The Underailable Thread....Part Deux, the Sequel!!

[gurneyhalleck1]

WORST.... FINALE....IN YEARS!!!!!

My wife, mom, me...we were all super disappointed as heck!!!!

Can we take a break from being wrong about what the best Star Wars films were to talk about how incredible the finale for The Americans was?

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Your eyesight will return in time...

no, leave them to me, I will deal with them myself.

 

[ArmyMatt]

Your eyesight will return in time...

that bad, huh?

 

[mothcorrupteth]

WORST.... FINALE....IN YEARS!!!!!

My wife, mom, me...we were all super disappointed as heck!!!!

I loved it. The way it dangled everything from the teasers and then faded back in "With or Without You" to make you think the episode was going to keep faking you out, and then BOOM! On the platform. I admit, there were loose ends, but they all felt appropriate.

 

[ArmyMatt]

But the lightsaber “duel” in a New Hope was inspiring!??? And the Ewoks were hardcore! The Jawas were frightening scavengers, and the rebels on Hoth laying in trenches against AT-AT’s was a good plan! Star Wars ships have loud sounding engines even though there is no sound in outer space LOL. If we’re going to get too nit-picky, it’s goofy....

I thought Grievous was fine. No let-down. Threatened them, cornered em, escaped, gave Ob Wan a good fight, got out-matched. Not sure what was horrible about Windu vs. Palpetine? He got cornered, manipulated Anakin with guilt and pity. Wins. It’s what he does.

Palestine vs. Yoda was great. I loved Yoda slamming the two imperial royal guards into the wall! The fight was cool.

Great movie. The only prequel I thoroughly and utterly like. First two were hard for me....

Some of the writing could’ve been a bit better, but the old movies weren’t exactly Amadeus either.

Grevious fight was way too short. Windu vs Palpatine was slow with poor choreography. Palpatine vs Yoda was too much of Yoda simply flipping around a stationary Palpatine as the chair went up.

horrible movie. nothing good aside from John Williams' music

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

The story was unsatisfactory for me. Stan is twice a traitor to his country—-he slept with a KGB officer ruining his marriage, met with Oleg in a shady way and got him hurt, then he allows Philip and Elizabeth, two KGB mass-murderers to go free. Think of the hundreds of innocent lives they’ve claimed in a most brutal fashion over the series run!! Scott free. Stan is either a traitor or a real fool.

The Paige train tracks part was gripping. I’ll give you that. Sad with Henry, too, but I wanted to see them caught or shot, not this cheesy outcome. Elizabeth is cold and adaptable. Living without her kids in the USSR will be something she’ll cope with. Philip will survive. And ironically communism there will collapse! So their work was all for nothing.

I found it a bland ending. We never find out if Renee is KGB? And the Gorbachev stuff? Meh, if I had known about this ending, it would’ve killed the series for me. It wasn’t “Dexter” bad, but I found it severely lacking.

I loved it. The way it dangled everything from the teasers and then faded back in "With or Without You" to make you think the episode was going to keep faking you out, and then BOOM! On the platform. I admit, there were loose ends, but they all felt appropriate.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

But you liked A New Hope’s lightsaber fight!?!? My grandma could’ve had better moves than them both!!! Even Empire had a cheesy duel! Yet you don’t factor that for those flicks as heavy as these...

Grevious fight was way too short. Windu vs Palpatine was slow with poor choreography. Palpatine vs Yoda was too much of Yoda simply flipping around a stationary Palpatine as the chair went up.

horrible movie. nothing good aside from John Williams' music

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Hey, it’s me!!

that bad, huh?

 

[ArmyMatt]

But you liked A New Hope’s lightsaber fight!?!? My grandma could’ve had better moves than them both!!! Even Empire had a cheesy duel! Yet you don’t factor that for those flicks as heavy as these...

well, I never actually said what lightsaber duels I enjoyed, only that the ones in Revenge were horrible.

 

[ArmyMatt]

Hey, it’s me!!

I'm afraid our furry companion has gone and done something rather rash.

 

[mothcorrupteth]

The story was unsatisfactory for me. Stan is twice a traitor to his country—-he slept with a KGB officer ruining his marriage, met with Oleg in a shady way and got him hurt, then he allows Philip and Elizabeth, two KGB mass-murderers to go free. Think of the hundreds of innocent lives they’ve claimed in a most brutal fashion over the series run!! Scott free. Stan is either a traitor or a real fool.

The Paige train tracks part was gripping. I’ll give you that. Sad with Henry, too, but I wanted to see them caught or shot, not this cheesy outcome. Elizabeth is cold and adaptable. Living without her kids in the USSR will be something she’ll cope with. Philip will survive. And ironically communism there will collapse! So their work was all for nothing.

I found it a bland ending. We never find out if Renee is KGB? And the Gorbachev stuff? Meh, if I had known about this ending, it would’ve killed the series for me. It wasn’t “Dexter” bad, but I found it severely lacking.

Lemme tell you about Stan. Stan realized the monster he'd become, and he realized the monsters the FBI could be, and he saw that Philip had been through that same process. Stan may still believe in the Red, White, and Blue; Stan trusts Aderholt; but he doesn't trust the FBI top brass. They went after Oleg after Stan gave Oleg his word. Stan's still enough of a patriot to know that what the FBI and CIA do, the KGB does times 10. Stan believes Philip. And that's why he's so shocked that he lets them go.

Elizabeth is like Cersei Lannister. Yes, she's cold-hearted. Yes, she's tough on Paige. But she wanted so desperately for Paige to be her. And that Paige effectively spit in her face and spit in the face of being a Soviet by bailing at the platform is something that Elizabeth is still struggling with. We get a hint of how she's going to go forward when we see that dream. What she really wanted was a childless life smoking weed with Gregory; she loved Paige, but Paige was never her dream. And her work was not for nothing. Communism will collapse because Gorbachov will stay in power because Philip and Elizabeth prevented his character assassination. No, that's not explicitly stated, but Philip mentions to Stan that if Oleg's message doesn't get forwarded, they are the only other ones who can warn Gorby.

The point is that Stan realizes that it doesn't really matter whether Renee was a spy. Philip was, and their friendship was genuine, even if Philip wasn't. Renee won't matter in another four years anyway.

The ONLY thing I wish they'd closed up was Stan's bitterness about Amador. All the other murders... Horrible, but they didn't touch Stan like Amador did. Amador was his buddy, and Philip killed him. But I suppose Stan is too stunned in that moment to reach back seven years. His mind is still on the Russian defectors he had been protecting.

 

[mothcorrupteth]

Empire Strikes Back
A New Hope
Return of the Jedi
The Battle for Endor
Caravan of Courage
---End of list of entries I consider canonical
Phantom Menace
Revenge of the Sith
The Clone Wars
Star Wars Holiday Special
---End of list of entries I consider tolerable
The Force Awakens
The Last Jedi
---End of list of entries I've seen

That's right. I like the Ewok movies better than the Prequels. What y'all gonna do about it?

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Great analysis even if I didn’t like that episode!! You almost make me like it...

Lemme tell you about Stan. Stan realized the monster he'd become, and he realized the monsters the FBI could be, and he saw that Philip had been through that same process. Stan may still believe in the Red, White, and Blue; Stan trusts Aderholt; but he doesn't trust the FBI top brass. They went after Oleg after Stan gave Oleg his word. Stan's still enough of a patriot to know that what the FBI and CIA do, the KGB does times 10. Stan believes Philip. And that's why he's so shocked that he lets them go.

Elizabeth is like Cersei Lannister. Yes, she's cold-hearted. Yes, she's tough on Paige. But she wanted so desperately for Paige to be her. And that Paige effectively spit in her face and spit in the face of being a Soviet by bailing at the platform is something that Elizabeth is still struggling with. We get a hint of how she's going to go forward when we see that dream. What she really wanted was a childless life smoking weed with Gregory; she loved Paige, but Paige was never her dream. And her work was not for nothing. Communism will collapse because Gorbachov will stay in power because Philip and Elizabeth prevented his character assassination. No, that's not explicitly stated, but Philip mentions to Stan that if Oleg's message doesn't get forwarded, they are the only other ones who can warn Gorby.

The point is that Stan realizes that it doesn't really matter whether Renee was a spy. Philip was, and their friendship was genuine, even if Philip wasn't. Renee won't matter in another four years anyway.

The ONLY thing I wish they'd closed up was Stan's bitterness about Amador. All the other murders... Horrible, but they didn't touch Stan like Amador did. Amador was his buddy, and Philip killed him. But I suppose Stan is too stunned in that moment to reach back seven years. His mind is still on the Russian defectors he had been protecting.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Ray Park’s saber fight was the gold standard! You diss that one and I’m going to go into despair!

well, I never actually said what lightsaber duels I enjoyed, only that the ones in Revenge were horrible.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

ROTJ was more fun than ANH if you ask me. Jabba, Palpatine in all his high voltage glory, Leia bikini edition, Bib Fortuna, Bothan spies, stolen shuttles, unfinished Death Stars, Vader unmasked, the babbling goodness of Nien Nunb, and Lando at his most suave....rebel scum, the Yub Nub song, speeder bikes. Way better than A New Hope!

The Disney (notable exception of Rogue One!!!!!) SW films have been what I like to call cinematic diarrhea....those two emo Kylo Ren flicks make Phantom Menace look like Gone With the Wind!

Empire Strikes Back
A New Hope
Return of the Jedi
The Battle for Endor
Caravan of Courage
---End of list of entries I consider canonical
Phantom Menace
Revenge of the Sith
The Clone Wars
Star Wars Holiday Special
---End of list of entries I consider tolerable
The Force Awakens
The Last Jedi
---End of list of entries I've seen

That's right. I like the Ewok movies better than the Prequels. What y'all gonna do about it?

 

[ArmyMatt]

Ray Park’s saber fight was the gold standard! You diss that one and I’m going to go into despair!

you mean the fight where Obi-Wan wins in the end even though Maul has the high ground...oh wait....that reminds me of something in Revenge of the Sith...

it was an okay fight. but too much was spent on being fast for fast's sake, and they don't actually look like they are trying to hit each other. plus Maul stupidly stands while Obi-Wan flips over him in the end to cut him in half, even though he has more than enough time to react. which makes the end of Revenge even more stupid.

 

[mothcorrupteth]

Great analysis even if I didn’t like that episode!! You almost make me like it...

Thanks. The show resonates so strongly with me because I've been through Philip and Elizabeth's struggle. I worked for an employer I shouldn't have trusted, who was doing some questionable things. I was their dupe. It's why I love the ending of Munich and Metal Gear Solid 3, too.

 

[mothcorrupteth]

ROTJ was more fun than ANH if you ask me. Jabba, Palpatine in all his high voltage glory, Leia bikini edition, Bib Fortuna, Bothan spies, stolen shuttles, unfinished Death Stars, Vader unmasked, the babbling goodness of Nien Nunb, and Lando at his most suave....rebel scum, the Yub Nub song, speeder bikes. Way better than A New Hope!

I'll grant you that ROTJ is more fun, and for that reason it was my favorite as a kid. However, dramatically it's a little all over the place. ANH has a very neat and clean theme (though despite this, people seem to think that Rogue One "fixed" the "plot hole" of the exhaust port--the point was that the Empire had so much hubris over its tech that it never occurred to them that the exhaust port would be a weakness).

The Disney (notable exception of Rogue One!!!!!) SW films have been what I like to call cinematic diarrhea....those two emo Kylo Ren flicks make Phantom Menace look like Gone With the Wind!

I haven't seen Rogue One or Solo, but I agree wholeheartedly. The ONLY thing I like about the Disney films is Reylo, and even that's kind of boring because it's a possible outcome of the plot in Knights of the Old Republic, which has a much better story and characters (you can romance Bastila over to the Dark Side). So meh.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Rogue One was pure perfection. I loved every single minute of that film. It is more serious in tone and is s huge departure from the schlock of the prequels, cheesy attempts at humor, and cliches. It is dignified, serious, action-packed, tasteful, and fun. I’d be shocked if you didn’t like it. I had a funny feeling that movie was going to be solid a year before it came out.

Haven’t seen Solo yet. Not so sure about it...

I'll grant you that ROTJ is more fun, and for that reason it was my favorite as a kid. However, dramatically it's a little all over the place. ANH has a very neat and clean theme (though despite this, people seem to think that Rogue One "fixed" the "plot hole" of the exhaust port--the point was that the Empire had so much hubris over its tech that it never occurred to them that the exhaust port would be a weakness).


I haven't seen Rogue One or Solo, but I agree wholeheartedly. The ONLY thing I like about the Disney films is Reylo, and even that's kind of boring because it's a possible outcome of the plot in Knights of the Old Republic, which has a much better story and characters (you can romance Bastila over to the Dark Side). So meh.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

By the way, random and off topic (did we ever have one? ) but today I walked out into the teacher parking lot after a super long day and having a fancy Mexican lunch catered for my kids only to find some kid took a massive piece of Costco chocolate cake and smeared it all over my windshield....took forever to get that mess off my brand new car. One more day....ugh....one more day to go....