SWNN YouTube Weekly Highlights: Tessa Gratton Interview, ‘The Acolyte’ Recap, and More
It was a busy week for the SWNN Channel! I sat down with author Tessa Gratton for an insightful interview on her latest novel: Temptation of the Force. We held a nearly two-hour live show dissecting every piece of episode five of The Acolyte and last but not least episode 15 of the SWNN Timeline Show dropped on Saturday. The episode is one of our shorter ones as our latest canon material was the Young Jedi Adventures shorts. This round-up will give you a fun look at everything that went down this week and hopefully entice you to tune in on YouTube, Apple, or Spotify for the full versions.
Tessa Gratton Interview
Let’s start with this one. It was so much fun to sit down with author Tessa Gratton and talk about her new High Republic novel. Here’s a brief snippet of the main points of Temptation she was trying to get across in regard to the Jedi being able to discuss their feelings with one another.
One of the major themes Gratton loves to incorporate is that of rebellion. Which, of course, we know to be a massive influence in almost all of Star Wars storytelling. Gratton spoke on her love of Return of the Jedi and the idea of ultimately rebellion winning the day at the end that exists there. This forced me to question her loyalty to the most rebellious group in the galaxy.
Gratton is unique among the Luminous Team authors as she is one of a few who have written stories featuring the three main Ro’s from these stories; Marda, Marchion, and Lana. I was curious how writing both Marda and Lana first helped prepare her for writing the more sinister Marchion.
I am a big fan of rapid-fire quick hitters when it comes to Star Wars and Tessa Gratton DID NOT disappoint down the stretch. Here are a few.
This was such a fun interview from start to finish. You can watch the full interview below or listen to it on our Apple and Spotify channels.
SWNN Live!: The Acolyte Episode 5
It’s no secret by now that the latest episode of The Acolyte was an absolute blood bath. After being gone from SWNN Live! the previous Thursday I was absolutely thrilled to be back with Luke and Jay this week to talk some serious Star Wars.
Sometimes, and I know this is rather devious of me, I enjoy putting my two friends on the spot, and I couldn’t resist it this time. I asked Luke to rank the unmasking of Qimir moment among the best entrances or arrivals in Star Wars. I thought it was such a great shot in the episode I was curious where Luke the Lore Master would rank it.
Where would you all rank this in terms of arrivals? I am not sure I would have it quite as high as Luke, but it was a pretty menacing moment. A surprise to be sure… but a welcome one. (sorry Jecki)
There was a pretty lively discussion that broke out initiated by Jay on whether or not Master Sol should’ve killed The Stranger in that moment he had the chance. While I disagreed with him on this, he makes a valid argument for how A LOT of problems could be avoided if some Jedi simply would “do what must be done”. Here is a snippet from that discussion.
Moving on, I want to highlight how unique The Stranger’s fighting style is. I think it directly reflects who he is as a character. While there is so much to learn and find out about him I certainly have my theories for who he is and it’s reflected in how he fights.
There’s certainly so much more packed into a 100-minute discussion. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and watch the rest of the show, or listen to it on Apple or Spotify.
The Timeline Show Episode 15: Young Jedi Adventure Shorts
The Timeline show began earlier this year as a passion project of Brian Miller and myself. The idea was to have to go through the entire Star Wars canon timeline and have a discussion on every single piece of material. You’d have to be insane to be able to keep up with every comic, book, show, movie, short story, etc. Well, Brian and I are those insane people! We will do it for you! The hope is to have a fun dialogue on each piece, but also point out fun easter eggs, and engage in light hearted, friendly banter about Star Wars pieces folks may have forgotten about, or not had time to get to. Brian has recently stepped away from SWNN due to personal reasons. (We hope he will be back soon!) This week’s show marked Brian’s last Timeline show for a while!
The YJA shorts mostly precede the episodes of Season 1 so we decided to clump them all up in one short episode. These shorts are fun, and made for the ultra younglings, but that’s no reason us adults can’t have a wee bit of fun watching, and each episode still has something to say!
Here, you can watch me engage in one of my favorite things: horrible impressions. Although I feel as if I kinda nail this Nubs one.
There are fun easter eggs, or at least some things that remind us of fun moments in other avenues of Star Wars throughout these shorts as well!! I was reminded of General Grievous at one point.
I want to say one last thank you to Brian for all of his support, fun ideas, and amazing Star Wars discussions over the last year. I hope we can continue more of them in the future.
You can watch the entirety of episode 15 below on YT or check it out on our Apple and Spotify channels.
Well, that does it for this week on the SWNN Channel roundup. Please let me know what you think of everything we provided for you this week. Please subscribe to our YouTube and podcast channels and leave a review on Apple and Spotify. I try to shelve out three Star Wars-related videos/podcasts a week for you all and some other shorter videos when I have time! For light and life everyone! See you next week!
Finding ways to nonchalantly incorporate Star Wars quotes into 8th grade classroom, Tyler lives and breathes Star Wars. His morning tradition is sending the latest number in the countdown for different Star Wars projects and loves engaging in uplifting Star Wars dialogue. If you are passionate about Star Wars you can follow him on Twitter at TyBrad5.
