it should have

[@rambler2701]

Linkara: I'm not counting the Ewok movies Everyone: No one counts the Ewok movies

[@Neo232100]

I respectfully disagree with you about the Hallway scene. I honestly love it for many of the same reasons that I love the duels in the prequel trilogy, we are _shown_ why people are terrified of Vader. Yes It's impressive that Vader's sheer presence alone commands respect. But seeing him slaughter the rebel troops illustrates _why_ people were so scared of Vader. Even beyond him stopping Han's blaster shots or toying with Luke. Keep in mind this is the only time we see Vader fighting normal people. And they don't even stand a chance.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

Um, we have always been shown why people are terrified of Darth Vader in the original movies. In a New Hope he single-handily wiped out the entire Rebel attack force on his own. Only failing to get Luke because of Han's untimely intervention. In The Empire Strikes Back we see him casually murder not one, but two Imperial officers for failing him. And then we see him almost effortlessly defeat Luke. What are we supposed to get from this scene? Oh, Vader can casually murder a couple of red shirts. I'm pretty sure that was implied that he could do that. And are we supposed to cheer for him murdering the good guys here? Killing brave and heroic rebels trying to stop the Empire's planet killing weapon? Its just pure fanservice here. And people constantly defending it as something greater is just ridiculous.

[@Neo232100]

@@GeneralKenobi75 I mean that's fair, but I personally enjoyed the scene. I felt that it was a genuinely good action scene not the greatest thing ever.

[@stephensmith7327]

This is why the clone wars characterization is so good in my opinion, it would totally be in character for him to want to save clones he knows while leaving behind ones he doesn't. He's very selective of the people he cares about and is willing to risk his life for, and by the end of the Clone wars that list consists only of the empire that he worked so hard to create.

[@lorddrayvon1426]

I love that. "Tarkin, being a bastard..."

[@reyonXIII]

I definitely understand and to an extent agree why you don't like the Vader scene at the end. It is kind of unnecessary showy, though, I get that it's more of your preference of Force badassery that doesn't involve lightsabers, which I can get behind with at least Yoda and Palpatine. If I may make two counterarguments, though, based on stuff I've read: - Anakin has always been a showy bastard, and now being fueled by the Dark Side, he's caught up with intimidating these hapless cannon fodder, but that proves to be a mistake that makes him effectively kick himself, explaining why he's so uncharacteristically pissed at the start of ANH. That, on top of the fact that they're lying to his face. - I noticed that all the examples you highlighted of intimidation are of people who have encountered Vader or live in his shadow. These Rebel troops, it may be fair to say, have not. Probably only heard stories about him. Moreover, they've likely only probably heard that Jedi existed, not that there were evil versions of them with red lightsabers. So, the display of showy lightsaber swinging and twirling is really more direct for these guys that "I'm nothing like the Jedi you've heard about before". Combined with the above, plus the general atmosphere of the scene, and how it ties to ANH's opening scenes, it's not so bad

[@Falxifer95]

Here's my in-universe defense for the Vader scene: 1) the Death Star was one of the Empire's biggest secrets as it was being built, so the fact that the Rebels were able to find its plans meant that all bets were off and the Emperor's second-in-command and enforcer had to get involved. 2) At this point Vader was basically Batman for the Galaxy, everyone, even Jedi survivors feared him, seeing a Red Lightsaber in universe was a literal death sentence, and obviously you don't get a reputation like that by just being the boss of the bosses giving orders.

[@voyagervimedia3174]

Hey Lewis, regarding the Vader scene at the end. I did enjoy it, but you're correct in reading it as pure fanservice. However, where that scene shines for me is that it re-contextualizes the initial scenes of Vader confronting Leia in the opening minutes of Episode IV as an (even bigger) crowning moment of awesome for HER. I mean, with his own eyes Vader saw the plans being handed off to crew of her ship. Her ship escapes from the hanger of the Mon Cala vessel where it was moored over Scarif, and Vader watched it fly away. His Star Destroyer chases it down within a few hours of this event, and when they meet, she deadass looks him square in the eyes and lies her ass off about not having any idea what he's talking about and they're on a diplomatic mission. Goddamn BALLS.

[@jeffreybarrow9788]

"I'm not counting the Ewok movies", Good choice.

[@grantmoore8228]

Aw dammit I really wanted to make a "We stand here amongst MY ACHIEVEMENTS! NOT YOURS!!!" joke but I can't find an appropriate point in this review to use it. We were on the verge of greatness, this close. Jokes aside can I just say Director Krennic is a phenomenal star wars villain? Dude's basically the equivalent of middle management in the Empire and he still shows up to work each day in a pure white, fluttering cape! Helps that Ben Mendelssohn has clearly learned from Ian McDiarmid on how to chew the scenery and make every single line memorable and memeable!

[@BobLogical]

Fun trivia note about Vader's castle: It was built by a ghost possessing a funny helmet.

[@kansastagai9081]

Linkara, you fool. Those aren't AT-ATs. Those are AT-ACTs. There is a massively important difference.

[@buffalobill4892]

In defense of Darth Vader, I would say that a major Star Wars character as iconic as Darth Vader doesn't suffer from finally getting another epic scene *outisde* of the original films. (Especially as the franchise is growing.) A legend returning and we are all reminded why Darth Vader is someone to be feared. The powerful and iconic villain from our childhood. In fact, Darth Vader was voted second greatest movie villain of all time by AFI. You can't just put a legend like that on the sidelines. And furthermore, in the narrative sense, Rogue One is about tying into A New Hope. It happens like less than two days before A New Hope. That's why Darth Vader and Princess Leia appear at the very end of the film, because they are essential characters throughout the film. Therefore, their presence at the end of Rogue One is essential; one dressed in complete black representing the terror of the Empire, and the other dressed completely in white representing the frail yet growing hope. That's literally what Princess Leia says at the end of the film, "Hope."

[@immortaltwinsuns]

I've really enjoyed your videos on the prequel films/comics, it's always interesting hearing people's views on Star Wars since it's such a wide and varied franchise with so many different views about it. You always explain your reasoning so whether I personally had the same experience/opinions or not it is cool hearing another viewpoint on them :). Incidentally, personally I do like the Vader hallway scene (because yeah this is the thing everyone will be commenting on...), but not because of Vader... Heh. I just found so many rebels being hopelessly outmatched and terrified but still desperately fighting to buy time to get the data away so that someone else could have a chance to live, to stop the empire, did a good job of underlining the incredible selflessness and sacrifice that was the film's ending. I guess you didn't really need it since literally every main character died doing just that but I still feel for extras when they're killed like that I guess it kinda felt like a final punctuation mark on the message for me.

[@jdpragmatic8644]

17:23 he attempted to use the force to just grab it but the blaster shots were coming in with such high quantity he couldn’t focus enough on the data disc. 18:04 and YES, he turns off his life support systems and uses the force to sustain himself when he wants to sneak up on his enemies. He did it when he fought Luke in Empire Strikes Back...THREE TIMES.

[@noir-214]

15:33 "All and all, today has been a bit of bummer"

[@raymicheals4127]

16:30 Honestly what seperates this scene from the trilogy with vader is that is shows his frustration to clean up his subordinates work that he was called out there and must be really ticked off. In the original trilogy he did get frustrated but when he did show off like when he stop blaster fire in cloud city and his first fight with Luke it was more confidence than frustration

[@Kilthan2050]

The bit where Bodhi's cable gets snagged on a random thing is the most realistic thing to ever happen in Star Wars. If you've ever done anything with long cords ever (like run a vacuum or an electric push mower) then you've been there.

[@mattwo7]

0:36 "The last remainder of the Jedi gone" [Laughs in Loath-wolf]

[@jshadowhunter]

I'm just waiting for Death Egg to appear in Sonic movie sequels now. If Death Star looks scary here, think of what it will look like when it has a grinning face with mustache and glasses.

[@kryptonavenger2024]

If it appears in the next Sonic movie, I want it to have a stereo speaker that can play "Where Evil Grows" so loud the entire planet shakes. Also hoping Eggman gets either Orbot, Cubot, Scratch, or Grounder. He needs someone to get him his latte with steamed Austrian goat milk.

[@jshadowhunter]

@@kryptonavenger2024 I mean he could always robotize Agent Stone and he ends up falling in half, making 2 robots.

[@furonguy42]

I get what you mean about the Darth Vader hallway scene, especially with the plot holes about Vader not just holding the door closed or summoning the plans to himself; but I for one don't appreciate that scene just because of the lightsaber twirling and all that. I appreciate the Vader scene for the same reason you appreciate the scale of the Death Star or the walkers - it shows just how one-sided the Galactic Civil War is. Sure, we saw Vader being powerful in the original trilogy against Luke, Han or his own men, but that's just it. Luke & Han had main character shields, and Vader killing his own officers shows his authority rather than his power. These Rebel grunts aren't Jedi in training. They aren't guys with bounties on their heads that Jabba the Hutt wants alive. That's what makes it work, the sheer fear factor that these people have no chance. It's sort of like watching Jedi slice through Battle Droids, but in reverse. We can be amused at Obi-Wan or Mace Windu slicing through goofy droids, because the droids are the bad guys, (comic relief ones at that), and the Jedi are the protagonists. But when those dime a dozen infantry units are the last hope for the galaxy and the Jedi are replaced with one of the most iconic villains in fiction, one who's nigh unstoppable power is already well documented, the same kind of sequence takes on a whole new meaning. Its like playing Silent Hill, being on critical health and seeing Pyramid Head approaching, knowing you have no healing items left. Its like seeing a Borg Cube coming when you're in command of an Oberth-Class ship. Its like being a solitary UNIT soldier with an empty clip and rounding a corner to see a Dalek. You know there's no escape, but that doesn't mean its over - you still have to actually suffer the loss. And that is terrifying.

[@koku6626]

The bit at 11:57 about Vader's "Standing orders" got me so much harder than I thought. I think it's the way Linkara says sand, but it absolutely has made my morning

[@Avenger85438]

I think Chirrut's ability's are a good argument for saying one can attune themselves to the Force, rather then it being just some are born with. Something A New Hope implied with Luke, that he was just reaching a higher lever of understanding, not tapping a connection he already had. One of reasons I think the Jedi adopt children is because training someone without the predisposition could take a long time, if the person had trouble grasping the concepts. Belief seems to be a big part of how Force powers work, and belief tends to be eroded with age as with Luke. He initially could lift small objects but not his ship due to thinking it impossible. By contrast, I believe Rey lack of parental figures and of greater responsibility's, like doing chores and farming, allowed her to maintain the "innocence" a youngling would have. Combined with her strong Force connection and unlike Luke actually hearing stories of the Jedi helped in the fly or die duel with Kylo to her own surprise. Chirrut had the belief and that is why he could act so fast and sense things. Had the Jedi been around to help he might have eventually become one.

[@Saiyef96]

2:29 Also, sell any stocks you have on Alderaan. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

[@kryptonavenger2024]

I hear it's coming down with a terrible case of explosions soon.

[@Gyarretto7]

As a long time fan of the EU, I love the ending scene with Vader for a very important reason: Because Vader is Vader! Because he's not being overly fancy and flashy, and that's not what he did in the movie; he's walking down a hall, and cutting down everything in his way without breaking his stride. Trust me, there *HAVE* been times in comics and games where Vader has been flashy, and it's just so wrong. But more than that, because while Vader is not invincible, nor should he be, he *IS* a fighter, he does lead the charge on the battlefield several times across all of Star Wars continuity, and I think Rogue One perfectly carries how he manages a Star Destroyer into how he fights. But the real reason why I love this scene? Because Legends loved to beat the shit out of Vader, and it was pathetic! Seriously, I can't count how many comics, novels, games, etc in Legends ripped Darth Vader to pieces, from his secret apprentice (twice), to an enclave of Jedi that survived Order 66, to Boba Fett, to a freakin' pack of jungle cats! Ideally, it was to make it seem like he was facing a powerful threat, if even a badass like Vader could be torn up so badly, but again, he was nearly killed by random jungle cats. And I could swear that I recall Vader facing down a bunch of rebel soldiers in a similar situation to this, and he got shot up and ragged while killing them. Damaging him that much that frequently just makes the almighty Lord of the Sith look pathetic. This scene did Darth Vader the justice that he truly deserves.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

Except that again, it's just there for the fans to have a fangasm. That's it.

[@jackhummer8344]

Yeah, Legends Vader really bugged me.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

Its still a flashy scene in essence. Its just Vader showing off for the fans.

[@Pinkanator]

I'll never get over that Vader legally owns the HIGHEST ground on Mustafar, just out of spite.

[@OnDavidsBrain]

5:15 He was taught well by Darth Fat Grandma.

[@xl9079]

You mean Darth Sasser.

[@smiller3995]

Linkara: i don't like the Vader scene Me: EXECUTE ORDER 66

[@BionicleGio22210]

I think the Vader scene was just him venting about being anywhere near sand, and this was the perfect excuse to cut loose

[@kryptonavenger2024]

I'm partly convinced that had the Death Star not been blown up in ANH, Vader would have targeted Tatooine next.

[@BionicleGio22210]

@@kryptonavenger2024 I'm pretty sure palpatine denied him that as it's a source of anger for vader

[@kryptonavenger2024]

@@BionicleGio22210 Damn you Palpatine! You and your love of sand! Okay, but seriously, Palpy denying him the right to blow it up to keep him angry is pretty in character for the guy.

[@snazzyguy2000]

Sorry to nitpick but, in NPR's dramatization of Episode 4, Bail Organa is on Alderaan when Leia takes the Tantave IV to get the plans which implies he's there when it goes boom several days(?) later.

[@Shadeius]

I don't think it's canon to Disney tho since they basically threw everything but the six films and TCW series.

[@AussieDragoon]

With the "Anakin cares too much" thing, I think you're looking at it the wrong way. You seem like you're viewing it as him being some kind of all-loving hero who falls to darkness, but that's not really what people mean by it. What they mean is that Anakin cares too much about things he's formed a connection with. He's very possessive and protective of people in the way that other people are towards pets or the like. So the reason he can just choke people left and right while caring about the clone troopers is because he's really not very close with the rest of the members of the Empire. He likely never works with them (can you imagine Anakin as Vader sitting in a board meeting about planetary tax rates or the like?) and probably only gets called in when things are going bad because everyone is afraid of him. It's not like he chokes everyone, he never does so to Tarkin, likely because they have a history together, so that part's consistent. Kind of like how someone can work at a slaughter house, then go home and play with their dog. So, whether or not Episode III explains that well in a general sense, that's a different story, I agree that it could have done better showing that stuff and the transition instead of him constantly sitting on the fence, but whether or not Anakin wanting to go back for the clones is inconsistent with how Vader acts, I disagree on that front.

[@dabwiso784]

Yeah, I love the scale of the AT-ATs and the Death Star scenes give me chills.

[@jeremygoodwin9068]

I think why the reason why the Vader scene at the end works for me is it works as a microcosm of the film. The trail of bodies that passed along the Death Star plans layed out in a literal image, as Vader, the icon of The Empire, tears through them one by one. Focusing more on terror than efficiency.

[@JohnDoe-uf3lj]

As someone who grew up with the the OG trilogy, I like the Darth Vader hallway scene because it's rare to see Darth go into full KILL mode. He's more interesting when he's subtle (like the scenes you mentioned), but it's nice to see that he can back up his intimidating presence. The scene probably could have been better if we got to see more of Darth Vader's subtle side in the film. But after all the stuff in the prequels, I'm happy to see some original Darth Vader.

[@GeneralKenobi75]

When has he never gone full kill mode? I seem to remember in A New Hope him just devestating the Rebel attack force all on his own.

[@DawnOfTheOzz]

Is Star Wars Prequel month over? Cool. Now lets get back to 90s comic crap. And again, Linkara, stay safe out there.

[@TheSwordsman100]

Anakin/Darth Vader has always cared a lot about his people, keyword his. This is why he built a castle on Mustfar in the area where he lost it all, to remind him of his failure, why he keeps the 501st Legion around, why he searches and tries to spare in his own way Ashoka and why he is so determined to find Luke after realizing he is his son. There is no one Anakin despises more than himself.

[@whitestarbreaker]

SPOILER : to be fair, i get linkara's point, in the game "star wars jedi : last order", vader just appear at the end and everyone, including the players, shit their pants at the breathing sound of his mask, he casually kill his inquisitor and discard a retired jedi master like nothing, and the protag cannot fight him, just run for his life, he is AWESOME in this part and he does very little.

[@bluestar2059]

He literally rips an entire base apart with his mind! I'd call that a wee bit more than "he does very little".

[@the-aspiring-creator4249]

@@bluestar2059 But the thing is, he's doing it just while casually walking. Just the fact he's not making any crazy motions and is just tearing a base apart while taking a stroll makes that terrifying because it means something like this is just another Tuesday for him.

[@fyraltari1889]

I always thought that the way to make Vader be scary in a Rogue One without it being forced would have been to have him kill some of the main characters. I was legitimately surprised it didn’t happen. Imagine what it would have been like if, say, Baze’s last mollement had been fighting Vader.

[@Maioly]

I was ready to defend the Vader scene at the end if your issue with it was that no one heard vader walk in I HATE that criticism of the scene, mostly because I keep seeing it coming from people who praise the old extended universe non stop and hate the new stuff... AND BEING ABLE TO MAKE YOURSELF TECHNICALLY INVISIBLE WAS A FORCE POWER IN THE OLD EXTENDED UNIVERSE Luke used it a lot, not to make himself literally invisible but to literally make it so people did not notice him, or thought he was someone else. Its a very well established force power in the legends/old extended universe continuity... and yet I keep seeing people shitting on that scene as bad and nonsensical, or 'ruining' it by bringing up that one point. And even outside of the old extended universe, the Jedi mind trick is a thing, its not that hard to imagine a stronger force user (and a malevolent one) can use a variation of it to keep their presence undetected. Its literally the one criticism of that scene I cant stand, and yet its the one I see parroted all over non stop, and I am glad you had an actual explanation of why you disliked the scene instead of just repeating that.

[@TheBlackDemon1996]

Vader’s choice in castle locations is more badass than you think. He built it on Mustafar *because* that’s where he lost everything, and the memory of that will fuel his anger and make him stronger in the dark side.

[@keiththompson9435]

Krennic: Really a Dad Joke? Vader: What did you call me a ‘father’? Krennic: No I meant It was a pun. You could make money in a place called Japan for that. Vader: Stop. Let me brood. My issue with Digi Reconstruction is that while cool it’s very obvious. I just felt weirded out most of the time. Next time: Challengers? Like DC’s Fantastic Four? Or Challenge of the Go Bots?

[@IronicSnap]

I think Michael Giacchino uses punny song names on every single project he can; titles on his Zootopia soundtrack range from subdued ("The Nick of Time", "Ramifications") to absolutely horrific ("Grey's uh-Mad At Me"). What a guy!

[@KassTheLass]

THAT DARTH VADER MASK VOICE MUDULATOR TURNS YOU INTO A PERFECT ZORDON VOICE IMPRESONATER!

[@LaZodiac]

My favorite part of this movie is the inversion between Chirut and Baze. Chirut says "I am one with the force, the force is with me", symbolizing his devotion to this belief system and how, as a result of it, the force is with him. It is his eyes, and it shields him. Baze says "The force is with me, I am one with the force", symbolizing how in truth, despite his teasing, he did understand Chirut's faith and believed, a bit, himself, and how Chirut's death has sort of... freed him to go wild. No longer a bodyguard for the old monk, but a walking blaze of glory. The force is with him now, and he is one with it, an unstoppable force. It's just really good, helping to take the Force away from that pseudo-scientific nonsense of midichlorians, taking it away from the jokey Space Wizard stuff of the Prequels, and bringing it back to what the Force was always supposed to be; a deep faith and understanding of life and the world around you. Chirut was blind, but his belief let him see. Baze was unable to act, but seeing that belief inspired him to do so.

[@danmenard6917]

While I agree with most of your comment, why does everyone think Midichlorians demystify the Force? They are cells that are a channel for the Force into the body they live in, not the Force itself. The Force is, as it has always been, the essence of life. "They constantly speak to us, telling us the will of the Force." as Qui-Gon says. Nowhere in that statement does it say the Midichlorians are the Force.

[@simonwright7492]

I grew up with the prequel, this has always lessened the menace of Vader for me. The Vader scene made me realize how the people who grew up on the original trilogy must have seen Vader.

[@starkilr101]

Can we all agree that Vader‘s castle in both the comics and on the silver screen is amazing

[@Maniac536]

11:35 adorable kitty cameo!

[@langleymneely]

The problem with the Rogue One score was that Giacchino was forced to write & compose the music in 2 weeks because of all the crazy different reshoots that went late. He had to rescore everything after Alexandre Desplat composed score for the entire original cut. Its not Michael Giacchinos best work.

[@ivane5110]

To really have fun, call it an "Awtaw-Tee" and really watch the sparks fly