Friday, March 13, 2015

I've Got a Theory About the Inquisitor in Star Wars: Rebels!

So what follows contains spoilers! If you haven't seen the final episode of Star Wars: Rebels "Fire Across the Galaxy" I suggest you do that first before you read this if you don't want to get spoiled.

That's Ok, I'll wait....

Good. Now, first off, wasn't that amazing! What a great way to end the first season! 

What got me was the way the Inquisitor "died" after allegedly plummeting to his death. This is a character introduced very early on by Disney/LucasFilms. And Hasbro only recently came out with the action figure. It seems a lot of work just to kill off a character after about 15 episodes.

I was talking to my son, and we came up with a theory. And here it is.

The Inquisitor died, but not permanently.The last thing he says to Kanan before falling from the ledge was "There are worse things then death." Some have suggested this is just a hint that Darth Vader was coming after him, but what if it wasn't.

Right before Ben Kenobi died he tells Vader, "If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can imagine." While this might have been a little bit of an exaggeration, it basically meant Kenobi would become what we call a force ghost. Thanks to the training of Qui-Gon Jinn, Kenobi shed his mortal body and became a corporeal part of the force, still able to influence people and events.

Yoda also did this during Return of the Jedi. Somehow at the end of Return of the Jedi, Anakin Skywalker was also able to become a Force Ghost, but he never got the training to do that.

Or did he.

We know that Darth Sidious was obsessed with learning how to cheat death as he discussed with young Anakin during Revenge of the Sith. Sidious even mentions wanting to work with Anakin to discover this secret.

So, what if they did it. What if Sidious and Vader managed to find a Sith way to cheat death in much the same way as Kenobi and Yoda. But what would a Sith Ghost be like: just pure evil I imagine.

And, that's how I believe they will bring the Inquisitor back in the show: As a dark side force ghosr or Sith ghost

So let's take this just a step further. 

Maybe the reason Anakin shows up at the end is because he had been through the training with the Emperor However, since he had crossed back over to the light side he appeared as a force ghost rather than whatever it is a Sith turns into after death.

Also, the death scene of the Inquisitor falling to his death could be compared to the Emperor's death at the end of Return of the Jedi. So, what if whatever is going to happen to the Inquisitor also happens to Darth Sidious?

The original working title for Star Wars VII was called an Ancient Fear, which could point to a return of an old Sith. Sidious maybe? Just some thoughts on what if there are Sith Ghosts along with Jedi Ghosts.

So what do you think? Am I on to something or am I cuckoo for cocoa puffs? Let me know in the comments...


Monday, March 2, 2015

Paying Final Respects to Our Honored Dead

Last week, we lost someone very dear to us: Leonard Nimoy.

I have been dreading this post, because I'm not sure I can produce the words to express what his passing means.

One of my earliest memories is watching reruns of Star Trek: The Original Series with my father. Even at so young an age, Mr. Spock was fascinating to me.

I loved how Nimoy chose to play the character, and how the character truly evolved before our eyes.

The logical, emotionless character certainly wasn't unique, but Nimoy added something no one else had before: a heart. He helped us care for the character and feel the love he couldn't.

This was best expressed in the episode "This Side of Paradise" by D.C. Fontana. Spock chooses a life without emotion and love in return for duty and responsibility. If you haven't seen it lately, it is wonderful.

Eventually, Nimoy would try to distance himself from the character of Spock.

It's certainly understandable. No actor wants to be typecast into one role.

But eventually he came around to see what the character meant to the throngs of fans.

And they did embrace him!

The Vulcan salute and phrase "Live Long and Prosper" are synonymous with geeks everywhere.

At times we have even embraced his emotionlessness to protect ourselves from the bullies of the world and the ones who couldn't love us because we were so weird.

When his death was announced on Friday, I cried. To me it was different than when we lost Robin Williams last summer. You see, Robin Williams belonged to everyone. All people had a special connection with him.

But Leonard Nimoy was ours alone. He was a mentor when we needed wisdom, an ally when we needed strength and a companion in the darkest times,.Most people don't understand what he meant to us, but he helped us be a better part of this world.

I couldn't help but watch the funeral scene in Wrath of Khan again when I heard the news, and the words of Captain Kirk ring true:

"Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most Human!"

Cue the bagpipes playing "Amazing Grace"!

Farewell, my friend. We are better for having known you.