Andor - S02E07 - Messenger

[00:00:00] Attention all units, we've got our sights on a new episode of Andor. We're gonna need some recon on this. Jango Squadron, on your sue, anyone else on this comlink, send all transmissions to andor at thelorehounds.com and get Holocron bonus episodes for 10 credits with our season pass on the show notes. Rebels, may the force be with you.

[00:00:42] Welcome to the Lorehounds Andor podcast. I'm Jon from the Lorehounds and we're your guides to a galaxy far, far away. This is our coverage of Andor season two, episode seven titled Messenger. Now with this weekly triple drop, you probably know this by now if you've been with us, but we're doing episode coverage squadron style. So I do the first episode every week. Alicia does the second and David does the third. And each week we have another co-pilot. This week, you know, I was trying not to repeat people's parents.

[00:01:12] And the second pairings, uh, because, you know, I thought it'd be more exciting just to like throw everybody in a, in a mixed bag. But, uh, today I, it's my pleasure to welcome back John. I mean, I, I, I, I, as much as I was trying to avoid, uh, repeating, I'm happy that I had to repeat with you, John. Awesome, man. Thank you for having me back. I appreciate it. I always love talking about Star Wars and everything with you. So, so I wouldn't have it any other way. Awesome. Awesome. Let's get into it.

[00:01:40] All right. So we've got a brand new arc here. You know, it seems to be very Gorman focused. Do you want to give your hot takes? Um, yeah. So from the opening, once it said, let me, let me not say any spoilers yet, but from the opening, you could say spoilers. I'll just give the spoiler warning now spoiler or anything that's happened in Star Wars so far.

[00:02:06] Okay. So once we got the one year BBY, right. I was like, Oh, we saw it like it's one year later from the last arc. Right. And I just said to myself, man, Derek, this is about to be over. Yeah. Like it's the, the finality of the situation hit me immediately.

[00:02:35] Yeah. Yeah. There's not a lot of B before the Y anymore. Right. And it was just like, wow. Not that the series is about to be over, but that their role in the rebellion is about to be over. Right. Because I have the knowledge of what's to come. Right. And it just hit like, they don't know what they're really up against. And they were really pushing that this episode, right? Yes.

[00:03:04] This psychic force healer is like, you have somewhere to be. And I was like, I know where he's supposed to be. I know. And it was just really something. I was just like, wow, this is it. This is there in there in the, they're in the end game to borrow from another franchise. They're in the end game.

[00:03:25] And it hit me. And I thought that was incredibly powerful for me. I really thought this episode was really good at setting that stage up. And I am so in on what happens next.

[00:03:45] Yeah. Yeah, me too. I mean, I turned off this episode after I was done. I was like, I can't watch the next one because I got a podcast on it, but I really want to just cheat and go to the next one. Go to the next one. I didn't. I didn't, folks. I promise. I haven't watched that. I'm spoiler free. Yeah. So am I. So am I. So it's just like, wow. Yeah, this is it. This is it.

[00:04:08] It's it's a really great arc. And you have not just the Cassian developments, but the commentary on like how appeasement works with fascist totalitarian states. Like you can't just, you know, it's wish it all the way. You have the senator from Gorman going, can you turn back the clock? Like that's the only way that this gets better. No, like you had your chance. You had your chance two years ago. And Mon Mothma goes, hey, help me with this legislation.

[00:04:37] Not that it worked like it would not have worked, but still you would have, you know, given a fight. Right. Right. And right. They basically rolled over. It's also like pretty fascinating, like watching real world events today unfold the way that they're unfolding. Yes. You see that like some people are choosing to capitulate to the totalitarian tendencies of leaders and others are choosing to fight.

[00:05:04] Right. And actually, as much as as much as the people who are capitulating are doing it to like get an easier time, you see more success on the fighting side. Like they're actually getting less crap later. Yes. From from the original requester. Yes. Of compliance. And that's I do think that's a lesson to be learned is like, no, these people, these totalitarian leaders like the Empire, they're weak.

[00:05:26] They're weak and they have to use tools of fear and tools of of of individualized propaganda. But also, what am I trying to say? It's like pre compliance, you know, listening in advance. Right. They use these tools of self-censorship to keep a hold on people that they wouldn't be able to do without those people doing it to themselves, too.

[00:05:51] You know, like, yes, the the the might of the Empire is important, but so is the fact that a lot of people just won't fight back. Exactly. Exactly. Until it's too late. Right. And in that conversation between the the government senator and, you know, mom, you just see you just see that. Yeah, it's tragic. Well, I guess we can get more into detail like that later. Yeah. Plenty of stuff going on. Make sure you're checking out our discord.

[00:06:18] Make sure you're sending emails to and or the lorehounds dot com to get into the conversation. We have a little bit of feedback today, so that'll be fun. And yeah, let's let's get into the episode. All right. All right. So we start off with Cassian and Cassian and Bix. Cassian and Bix have settled on Yavin 4, where the rebels have developed a base. Cassian is wounded from a blaster and still angry with Luthan. Will comes home to offer Cassian the mission of killing Dedra Miro, who has been spotted on Gorman.

[00:06:48] Cassian eventually agrees and travels to Gorman. So Will's home. Not what saw. But he's not the same Will that left. No. He's so much more. He has so much gravitas. He's so it's like he's grown. He's grown up. You know what I mean? The Rhydon will do that. Or Rhydon. Sorry. His lungs have grown. It's something. Yeah. Like his voice is deeper.

[00:07:18] There's just something about him. It's like, this is the same Will. You know? And he just has a more seriousness to his countenance. You know what I mean? And I just I really appreciated it. I love that. That he said that it took a while for him to get home, to get out. Right? And that could mean so many different things. Maybe he was addicted. And maybe he had to fight that addiction. We don't know yet. If we ever will know. Maybe he had to fight Saw to get out. You know?

[00:07:48] Just he's gone through. Obviously, he's gone through things. We know that he's gone through things. Because we saw where he ended at the last. At the end of the last talk. We saw where he was going into. And he seems to have. I don't know if he's come out of that. But he seems to be in a far different place than he was in the last arc. And that is amazing. Right.

[00:08:16] He won't even tell Cassian where he's been, right? And Cassian's always the one telling. He's always the one saying, I can't tell you who I'm from. But you better tell me who you're from. Right. And now Cassian gets it flipped on him. I love that. Yep. I love that. He's grown. He's grown. Also, wasn't it so nice to see Bic so much healthier mentally? Yes. Like she is feeling so much better about herself. She feels. You could sense her security. Her sense of self-security. Much better here. I mean, this is.

[00:08:45] And it scares me. It scares me. Because I saw her. And I immediately was like, oh, man. She's in a better place. Yeah. Then she's in the best place that I've ever seen her in. Once you're in a better place, you might be going to a better place. Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. So that was my first thought on seeing their conversation and how she embraced Will and all of that.

[00:09:15] I just was like, oh. Yeah. This sucks. Not that she sucks. Right? Yeah. I think there's a reason that she's not in Rogue One. Right? Like there's a reason she's not on Castian's team in Rogue One. Yeah. And it's just like, oh, man. Not now. You know? Not now. And again, we've not watched ahead. So nobody go back. And if something happens, be like, Sean and John spoiled me. No, we did not. Right. We're just that good. I predict it.

[00:09:47] So, yeah. I just. And I love the moments between Castian and Bix as well. You still see the strength of their relationship. Right? Mm-hmm. And I think that's a great thing that she, throughout this episode, you can see her calling him out. Mm-hmm. You know? And really. Because that's a part of intimacy, right? Exactly. Is calling out your partner when they need to be called out. Calling them out. And just.

[00:10:17] It's nice. It's refreshing to watch. Yeah. Yeah. Great arc here. I'm very curious where this is going to go in the rest of this three-episode arc. Yes. Because are we going to get Dedra? Are we going to. You know, is Bix going to do something drastic about Castian? Like, she goes, he'll be there when you need him later. And I'm like, ooh, what do you mean by that? You got, like, an electric prod you're going to poke him with?

[00:10:45] Get him off onto the rebel ship? She's just certain of his character. She's certain of his character. Yeah. I think that's right. You know? I think that's right. And she's proven right. Yeah. I mean. As history tells us, she's proven right. Right. Like, yeah. Castian, like, hid her away. He came to rescue her and hid her away on that planet. And then the minute she was in trouble on that planet, he comes in, swoops in, literally swoops in with the ship and picks her up. Yeah.

[00:11:14] He does show up when he's needed. Yeah. He might whine about it, but he shows up. And you know what's interesting, too, is that Will says, oh, Luthan wants to know if you're ready. You know what I'm saying?

[00:11:57] Season one, he's extremely cautious. He is, you know, always slow moving. Let's move these things slowly over years. And then season two, he's like, look, things are getting bad. We need to do something now. And I totally get what he's going for there. Yes. But at the same time, he's like fire. Like, he will spread viciously and untamed. Undiscriminately. Indiscriminately.

[00:12:24] Like, he'll just go through and like, if you are in his way, he will mow you down. Yep. Yep. And I think Cassian, you know, he feels it. Yeah. He knows that. He does. Like, you're expendable. He might like Cassian. Cassian. He might really, you know, value what he brings and sees him as a leader of a future movement.

[00:12:49] But Cassian also knows that he will sacrifice him if need be. I think Cassian knows that Luthan sees him as a tool right now, but he sees him as a tool with the potential to be more. Right. Right. And that's what Will is asking. Are you ready to be more than a tool? Right. Yeah. Man, it's such a good episode. It's good stuff. I could grush about this all day. Yeah. Why don't we go on to the Force Healer? Yeah.

[00:13:18] So, Bix tricks Cassian into going to a Force Healer who touches Cassian, sharing a vision with him that shocks them both. She speaks of clarity, all that he has been gathering, and his strength of spirit. Cassian runs off, but Bix finds him with a partially healed wound. Yeah. So, he's got it. But what happened with him 10 years ago that he's so mad about Force Healers? Right.

[00:13:46] We don't really know because he doesn't seem to trust it. No. Nor believe in it. Right. Right? And it's like a malarkey. Right. It's not real. Believing in something that you can't see to help you isn't real. Yeah. Right?

[00:14:10] It can't possibly be of service to anyone to believe that this invisible thing could actually be a source of power. How? And that's what I felt from Cassian in that moment. Looking at her like, what are you doing? Yeah. With this. Like, oh, your invisible little field is going to heal me? Yeah. Please, get out of here. Get me into a back to tank. How about that? Exactly. Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely.

[00:14:39] And it's, you know, and watching the healer, I was just like, is she channeling the Force? Is she a former Padawan Jedi something? You know? Is she just one of those Force sensitive people? So I had questions. Yeah. You know. She's really old enough to have been a Jedi. Right. Right. She is of that generation. Alicia actually wrote in, you know, she gave me her list of lore. Oh, okay.

[00:15:08] That's great. And one of the things she said is, Force healers, we know it is or can be real, but Cassian feels the same way about it that many people feel about Reiki in the real world. Yes. This is 17 years after the fall of the Jedi. But see, what's different from Reiki in this world is that there are people alive who have seen the Force work. Right. You know?

[00:15:32] Like, not just healing your spirit and healing the body maybe, but in a way that's like, hey, I just got lifted off the ground. Right. Right. So I do think, I will say like, it is always surprising to me like how much people doubt. You know, 17 years is a long time in some ways. For the young, it's really long. For the older, for people 40 plus, that's just in your adult life. Yeah.

[00:15:58] And I don't think that, I don't know if that's always represented well. She also says, this also sets up an important role, the concept of the will of the Force that plays a large role in Rogue One and A New Hope. It does. That's true. Yeah. That's true. That's good stuff. She's always got the good lore bombs. Yeah, she does. She does.

[00:16:21] But yeah, I was just like, and then she, as she's talking to Cassian, like, as if, you know, this was, she says something like, I haven't felt this in so long. Thank you. Right. Yeah. Like he gives her hope again. Right. You know, and that's what's channeling the Force, that feeling that she has of hope. Right.

[00:16:45] And that's what's allowing her to feel the things that she was capable of feeling before. Because she's been absent, there's been an absence of hope. Right. From, from, for her. Yeah. And as soon as Cassian walks in, she's like, oh, maybe things can happen for good. Maybe we can do something to change the course that we're on. Mm-hmm.

[00:17:13] And that's, you know, and I think that's been my, my whole kind of like my theme running throughout this season is that these are folks that are living in a time where they are out there trying to fight back. Don't get me wrong. Don't get me wrong. But generally speaking, hope is a fleeting sentiment. You know? Mm-hmm.

[00:17:41] Even as they're fighting back, it's like, can we really win? I don't know. Yeah. Whereas. If I could quote Rigs of Power, hope is never mere even when it is meager. Right? Uh-huh. There's, this is a theme people love to muse about. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it's not until you get to Luke where you feel like, yeah, I'm gonna, we're gonna do this. You know what I mean? Like, we're gonna do this. And it's gonna happen and it's gonna work.

[00:18:11] And we believe. We all believe. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But I don't think they, everyone has that sense at this time. And it's also like, the person who takes the final shot is often the one who gets the credit. Like, Luke. Yeah, we talked about that last time. He takes the shot at the Death Star. Sure, he does it. He's an important part of the puzzle, but he's not the only piece of the puzzle. No. So much had to fall into place for him to be able to do that. You have the full jigsaw puzzle in front of you. One piece is missing and that one piece is Luke.

[00:18:42] Yep. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. There's some great dialogue here. I love Vix going, you scared him. That's not easy to do. Yeah. You know, that really tells you. Again, this dialogue is really great because it's sparse, but it's pithy. You know? Yes. It tells you everything you need to know in a couple sentences. Yes. It doesn't belabor itself. No, no. It doesn't overstay its welcome. It is just exactly what you need. Like, they're speaking with purpose.

[00:19:10] Their words have purpose, right? They have meaning. And once someone is having a conversation in this series, that conversation carries weight because of the seriousness of what they're talking about. And I think people have mixed feelings on dialogue like that. Like, people say, like, oh, people don't talk like that in the real world. I'm like, yeah, well, we're not in the real world. I'm not watching this to live in the real world. I'm watching this to watch this crazy rebellion. Right, right, right.

[00:19:38] And I'm watching this to, like, muse on hope and muse on purpose. Like, this, oh, my God, these lines from... This is the Star Wars universe. Yeah. You know what I mean? Star Wars. In a galaxy far, far away. Did you not read the title card? Far, far away. So, then the Force Healer says to Bix, most beings carry the things that shape them. They carry the past, but some very few. Your pilot. They're gathering as they go. There's a purpose to it. He's a messenger. There's some place he needs to be.

[00:20:08] Maybe you're the place he needs to be. So, that too, I love that because she says something so wise and then she's like, I don't know, maybe you. Like, that shows you, like, how tricky prophecies are, right? Yeah. Like, there's some place he needs to be. Okay, big galaxy. Yeah. Where does he need to be? Yeah. Where does he need to go? Maybe you're the one who needs to show him. That's how I took it. I took it like, you know, you have to lead him to where he's going.

[00:20:37] And I think that's, you know, the thing that later on in the episode, when they're talking about Cassian being a leader, right, and not Vix, that struck me because she is very much the leader, right? Like, she is the person. And it gave me the dread again of what's to come. You know what I mean? Like, no. Yeah.

[00:21:06] I hear you. I understand that Cassian has a role. He's got a very special set of skills, like Liam Neeson. Yes, exactly. But in that moment, in that convo, when they're talking about him as a leader and we're here to talk to you, to talk to him, no, you need to be tapping into what Vix is able to do. Yeah. You know, I honestly hope they don't kill Vix because- Oh, man.

[00:21:34] But not just because I like the character, but because it feeds into that woman always dies trope, right? Like, she'll die and motivate Cassian to take it seriously. I don't like that. We don't want her to fridge. No. I don't like that. I want her to mourn Cassian. I want her to be the one who, you know, after Rogue One- Remember, Sam. We said spoilers for all Star Wars, so I don't want any emails. You know, after Rogue One, I want her to be like, he did it and hold him in her heart. That would be amazing if they did.

[00:22:04] And motivate him without dying. I hope so. Like, she doesn't need to die to motivate him. I totally agree. I totally agree. I don't want to see her go, but it will be so Star Wars for her to go. Yeah. Yeah. Because Star Wars was written by a man in the 70s. Basically. You know what I mean? Like, there's a reason it's a trope. It's very overused. Yeah. All right. Anything else on this scene? No.

[00:22:30] Just, I want more healers in the universe. Well. Everybody doesn't need to be a Jedi. We had Grogu healed. Grogu healed. That's the only other one I remember. Right. But I want more of these Force-sensitive people in the universe who are not Jedi. Yeah. That would be nice. I love when we get those, like, low Force-sensitive users.

[00:23:01] Yeah. I wish we could keep them low looking at Ahsoka. You know? Like, do something creative with the low-level Force users. Don't just be like, and then one day they were really high-level Force users. Yeah. But we love some Ahsoka over here. So. Yeah. All right. Let's take a quick break. When we get back, we'll continue the episode.

[00:23:33] Are you looking to get more out of the Rebellion, but don't want a recurring subscription? Check out our Andor Season Pass linked in the show notes, where you'll get bonus Holocron episodes diving deep into the lore behind the series, Alicia's Rebel Squadron radio briefing you on the timeline, and ad-free versions of our coverage of Seasons 1 and 2. All that for a one-time purchase of $10. Whether you're with us for the season or the long haul, welcome to the Rebellion, and may the Force be with you.

[00:23:59] We're back and ready to go to Gorman. On Gorman, the press is playing up the escalating terrorism threat by the Rebels. The Imperials are now all around Palmo, and Cyril looks troubled.

[00:24:25] Partigaz tells Dedra they have exhausted alternatives, and it's time to take action on Gorman. Dedra reassures Cyril they'll be back on Coruscant, rewarded soon enough. He decides to reach out to Enza from the Gorman front and offer to help them if they give up the outside agitators, but he just gets slapped. The Gorman front debates its next course of action. Bad luck, Gorman. Partigaz is just straight up evil.

[00:24:55] Yeah, definitely. Definitely. Does not care at all. Doesn't care. Does not care at all for the loss of human life. No. Does not care. And that's the thing. You know, this part, I'm listening to the transmissions of the news, and I'm wondering to myself how much of that is real. That's how masterful of a job the Empire has done. To cast. Because I'm casting doubt.

[00:25:22] I'm doubting, like, which parts of this news story are real? Which parts are fake? Like, you know, how are the rebels really? Are the people on Gorman really to blame? You know what I mean? Yeah. That's how instiguous the propaganda is. What's super interesting is how much it blurs the lines. Yes. So, like you're saying, it's blurring the lines, but not just by creating fiction, but manufacturing crises. Yes.

[00:25:48] And so, the Gormans never would have done anything had the Empire not, like, put their boot on its neck. Right. And then they end up rebelling, but we know for a fact that this was purposefully driven. Yes. This was something they wanted to happen, that they were curating for a couple of years just to make sure that these rebels made a mistake. And that's fascinating. So, it's both manufacturing the facts and lying. Right.

[00:26:19] Right. It's a double-layered deception, which is insane. And it works. It does work. It works. It does work. And we see that all across the world, right? All across the world. Dictators will just, like, brutalize citizens and be like, well, they hit the cops back. So, they had, you know, it's like, who shot first? I mean, we had to do it. You know, it was a violent protest. Right. Exactly. Exactly.

[00:26:48] Look, after we threw the tear gas, everyone got upset. And then it became violent. Right. So, we had to, you know, go in with the boots and the batons and the shields and the rubber bullets and the hoses and all of that. Exactly. It reminds me of, like, We Own the City, right? Like, did you watch that show? I did. I did. It's the same thing, right? It's like, oh, you just beat the crap out of me and now I'm hitting you back. Time to arrest me. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

[00:27:16] There's just so much, like, just watching Portagas, Daedra, and Cyril. That triangle. Mm-hmm. Just terrible human beings. You know, I think it's fascinating, too, because Deedra goes, well, you're aware they have weapons, right? And Portagas goes, we're counting on it. We're counting on it.

[00:27:43] So, I think that moment actually clicks for Deedra that it's not just that he doesn't care about rebel life. No. He doesn't care about imperial soldier lives either. And, you know, she tells Cyril, like, yo, go pack. We got to get out of here. Because she knows, like, if I stay here, no matter what he's telling me, I could very well lose my life as well. Right. And no one will bat an eye. No matter what Portagas is telling her.

[00:28:12] How pleased people are, how they've recognized, you know, what she's done. And in that moment, she knows if she doesn't hightail it out of there, the likelihood of her and Cyril making it out alive is really diminished. I think she understands that. I didn't even consider that. Yeah. And now that you say that, that's genius, Sean. Because now that you say that, I'm like, I could totally see Captain Kaido right after the drill just, like, shooting her. Yeah. She knows.

[00:28:41] Under orders of Portagas. No, because she knows. Yeah, exactly. And they want as few witnesses that might be truthful as possible. As possible. I think the only thing saving Dedra will be that she is a true company woman. She is, like, very loyal to the ISB. She has shown no mercy for the rebels. She's shown no care for human life thus far. Right. And so I think Portagas might see her as, I think that's the career her potential sees in her. Not just her planning, but her coldness.

[00:29:10] But it's also in parallel to Luthien and Cassian. Mm-hmm. Yeah. You know what I mean? These are two, between Luthien and Cassian, we have, and Dedra and Portagas, we have, you know, two would-be mentors and their mentees. Right? And the mentors are perfectly fine risking the lives of their mentees. Yeah.

[00:29:40] And, and. And I think the mentees are realizing that. Yeah. So Cyril. Yes. I want to talk about Cyril and his cereal. He did eat cereal in the last arc, and I didn't get that episode, and I was so mad. Because we always talk about Cyril eating cereal. And so, so I want to talk about him. You know, we talked about him last week. This is nice, because we get to, we get to regroup on our conversation from last week. I usually have to just change up every week on this, but, you know, you were very convinced like he will not flip.

[00:30:09] He is not going with the Gormans. No. Has that changed this week? No. Really? Really. Even, even after that, reach out to Enza. Yes. Explain. I think when it, for me, I think when push comes to shove, Cyril will choose self-preservation. Mm-hmm. So, okay. It's nice right now in the moment to, to be with the Gorman front and saying, hey, let me help you out.

[00:30:37] But I am convinced that blaster to head, Cyril's getting on that, you know, he's getting on the carrier and he's hightailing it out of Gorman before the shit hits the fan. And then he gets on the carrier and Dedra goes, turn the lights off. Basically. Yes. Yes. I am. Gosh.

[00:31:03] And even when, when, you know, and I can see why, you know, folks, why you would question that because when she kisses him and he looks at her like in horror almost. Right. Yeah. I didn't take that as in horror of, you know, what's about to happen on Gorman. I just think Cyril is just a weird guy.

[00:31:30] Like, like given the way that he was raised, I just think he's, he's like shows of affection in that way are probably not the things that he's used to or comfortable with. The lights are on. They're in a public space with other Imperials around them. And she chooses to show affection. And he's like, what the fuck? Like, we don't do that. Right.

[00:32:00] What are you doing? So I really don't think that him offering saying to, um, um, um, to Enza, hey, just give me a couple of, of, of people we can blame is him trying to stave off, you know, what's about to happen on Gorman. Yeah. He's not smart enough to figure out the Empire's real plan on Gorman. Yeah. I don't think so either.

[00:32:30] No. He, he's just not smart enough. Like he goes, Oh, if we give up a couple of people, they'll leave you alone. It's like, no, the point is to blame the planet so that you can decimate the planet. Right. And that's just, uh, it's, it's tragic. I do think Cyril is a loose end part of guys is not going to want out there. Oh, I totally agree with that. I totally agree with that. Which is why I think Deidre is so set on hightailing it off the planet.

[00:33:00] Yeah. I can honestly see them leaving her alive and then ordering her to kill Cyril or something like that. I could see that too, but it becomes, I think for her rationale being on Corsican kind of, it shouldn't feel safer for them. Mm-hmm. But I, I can see her thinking if we're off this planet out of this, you know, backwater,

[00:33:25] um, planet and back on the Capitol, it'll be harder to get rid of either one of them. I think she's in self-preservation mode. I really do. Yeah. I, I, I think your read on this is great, John. I, I'm, I'm so glad we're talking about this today because I didn't even consider this idea of like, she thinks she's a loose end that's going to get tied up. Yeah. She's smart.

[00:33:52] And she, and again, it's just this, this parallel to Cassian and Luthien that she has with Patergast. And I think they're both, you know, on a trajectory that's going to lead them to a place they don't want to end up for different reasons, but they're being manipulated. They're being used. And Deidre's smart enough to know that. Yeah.

[00:34:17] And she's smart enough to also understand what happens to people who, you know, could potentially embarrass or even, you know, spill the beans on the inner workings of an operation such as this, because this is not just, you know, rounding up some, some rebels. This is full scale genocide. Right. She knows. Yeah.

[00:34:43] Even, even if they justify it as like, it was for the power project, which we know that's a lie. Right. But this was for this unlimited renewable power project. Like no one's going to accept that. No one's going to accept that. Yeah. Yeah. That's a, that's an uprising that you're, that you do this. Right. And to have the potential of someone on the inside, she knows, she knows. Yeah.

[00:35:10] And, and look, she's been told this has to appear as a demotion, but you know that what's going through her head is, is this really a demotion? Right. Like maybe I'm just a useful idiot who messed up on Ferrix and this is their way of using me one last time and then getting rid of me. And getting rid of me. Yeah. I, I, oh man. What if Cassian successfully kills her? And then the part of God's like, yeah, that's fine. One thing off my list. Oh man. That would be so cold.

[00:35:38] Like it served the empire anyway. Yeah, man. That would be so cold. When Cassian. Oh man. We're right in the next episode, John. Damn. That's, that's, that's great. That would be so cold. Oh. One more thing off the list. I wonder, I wonder if Deidre is killed and, and maybe Cyril's witness to like the reaction. I wonder if he would go flip. Like, I do think there's potential for Cyril to flip, not because he's moral, but because he's stupid and a survivalist.

[00:36:08] Okay. Okay. You know what I mean? Like, I think if he thinks like, I'm going to die in the hands of the empire, he might be like, I'll help the rebels. I'll tell you everything. I know Cassian. I could see that. I could see that. Self-preservation. Yeah. Okay. I hadn't given that thought, but yeah. Well, I think that Cassian would just shoot him in the head right away. I think Will might stop him. Right. And because he could be a useful piece of information.

[00:36:39] Yeah. I could, I could see Cyril trying to go on a favor to stay alive. All right. I think I'm done putting on clown makeup for my theories that are going to fall apart next episode. Somebody clip this and respond to my bad theories. They're not bad. I don't think they're bad at all. Tony Gilroy is like, you fool. You have no idea what I have in store for you. Ha ha ha ha.

[00:37:08] Tony Gilroy, fan of God. We know. Twirling his mustache. His mustache, you know. Tony Gilroy would be like, I put out all three episodes. Why are you only watching one? All right. All right. So, so Gorman is a whole mess. I'm sure we'll see more happen next time. We got, we got this new character, Captain Kaido. He's involved now with this. We don't know what he's going to do next.

[00:37:34] And, uh, I know what happened to those soldiers that got off that sport. Yeah. Although Alicia says most of the Imperial commanders, this app were introduced in earlier episodes. He's in our last. I don't remember this. Maybe. Yeah. I don't remember him either, but, but maybe I'm wrong. Um, all right. All right. Let's, uh, cannon fodder, cannon fodder. Indeed. They, they do not care even a little bit. Those, those new recruits. recruits are dead. They're done for. Yeah.

[00:38:04] That's it. And that's why like, they're like, Oh, they're all young. It's like, yeah, that's the point. That's the point. It's, uh, I'm reading, I I've been talking about, I've been reading the stormlight archive and there's this idea of bridge men, like these people who, I don't know. Have you read these at all? I have not. So there are these people that literally their whole job is to not wear armor, but carry the bridges that take people to the next plane. No, it happens. Uh, to carry them and like run ahead of the army without cover basically. Oh, oh.

[00:38:33] And like, it takes a long time for them to realize like, Hey, uh, slaves get that job and very, uh, like punished soldiers get that criminals. Yeah. Yeah. Um, but, uh, anyway, anyway, what I was going to say is like, it takes them a long time to realize like, Oh, the job is not just to carry the bridge. It's to draw fire away from the soul. Yes. Right. Cause we're the easier targets and you're like, damn, that's cold. That's cold. That's not really a spoiler.

[00:39:02] You can figure that out in like the first few chapters. So everyone, everyone chill. Everyone be real cool about this. Um, I don't need the spoiler police after me. They'll come. All right. I know. I know. That's why I'm warding them off now with a torch. All right. Um, Mon Mothma is involved too with Gorman. On Coruscant, Mon Mothma grows worried about her driver as new reports of Palma were more concerning.

[00:39:32] Mon gets a sort of apology from Gorman Senator Dazi Orin. He wants her to turn back the clock. He goes, they don't even bother to lie badly anymore. Yeah. You should have thought about that when they first started lying well. And you knew it. Yeah. You know, that's so that's such a telling statement. They don't even bother to lie badly anymore. Well, whose fault is that? Yeah. He, he certainly didn't help.

[00:40:01] Look, I think they were going to lose anyway. Of course. Yes. Or not lose, but like just get invaded like this. Like I, I, I, I can't see this going well for the Gormans. Honestly. No, this whole thing. I think this is going exactly according to part of guys as a plan. Yeah. And, and Kassian's there for one discrete mission. He's not prepared to like fight off the empire. No, he's not.

[00:40:23] And yeah, he's, I think he, they're, they're unaware of how serious the situation really is. Yeah. Yeah. Because they can't see the end game. And, and that's something Luton said last arc. He's like, what is their goal? I need to know in order to fight them. Like I need to understand what they're trying to do. And nobody can think as big as the emperor who's like, Hey, let's build this giant death star. Yeah.

[00:40:53] That's nobody thought they were building a planet killer. Nobody thought they could possibly stoop to that level or that he was even scientifically possible. Right. Maybe. I don't know. Yeah. That's his Galen Erso figures it out. Nobody else figured that out of Palpatine. Right. Yeah. He's genius. Oh, man. Wow. Yeah. Wow. Like I said, like I saw a couple of weeks ago, the revenge of the Sith in theaters.

[00:41:23] And I'm just always blown away by Palpatine's manipulations. Like also Ian McDiarmid is like so good at the facial expressions, the twist of phrase. It's so good. He's so good. I hope he doesn't show up in the series though. He doesn't fit in this. No, he doesn't. No. We need the more grounded characters. Alicia did write in with some tidbits about this one.

[00:41:46] She says Senator Orin of Gorman is the one who Aman talks to when she enters the Senate. I guess I already said that one. You know, that's the same one she talked to last arc as we talked about last time. Yeah. I think that's the only thing she had about this part. But yeah, it's just tragic. Like there's not a lot to say about the scene except like the tragedy.

[00:42:11] And then of course we have the deal about the driver, which we know last season they gave her a new driver. And Mon knew that it was from the empire. He was meant to listen. And also, you know, when he's talking, when the Senator is talking to Mon and he's like, you know, recognizing what she's has been doing. Right.

[00:42:36] I think that's very powerful because it's firmly placing Mon in a leadership role. Mm-hmm. Right. In a way that Luthan is not. Mm-hmm. And I keep returning back to Luthan because I just, you know, the story is what the story is. It's about what the emperor and the empire are doing. Right. And how to fight that.

[00:43:08] And Luthan represents something that we celebrated. Right. I was so happy to meet this type of character in the first season, I guess. Right. Mm-hmm. To get to know a little bit more about this guy. I was so happy to see how he was fighting and twisting and turning and just operating in the shadows. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

[00:43:38] And as I've watched this season, I've come to realize that this is not, again, I question whether I would want to follow this person in a movement. Follow him? Yeah. No, I don't think I'd want to follow him. But as he kind of points out to Mon Mothma, like Mon Mothma can only operate as she does because Luthan operates as he does. I know this.

[00:44:07] He gives her the room to have that moral space. Yeah, but I don't know. I'm trying to really pinpoint what it is about Luthan that I just found so distasteful. It's the—I think it's the cavalier nature of his discussion of human life. I mean, he'll throw Krieger out the window last season. So what makes him different from Cordagas?

[00:44:36] That's the question, right? Like that—I think we're supposed to be asking ourselves that question. Right. Is what makes this guy more moral? Is it the scale of human life that's lost? Right? I think it's just not that different. But we're meant to ask, do the ends justify the means? And Luthan's ends are, let me use the tools. You know, he says, I'll use the tools of my enemy to defeat them.

[00:45:04] He will act terrible. He'll allow a genocide to occur on Gorman to have the rest of the galaxy be free in his eyes. Awaken to what's going on, to have more people on the side of the rebellion. He's willing to lose that. Right. In order to get something else. Right. And if you're making those sorts of bargains, then is that someone I want to be in cahoots with?

[00:45:34] That's a great question. Great question. Luthan, it's tough because the emperor wants to do all these things. Partagas wants to do all these things to maintain control and to maintain a fascist society. And yet Luthan wants to do it to create a more, I'm using liberal in like the small L, like liberal as in like free society.

[00:46:02] And the question you have to ask yourself is, is it worth it? Is it worth all this pain? And then you have to say, well, if I, if, if you don't, if Luthan doesn't use this pain and this goes on another 30 years, will more people die? So now you have almost like a trolley problem. Right. It's, it's really tough. And then you have Mon who's, who's again, allowed the moral space to do what she wants to do. And what I think is fascinating here, you talk about the praise she gets from Dazi Orin. And yet she knows that what he's praising is just a front.

[00:46:32] What he's praising is this feckless show she puts on to allow her to do the real work in the shadows. But I think, I think it's also a recognition because he says something alluding to that fact. Mm-hmm. The grace that you, that you put on. It's like, it's almost like he's recognizes she's putting on a show. Yeah. That's, that's what I felt.

[00:47:01] So, and I think to put on a show in these circumstances, and we know what she's doing in the background, right? But to put on a show in these circumstances, to try to enact some sort of favorable change, knowing that the favorable change probably will only come. At blaster point, quite honestly. Yeah.

[00:47:28] I think there's a recognition and, and, and appreciation for what Mon has been attempting to do and trying to sway the rest of the Senate away from this fascist appeasement. And the Gorman senator, he represents that, that appeasement.

[00:47:52] And in this moment where his people are in mortal danger and he knows it without a doubt is when he says, you know what? You were right. But we needed, you were right a few years ago. Yeah. Or even one year ago when she's working on the board. Right. Yeah. We needed, you were right then.

[00:48:20] Because that's the only way you can hope to stop the onslaught. Right? Right. But we don't get that. Well, I'm sure we'll hear more from Mon next episode. But for now, let's go and take a break. We'll come back and we'll wrap everything up.

[00:49:00] We're back to talk about Cassian's mission. So Cassian will prepare to go on an unspecified mission destination trip. I don't know. I wrote that very weird. But you get my point. Cassian is told he needs to declare his loyalties to stay on Yavin 4 by Draven. Is it Draven or Draven? Do we know? I think it's Draven. Someone's going to tell us. Someone tell us. I'll say Draven. Sure. Let's go with Draven.

[00:49:28] Cassian says the day he needs permission to come and go, he's gone. He's told that day is near. On Gorman, Cassian checks into the same hotel as a journalist named Ronnie Guja. What a name. He's told they'll have to report his presence to the Empire the following day as he has no entry stamp. The Gorman attendant he spoke to as Varian Sky recognizes him and gives him a heads up. Imperial forces run drills ahead of the operation.

[00:49:59] Cassian sees stormtroopers in the room above him. I loved seeing the chatter, hearing the chatter, and then him taking that mirror and just being like, oh, there's stormtroopers right there. What's happening here? Let me close this window very softly. Which is fascinating because I do think he's on this one revenge mission, but he's not the kind of person to be single-minded and not also taking his surroundings.

[00:50:27] So I wonder how much he's going to get involved when everything just hits the fan on Gorman. That's a good question. That's a good question. Or is he going to go, I told you, Luthan, that this was hopeless and you created this situation. I'm not involved. I can see him saying I'm not involved. Yeah. Because that's where his head is at right now. At the same time, what can that one person do against this whole thing?

[00:50:59] What can one person do to turn the tide of history? Well, to turn the tide of history, fine, but you need allies. And I think that's a big part of the rebellion. And right now it's him and Will. Good luck. What's he going to, like, breathe out some Rido on these people? Like, I don't know. What does Will have to do? Maybe Saw somewhere? I don't know. I don't know. It's hopeless. Saw just presses his ship into the square. I feel like that's not unrealistic.

[00:51:28] Totally not unrealistic given who Saw is. You know what I mean? So, yeah. Unhinged guy. But, yeah. This is something, man. This is something. Because now he knows this is not what I signed up for. Yeah. And you know what I love is Cassian checks into the hotel as this new thing. And obviously the attendant that he talks to recognizes him right away. Yep. He's like, oh, that's just that Varian Sky guy.

[00:51:57] Whatever his real name is, that's the same guy. And yet he doesn't give him up. He doesn't give him up. And he doesn't. He doesn't. And what that really struck me with is, you know, they have this code phrase that's like, I have friends everywhere. Yeah. And that was a big deal in episode, I think, five and six. Yeah. And I don't think that's just a catchphrase. That is, everywhere you go, and Cassian's really good at this, everywhere you go, seek out the people. Like, look for the helpers, right? Isn't that something people say? Who said that?

[00:52:27] That was somebody's quote. I forgot who said it. I'm going to find it out. But the point is, he's making allies everywhere he goes. He can sense when somebody has, oh, it's Mr. Rogers. So Mr. Rogers is writing Star Wars now. He's making allies everywhere he goes. He's really good at sensing who is sympathetic. Not even fully sympathetic, but who has questions.

[00:52:53] He can sense a wandering eye towards the memorial and the people who are obeying just because they have to, not because they want to, all that. But I also think that Cassian is genuine. Right? So when he has that conversation with the hotel staff, the employee, in the room when he was pretending to be someone else, he had a genuine conversation with this person.

[00:53:22] He didn't treat him as a lesser than. Right? He was inquisitive. He spoke to him like a person, not a thing, not a tool, not an object. And that goes a long way. So yeah, when he saw him again, he obviously knew, wait, something funny is going on here. But I have to imagine that he remembered the conversation and their interaction from before.

[00:53:50] And made the calculation like, all right, this is not, I'm not going to turn this guy. Now, if Cassian had been a jerk, maybe that would have been a different thing.

[00:54:02] But Cassian can be a jerk, but he is very, he's not like a, he doesn't treat people poorly until he needs to treat you poorly. If that makes sense. And you won't know when he's decided that the rest of the time. No, you won't know. Because you'll have a blaster bolted. Yeah, basically.

[00:54:30] But he's not going to do it until you kind of like force his hand to do it. Because I don't think that's in his makeup. I think he's just a genuine person. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. And, but I think that's all part of it, right? It's also who, knowing who to be open with. Yes. Yeah, of course. Absolutely. He has that skill. He has that skill.

[00:54:55] And something else is, he's really great at giving like pep talks, motivational speech, and like motivating people to do the right thing. And he needs that too. He can't do it to himself. You know, he's not good at motivating himself. Right. He needs somebody else like Bix to be like, he'll be there when you need him. Right. Yeah. That's, that's, and, you know, we have the narc, of course, as the other, as the other bellhop.

[00:55:22] So this bellhop, by the way, the good bellhop is Thela. That's it. That's his name. Okay. Thank you for that. Alicia tells me. And, and of course we have, you know, she says, you know, the, the bellhop is the one who told him about the target massacre last year. Right. So yeah. Yeah. This is, this is all heating up very quickly. I don't, I don't really have a lot to say about the scene. We already talked about like the youth of the soldiers and how that was, that was going.

[00:55:50] I think these are mostly just facts to set up for next episode. Yep. So why don't we go on to the last scene I have outlined here. Yeah. Vel and Bix. Vel visits Bix, telling her she's taking a break from smuggling after getting reckless. Vel tells Bix, the rebels are on the verge of promoting Cassian, but he has to stop the antics like this unreported trip. She calls Cassian a leader and asks for Cassian's discipline.

[00:56:18] Bix tells her he'll be there when they need him. So we talked about this a bit. I am glad that Vel seems to be healing. Yes. You know, grief is hard and it never goes away, but you learn to live with it. Yep. Yep. And she looks like she's, you know, she's part of a, of a rebellion. She's part of our army. That's what she says. We're building an army. Yeah. We need Cassian to be part of it.

[00:56:46] And being in the army is learning to be disciplined. Right. Right. And she goes, I don't think a little discipline is a lot to ask. It could be though. A little. She's not even asking him to like salute or anything. She's just like, Hey, can you tell us where you're going when you're going somewhere? Yeah. But this is Cassian we're talking about. You know? I know. I know. A little discipline might be too much. I'm just saying. Marva didn't train that into him, I guess.

[00:57:15] No, not at all. Not at all. No, Marva. Fight the empire. Exactly. She always had that in her. So I think it's a, again, like I said, I think they're looking at Cassian to be a leader, but there's a leader standing right in front of their eyes. And they're not recognizing that. Yeah. I do think that's right. They are underestimating Bix. And part of that is, you know, after you've been through addiction and, you know, Luthan saw her at her worst. Yeah.

[00:57:42] And I think he's nervous to trust her, even at her best now. But I kind of feel they're also moving away from Luthan. Yeah. That's true. As she says, we're building an army, you know, this is no longer, you know, the Luthan-led type of subterfuge, type of rebellion where we take our, you know, our notes from him and we just go about our business and do as he instructs.

[00:58:08] This seems to be coalescing into something beyond Luthan, which is maybe what he's wanted all this time. But definitely, I don't think this is a Luthan-led resistance anymore. No. And I don't, I think you're right. It was never meant to be. He knew that he was not going to see the end of this. Right.

[00:58:31] He was, he was creating enough chaos and recruiting enough people who had the potential to be leaders to give the rebellion a head start. Then he put Mon in charge of fundraising. Like he, he was smart in like orchestrating the beginning of a rebellion, but knowing he didn't have the skills to finish it. Right. I still want an explanation for his lightsabers on his ship. That, that would be, that would, yeah, maybe we'll get it. Yeah.

[00:59:01] Maybe he'll use it one more time and then, and then go out with a bang. Cause I, I don't think he survives this series. I think he, I don't, I don't think so either. He's got a, you know, we were promised he's not going to see the sunrise. I think that's, that's going to happen. Yeah. Well, Alicia had a couple more lore drops on Yavin 4. So Draven, we talked about, he was introduced in Rogue One and there was a mention of Dodonna and from a new hope. Yeah.

[00:59:28] And he's seen in rebels too, or she, I don't know if I, I don't know if this is a man, woman, non-binary, anything else. They were mentioned in a new hope and, uh, and seen in rebels too. Okay. Um, Yavin 4, uh, has pyramids of course, as we saw. And I wanted to mention Alicia and David are going to be doing a lore cast on Yavin 4. Oh, nice. This weekend. Um, so you will get that on Sunday, I believe.

[00:59:57] And Alicia, you know, our resident star Wars lore expert is going to be telling us all about, you know, where and what it is, where the temples came from, how it connects with the original movie and beyond. Uh, she's, I'm, I'm really looking forward to that one. Cause I don't know a lot about Yavin 4. Right. And another thing that, that Alicia just noticed this morning, like a half hour before we started recording, she said, Draven said Cassian ship is supposed to be fitted with hyper comms communications that can be used in hyperspace.

[01:00:24] Though in legends, it was defined as comms that could be on multiple channels at once. Interestingly, we've only seen this term used in reference to Imperial first order dark side technology before this. Ooh, that's interesting. Where'd they get that from? Somebody's playing with the dark. Yeah. That's pretty cool. Alicia's always got the best lore bombs. That's a good one. That's a good one. Yeah. Uh, check out the holocron this episode this week.

[01:00:54] Uh, that's going to be for subscribers and for season pass holders. So if you have the end or season pass or you're a recurring subscriber on Patreon or supercast, you can get that link in the show notes. If you want to get into that, you go to the link tree, that'll bring you those recurring stuff. Or there's a standalone link in the main bio or the main show notes that brings you to the season pass. All right. I'm done being an ad, John. Let's get to the feedback. Let's get to the feedback. You want to read Eric S? Sure.

[01:01:21] Um, Eric S writes in, I wonder if the leader of the Gorman front is actually an ISB double agent, but they make a comment about even the extremely wealthy are becoming involved. So it must be bad. My thought is that the leader has had dealings with the empire in the past, selling the special spider silk and the empire approached them about starting an uprising for serious credits. Thanks. Eric S. I hadn't thought about that.

[01:01:50] And I'm going to say, I'm going to say, I don't think so. I don't think Ryland's a bad guy. That would be fascinating if he was, but that feels like a cheap twist to me. You know what I mean? Like, I think it's so much more interesting if he's well-meaning, but he's leading them into the destruction of their planet. Why? Because that's, that's way more like star Wars empire evil. That, that he just fails into this, this tragedy.

[01:02:17] I think that's way more poetic than him being like, actually I'm evil. That's, but maybe he's not evil. Maybe he's just greedy. Yeah. I don't know. And didn't think that the destruction of Gorman was going to occur by him just getting a few extra credits on the side. Yeah. I don't know. That's a good question. I kind of hope it doesn't happen, but if it happens, I won't be terribly mad. Right. Thanks.

[01:02:47] That was a good one. That was a good one. Yeah. E hoop writes in, Hey hounds, enjoying the coverage, but it is difficult to keep up with this rate of flow. Something I noticed rewatching season one before is that there are a lot of big ifs in the story. And that seems to be continuing in season two. And in a really sad way. What I mean by big ifs is things were once where things were one little choice or one coincidence could basically end the story.

[01:03:15] What's interesting is that when I'm seeing them, they don't hit me in an eye rolling way. Oh, there's plot armor. I suppose maybe that means it's good writing. I'll throw, I'll only throw out a couple of examples here.

[01:03:29] The first and biggest one is if Cyril had listened to his superior, who was truly almost 100% correct in his assessment of the corporal security officers dying in the first episode, Andor would never have gotten on the Imperial sect radar. Leading to practically everything that happened subsequently. If Cyril had just said, yeah, you're probably right. There's no Andor. In episode five, you want to tackle that?

[01:03:59] Sure. In episode five, if Cass had just bumped into Cyril, who even knows what would have happened? The new example just came to me while listening to the Delta Squadron coverage of season two, episode five. But it's in relation to episode six and it's heartbreaking. If they'll hadn't insisted on going on the mission with Sinta and vice versa, Sinta might not have been there to get shot. And Vell surely is thinking that and will carry it with her much more than the dumb Gorman kid she chews out.

[01:04:29] I think the way these tiny choices and coincidences are linking or separating huge events and cycles and important people really grounds it in a way. Anyway, keep doing what you're doing. Peace. Thanks, E-Hoop. Thanks, E-Hoop. Yeah. A lot of big ifs. And I think a good story has a lot of what ifs. I mean, Marvel's what if is a whole series premised on that, right? No, I think the what ifs are fascinating.

[01:04:59] Yeah. What if the Jedi Council had made Attacan a master and not had him spy on Palpatine? Yeah. I mean, Star Wars is a big what if. Yeah. Little things can change the course of history. And I think that's one of the themes of the entire story. What if Qui-Gon hadn't died and had trained Attacan to be like a much more loving and peaceful Jedi? Person, yeah. Yeah.

[01:05:29] What if the Jedi didn't suck? Yeah. Brutal. Jon's here to leave no, he leaves no crumbs. Kick rocks, Jedi. Jedi. But they're like, I can move them with my force. Yeah. Well, force move the rocks, Jedi. Yeah. Yeah. Like, I don't need to kick rocks anymore. Yeah.

[01:05:59] I think it's interesting to think of all the what ifs. Like, what if, you know, what if Pixa died and not Brasso in this, in that chase? And like, would Cassian have just been solo then and not had this fight with Luthan? And then would he have gone to Gorman? Would he have died on Gorman? Would he have dropped out of the rebellion altogether? Yeah. Yeah. What ifs are fun to do? They are. They are. Yeah. Well, thanks for all the feedback, everybody.

[01:06:26] If you didn't hear feedback on this, it's because we're saving it for episodes five or six. I know Alicia wanted to tackle a couple of the ones that I know Brian8063 wrote in with some war stuff. Awesome. She's got Luke, who's a war historian, on. So we want to make sure that everybody gets their feedback spread out on these three episodes. Great. All right. Well, let's talk about what else we're doing. You are doing, you did Sinners, right? Yeah, we did Sinners. It's out now. Check out the pod.

[01:06:53] Me, Anthony, and Alicia did that. That's great. So yeah, wonderful movie. It's a great movie. It's an American masterpiece. I'm still convinced it's a series. You're not going to convince me it's a movie. Okay. I don't. Hey, I won't be mad. Let's just put it that way. I'll break it up into half hour chunks. Did you ever hear the story? There was like, am I the asshole from Reddit?

[01:07:17] It was about this guy who his girlfriend hates movies, but loves series. And he wanted to show her back to the future. So he cut it into 30 minute parts and inserted credits after every half. Amazing. And he put it on and she found out what he did and she was so mad. And he's like, why? You liked it. Why would you be mad? Right. That's amazing. Isn't that so funny though? That's real love. That's love. That's love. Yeah. He wanted her to enjoy it.

[01:07:46] So he cut it up into chunks for her. Wow. Not the asshole. No. Not the asshole. Thank you. You heard it here. We're not one of those podcasts that reads out all the Reddit posts, but maybe we'll include one on every- In that one. Not the asshole. That's funny. All right. What else we got? We got Last of Us, Doctor Who. We're having a lot of fun with Doctor Who. Can I just say that? Like if you need a palate cleanser from the seriousness, go into Doctor Who. It's fun. It's silly.

[01:08:17] It's thought-provoking, but not too thought-provoking. Yeah. I'm going to binge this season. It's really good. Yeah. It's really good. And Chuti is really embodying the Doctor. I'm really enjoying it. I haven't listened to anything yet because I haven't watched. Well, you know Synth is a companion. Synth is the companion. I heard. I heard. I heard. Yeah. Yeah. Varada Sethu, I think is her name. Yeah. And she's the companion in Doctor Who. So if you like Synth and you want more of her, you're sad she's gone. Check out Doctor Who. She's Belinda over in Doctor Who.

[01:08:47] All right. And Last of Us is, of course, going swimmingly with me and David. Great season. Great season. So great episode on Sunday, though, I will say. Okay. Yeah. I liked it. And you're going to do Thunderbolt soon, right? That's the next one. I'm going to hopefully. I haven't seen the movie yet.

[01:09:14] So please don't tell me anything on Discord. I'll cry. You know? I can't tell you because I didn't see it either. But I hear it's great. I've seen it. I heard it's awesome. Yeah. And so Alicia and I will be covering that probably next week with Drop a Pod. Very cool. All right. All right. Check out the affiliates, of course. Radioactive Ramblings covering Fallout lore right now. Never mind the music. Doing their music and psychology comparison and discussion.

[01:09:44] It's great stuff. You know? Probably Howard Movie Review. Rings and Rituals. You can check them out. They'll be coming back soon. And I know Alicia has plans for some Wool Shift Dust and Star Wars Canon Timeline podcast stuff coming soon as well. So check out. They're all in the link here in the show notes. Go and, you know, they're all free. Just subscribe. They're on your podcast catcher. Go have fun. All right. Well, let me just give the thank you, Jean. Cool.

[01:10:12] And we have our Discord server boosters. Aaron K. Till of the Thriller. Dork of the Ninjas. Doob71. Athena A. Tina. Lestu. Nancy M. Ghost of Perdition. And Radioactive Richard. And our lore masters. Samarshan. Michael G. Michelle E. Brian P. SC. Peter O. H. Adam S. Nancy M. Doob71. Brian 8063. Frederick H. Sarah L. Gareth C. Matthew M. Sarah M. Andra B. Kwong Yu. Dead Eye Jedi Bob. Nathan T. Alex V. Sub Zero. Aaron K. Dally V.

[01:10:42] Mothership 61. Narls. Kathy W. Lestu. Jeffrey B. Elisa U. Neil F. Ben B. Scott F. Steven N. Julia F. Kali S. Ilmariel. Forward slash Tim and Adrian. Thank you everyone for all your support. It's been a pleasure to do and or and it's been a pleasure to have Jean here today. This is great. It's always fun. Always fun with you, man. So appreciate me having me on co-piloting this mothership. Let's go. Yeah. Let's do it again soon.

[01:11:12] All right. Peace. The Lorehounds podcast is produced and published by the Lorehounds. You can send questions and feedback and voicemails at thelorehounds.com slash contact. Get early and add free access to all Lorehounds podcasts at patreon.com slash the Lorehounds and connect with us on Twitter at the Lorehounds. Any opinions stated are ours personally and do not reflect the opinion of or belong to any employers or other entities. Thanks for listening.