Girl I know who never watched any Star Wars got Disney Plus and wathced Mandalorian and fell in love with it. So, she decided to watch the movies and was confused about the order.
I explained the whole "First is episodes 4, 5 and 6, then it is 1, 2 and 3, but there are the cartoons" and so on.
While explaining to her, I found myself saying "Episodes 4 and 5 are very good and episode 6 is all right. Episodes 1, 2 and 3 are horrible to the point that you either just watch the Clone Wars cartoons or watch nothing and look it up wikipedia. Episode 7 is ok, I love episode 8, but a lot of people completely hate it and episode 9 might be worst than episodes 1, 2 and 3"
I want this person to like Star Wars because of that nerdy feeling that we want people to like the things we like, and unlike the Marvel movies, which I just recommend outright, and, you know, if you like you like, if you don't you don't, those are the movies. I feel likle recommending Star Wars is a minefield.
I obviously won't ever recommend someone to start with Episode I because that's just mean. You have to start with the OT. But the prequels exist and they kind of matter, so what do you do with them? My main recommendation to her was to skip the prequels or, if having the time, watching Clone Wars. I don't want to get into "destroyed my childhood" territory, it is not about that, the problem of the sequels is that they are confusing, boring movies that add almost nothing and if you are hyped for something and just finding out about this universe, a sunday afternoon with Episode II might just kill your hype forever.
And then there are the sequels. Which are fucked up if you think about it.
I like Episode 7 a lot, but I understand that I do just because it pulls nostalgia strings that this person simply doesn't have even if she is interested in the universe. Episode 7 doesn't really make the Star Wars universe richer, it just makes you feel like you are watching a decent Star Wars movie, which is ok.
But then there is Episode 8, which I fucking love it and it my favorite one after 5. But I really have no idea how that would translate to someone just getting into Star Wars. I never thought about it before, but Episode 8 kind of demands of you to have a certain opinion about what the force is, what the jedi are, how it all works in order to make Luke's sacrifice meaningful. I do believe one of the reasons I like episode 8 so much is because I like KOTOR 2 so much and Luke almost becomes a Kreia (only to realize that's not his path which was also great). So, you see, Episode 8 is a movie I would write essays about, but how would someone who would not write essays about Star Wars feel about that movie? No idea.
And then there's Episode 9.
Which is a clusterfuck. And what exactly do you do with Episode 9?
It even crossed my mind to watch it with her as a bad movie night in order to make fun of it. You know?
How do you tell a person just getting into it that the end of the "SKYWALKER SAGA" was written and directed by a twitter bot?
I can tell the person to skip the prequels because there are other media and also they are not consequential. And Episode 9 is definetly inconsequential, but unlike prequels, conclusions aren't supposed to be consequential, they are supposed to wrap up the story. And now I am feeling bad that this person is liking Star Wars because that's a story that will end with episode 9 and, again, unlike the prequels, I can't really say to her "you don't need to watch it". You kind of need to watch it because that's how the story ends. And also is a movie that to this day I have no idea how any of it - from the script to the final cut - was approved by anyone. It feels like a student movie where you just film stuff that looks right and then you try to find the movie in edit and after you watch it you realize that oh, that's why stuff is planned ahead.
I don't want her to watch Episode 9. But if she goes through Episodes 4 all the way to 8 and still like Star Wars... how she won't watch it?
So in the end the conclusion is something like: watch the OT, if by the end of Jedi you still want more star wars....... you know.......... a lot of it just won't be good. May the force be with you.
I explained the whole "First is episodes 4, 5 and 6, then it is 1, 2 and 3, but there are the cartoons" and so on.
While explaining to her, I found myself saying "Episodes 4 and 5 are very good and episode 6 is all right. Episodes 1, 2 and 3 are horrible to the point that you either just watch the Clone Wars cartoons or watch nothing and look it up wikipedia. Episode 7 is ok, I love episode 8, but a lot of people completely hate it and episode 9 might be worst than episodes 1, 2 and 3"
I want this person to like Star Wars because of that nerdy feeling that we want people to like the things we like, and unlike the Marvel movies, which I just recommend outright, and, you know, if you like you like, if you don't you don't, those are the movies. I feel likle recommending Star Wars is a minefield.
I obviously won't ever recommend someone to start with Episode I because that's just mean. You have to start with the OT. But the prequels exist and they kind of matter, so what do you do with them? My main recommendation to her was to skip the prequels or, if having the time, watching Clone Wars. I don't want to get into "destroyed my childhood" territory, it is not about that, the problem of the sequels is that they are confusing, boring movies that add almost nothing and if you are hyped for something and just finding out about this universe, a sunday afternoon with Episode II might just kill your hype forever.
And then there are the sequels. Which are fucked up if you think about it.
I like Episode 7 a lot, but I understand that I do just because it pulls nostalgia strings that this person simply doesn't have even if she is interested in the universe. Episode 7 doesn't really make the Star Wars universe richer, it just makes you feel like you are watching a decent Star Wars movie, which is ok.
But then there is Episode 8, which I fucking love it and it my favorite one after 5. But I really have no idea how that would translate to someone just getting into Star Wars. I never thought about it before, but Episode 8 kind of demands of you to have a certain opinion about what the force is, what the jedi are, how it all works in order to make Luke's sacrifice meaningful. I do believe one of the reasons I like episode 8 so much is because I like KOTOR 2 so much and Luke almost becomes a Kreia (only to realize that's not his path which was also great). So, you see, Episode 8 is a movie I would write essays about, but how would someone who would not write essays about Star Wars feel about that movie? No idea.
And then there's Episode 9.
Which is a clusterfuck. And what exactly do you do with Episode 9?
It even crossed my mind to watch it with her as a bad movie night in order to make fun of it. You know?
How do you tell a person just getting into it that the end of the "SKYWALKER SAGA" was written and directed by a twitter bot?
I can tell the person to skip the prequels because there are other media and also they are not consequential. And Episode 9 is definetly inconsequential, but unlike prequels, conclusions aren't supposed to be consequential, they are supposed to wrap up the story. And now I am feeling bad that this person is liking Star Wars because that's a story that will end with episode 9 and, again, unlike the prequels, I can't really say to her "you don't need to watch it". You kind of need to watch it because that's how the story ends. And also is a movie that to this day I have no idea how any of it - from the script to the final cut - was approved by anyone. It feels like a student movie where you just film stuff that looks right and then you try to find the movie in edit and after you watch it you realize that oh, that's why stuff is planned ahead.
I don't want her to watch Episode 9. But if she goes through Episodes 4 all the way to 8 and still like Star Wars... how she won't watch it?
So in the end the conclusion is something like: watch the OT, if by the end of Jedi you still want more star wars....... you know.......... a lot of it just won't be good. May the force be with you.
