To Cry About

I rewatched Rogue One for the first time since I originally saw it in the cinema, obviously inspired by Andor, and curious whether two seasons of an excellent prequel to a prequel would make a difference. In the grand scheme of things, it didn't - I liked the film then, I still do, with a few exceptions, I'm not interpreting things very different from when I was newly introduced to (most of) these characters. I'm still irritated by the same plot element in the opening sequence , possibly even more so post Andor- ( spoiler cut just in case ). I still like and appreciate pretty much everything else. Then as now, I feel the movie is a love letter to all redshirts, and far more original and creative than the one sequel movie which was already released by the time Rogue One premiered, The Force Awakens, because instead of modelling itself on A New Hope and repeating the exact some emotional and plot beats, it told an actually new story within the SWverse.

There are a few differences seeing this for the second time and post Andor does make for me:

- Jyn Erso no longer feels like the main character, Cassian does, with Jyn only guest starring, so to speak

- the delighted shock at the appearance of Saw Guerrera (not so much for Saw's sake but for the fact that up to this point, he had been an animated Clone Wars character, and if he was now big screen canon, then so was Ahsoka) made room for ( a more spoilery reaction )

- I like the Rogue One only (i.e. not appearing in Andor) characters of Bodhi, Chirrup and Baze a lot and in retrospect Bodhi especially forshadows Team Gilroy's ability to create nuanced imperial defectors/undercover-for-the-rebellion people who with not much screen time still make me feel a lot for them (see also Lonni Jung, or even just the maintenance worker Cassian interacts with in the first episode of s2)

- the way fascism works on a dog-eats-dog basis, with groveling towards those above you and kicking downwards, is really perfectly illustrated if you contrast Krennic in this movie (where we mostly see him with people who outrank him, like Tarkin and Vader) versus Krennic in the show (where we exclusively see him with people he outranks, like Dedra and Partagaz)

- yep, the digitally recreated counterparts of Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher still look creepy, and Andor with Bail Organa proves you can successfully recast if an actor (for whichever reason) isn't available anymore

- I stand by my observation from my original review that the fact Rogue One as a prequel could not show the Death Star destroying a planet (since Alderaan has to remain the first occasion this happens) was a blessing, because what it shows instead - ( spoilery in nature ) is way more viscerally frightening, only now I think Tony Gilroy might have shown that restraint even without the prequel factor, because the Ghorman arc in s2 illustrated he and his creative team are very very aware of how you buld up to, execute and then show the aftermath of such an event in a way that really affects the audience. (Meanwhile, The Force Awakens went completely into the opposite direction and tried to top the one destroyed planet with multiple destroyed systems and no emotional resonance whatsoever.)

Some more thoughts about Jyn: ( Which are spoilery. )

What Rogue One and Andor between them accomplished for good, though, is to realign the whole focus of the Rebellion era in SW from the force wielding Jedi and Sith characters to the non-force users (Chirrup's belief in the Force notwithstanding), and thereby making it feel far more of a story about Revolution versus Authoritarianism. This doesn't mean I disdain the Jedi and Sith aspects of the story now, btw. Or that I think the only valid SW has to be like Andor. As mentioned elswhere, I adored Skeleton Crew*, which is defiantely aimed at kids and about them, and which is just as much SW. But I am really really glad there is room for both.

*Speaking of which, I hear one young actress is now the new central Slayer in the BtVS sequel? On the one hand, good for her, she was great in Skeleton Crew, otoh, I guess that means it remains a miniseries without a second sason.....

The second Tesh novel in a couple of weeks for me, thanks to friendly comments pointing out a new one was about to be published. This one in a completely different genre: magical school story with some horror mixed in instead of military space opera with some dystopia. Unusually and refreshingly for any type of school story, our heroine and central character is one of the teachers, and so is most of the supporting cast. There are four students who are important to the plot in the way teachers are in other boarding school stories - from Enid Blyton to Harry Potter - , which is to say, you get to know them, but strictly from the outside, they are plot relevant, but the narrative emphasis is strictly on the teacher side of things, not just in terms of our central character but also the main supporting characters.

Since Dr. Walden (first name Sapphire which is her parents‘ fault; friends refer to her as „Saffy“, but the narration and her own pov call her „Walden“ almost through the entire novel) is near forty and a determined bisexual workoholic, the difference to the Young Adult tone with which many a boarding school story usually arrives is there from the start. At first, the novel seems to go for wry comedy as we get to know the characters and the setting; the rules for this particular universe are established: An AU in which magical abilities are publically known and a thing; the problem is that teenagers with their magical abilities running wild and them not yet able to really control them are the favourite snacks of demons, both, depending on the size of the demon, in the literal sense or via possession or for the smallest imps just via annoyance by them possessing machines. I mean, we all knew that about printing machines and photo copiers in offices, right? Anyway, hence the need for schools simultanously teaching the kids how to control their abilities and doing their best to save them from ending up as snacks. This can be difficult because teenagers by definition think THEY are invulnerable and able to conjur up the cool demons, which is why in addition to the regular teachers like Walden, there are also „Marshals“, i.e. magical cops who mostly don‘t have an academic background but excell at demon fighting. We open the novel with Walden meeting the latest Marshal, Laura Kenning; there is mutual resentment and UST from the get go.

It comes more and more evident that larger demons are no laughing matter and really incredibly dangerous, though the black humor never leaves the narrative tone, either. Walden, for all that she oozes competence and cool in the present, had A Tragic Event in her own youth; basically she‘s female Rupert Giles if you‘re a Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and/or female John Constantine from Hellblazer, if John/Joanna had gone into teaching after the event in question), and while she is really as good as she thinks she is in all things magic, she also is slightly hubristic because of it, and that becomes highly plot relevant. I also appreciate that she has a genuine passion for teaching. As for the demons, they‘re gratifyingly complicated and alien; leaving the comic relief ones you find in printers (I KNEW IT) aside, the reader is presented with two important ones, and while the first one‘s goals are obvious and very Exorcist the tv show, what the other one is up to is infinitely trickier and yet the hints are there early on.

By now, I‘ve found out that there were some complaints re: Some Desperate Glory regarding the characters being queer but their romances only seen in glimpses, so to speak, which I thought was appropriate for the characters and the story of Some Desperate Glory (plus it invites fanfic), but I take the general point, so let me say that Walden‘s romantic and sexual life gets more narrative room, plus Walden/Laura is central to the plot. Also, the novel avoids two extremes I find annoying which some media take with bisexual characters: either a character is declared to be bi but we only ever see him or her with one gender of romantic partner, i.e. the opposite if it‘s a more main stream show (looking at you, Da Vinci‘s Demons) or the same (Torchwood fanfiction; the show itself gave more screen time to Jack‘s same sex romances, but we did get some examples of him and women as well); OR there is the cliché of the evil, disturbed or at least amoral bisexual, unable to commit and breaking hearts that way (famously Basic Instinct, but also the novels of an author I otherwise really like, Sosan Howatch). By contrast, both in the past and in the present Walden is someone the reader sees to be attracted to people of both genders, we‘re not just told that in theory she is, and she‘s emotionally involved in the relationships in question (with one exception). (While at the same time being a sensible force for good. )That said, it is rather clear which relationship in the present we‘re meant to root for. *g*

In conclusion, this was another highly readable and very captivating novel by this author, who I hope will gift us with many more in the years to comem.