Twilight of the Apprentice Or: Inquisitors, Maul, & Vader, oh my!

Well, well, well...let me start by saying I'll readily admit that I'm one of "those people" who have regarded several of the episodes in Star Wars Rebels this season as "filler." Not that I thought they were bad, mind you, just not necessarily in keeping with the overall arch of the story, and sometimes seemingly out of place in the timeline (i.e. the inquisitors are hot on their tail, yet disappear for multiple episodes at a time)...but, anyway, the bookends to season two way more than makeup for any misgivings I might have about other episodes, and I think "Twilight of the Apprentice" has actually usurped "Siege of Lothal's" position as my favorite Rebels episode so far (though that might just be because it's so new and sooooo much happens, time will tell)...so, enough preamble, let's jump head first into this amazing episode, and, uh, obviously, spoilers ahead...

What Saga Secrets Will We Find in Rogue One?

Okay, I apologize ahead of time, but I'm going to be "that guy" and start off by ranting about a pet peeve I've developed lately:  fans (or anyone for that matter, really) referring to Rogue One by the ridiculous full title, Rogue One:  A Star Wars Story. The "A Star Wars Story" tag line is just there to let the general public know that this is a movie that takes place in the Star Wars universe, it's not meant to be said every. time. you reference. the film. Bah! Anyway, it'd be like saying "Captain America:  Civil War, A Marvel's Avengers Story"...see how dumb that sounds? If you're someone who does this, please, I beseech you, stop. Just call it Rogue One. Just Rogue One. That's all...alright, deep breath, and now that I got that out of the way, let's jump right into the thick of things and discuss what, if any, secrets or tidbits about the episodic Star Wars saga might be revealed in Rogue One...

Who are you? Or: Rey Skywalker, a Jedi like her father before her?

Alright, with filming for Episode VIII in full swing, I thought it was time to go over some of the multiple options for Rey's possible Jedi pedigree. In case you didn't already put it together from the title, yes, I think Rey is going to be of Skywalker descent, specifically the daughter of the one and only Luke Skywalker, but I'm not against delving into other origin theories for our Force-strong heroin. So, if you're anything like me (and, let's be honest, all Star Wars fans), and have been pondering Rey's backstory for over two months now (or years), then sit back and relax and see if anything I come up with blows your mind or just, well, blows...but hey, even if you think I'm off my gourd, a little thought-provoking Star Wars discussion is never a bad thing, right? Oh, and, in case you haven't read the novelization of The Force Awakens yet, spoilers incoming...

5 of the Worst Star Wars Experiences of 2015

Alright, turnabout is fair play, plus, even though I'm a self-proclaimed fanboy, there are (rarely) things I don't necessarily enjoy about Star Wars (very rarely, mind you). Now, to be frank, a few of these are sort of cop-outs because I have this lists of five thing going on the blog here and I couldn't come up with five concrete things I didn't enjoy (I know, fanboy, I already admitted it!), but they are all bad experiences...that doesn't mean I didn't like them, per se, just that they were bad when they happened (I bet some of you have already guessed one of them based on this long-winded explaination)...so, anyway, these are the five worst experiences I had in Star Wars last year, let me know if I'm totally off base and one (or more) of these was actually on your best experiences list...I'll think less of you if that's the case, but we can still be friends (maybe)...

5 of the Best Star Wars Experiences of 2015

I think it's easy for Star Wars fans to agree that 2015 was an incredible year for the galaxy far, far away - further, I think fans would probably all agree that the release of The Force Awakens was the quintessential Star Wars event of the year; however, ask five fans what their top five experiences of 2015 were, and I wouldn't be surprised to find out you got five different answers...so, keeping in mind that this is solely my opinion and not a hard and fast, written in stone list, here are my five best Star Wars experiences of the past year...if you have a different list (or just want to tell me I'm right, as usual), please let me know in the comments: