Star Wars: The Bad Batch - S01E11 "Devil's Deal"

 

Wowsers. I was totally unsure what I was watching for a good ten minutes here. I’m all for telling more stories but the unexpectedness of telling us about Ryloth and the Syndulla’s really took me out of what we’d usually been watching. I liked it! Do not get me wrong. It was just so unexpected that it felt surreal for 90% of the episode of which the Bad Batch had only a few minutes in. Are we watching ‘Rebels’, Clone Wars or The Bad Batch? This week it was a mixture of all three.

It is an important tale to show – the Empire stamping it is ground so quickly after the war ended. There are going to be planets where peace, even one with Imperial troopers everywhere, is going to be better than what they were used to. Clearly the Empire are up to no good with the mining facility. Quite what seeds have been sown to convince some that having clone troopers around is automatically a bad thing I’m unsure as that’s not really explained. We all know these misgivings are going to prove correct but how some have reached a conclusion so quickly is not really spelt out.

This episode is full of characters most of us know inside and out if you’ve watched every ounce of Star Wars content but seeing Hera and Chopper!!! Well, my mind was blown, and initially totally blown so much that I lost all track of what was going on. Hera’s voice also sounded … odd. Italian? I don’t recall her having any accent much in Rebels. Anyhow, it was just so unexpected it was hard to appreciate initially. It also felt like we had seen all there was to see about Ryloth and the Syndulla’s before. I didn’t think there was much more to tell and although this didn’t really expand a lot on it for me personally, it was enjoyable nonetheless. The visuals once again were absolutely sensational so many times.

Questions though remain after this episode. It ends with the feeling that the next episode is going to continue the story, with likely the Bad Batch helping smuggle Hera out? Is this where we’re going with the gang? Are they going to be in the formations of the rebellion? Where the heck are they much later down the road? Why is Crosshair and the Empire not fully invested in tracking down the Bad Batch at this point? And what’s happened to all the Bounty Hunters after Omega? And is that one commander clone not under order 66 as he’s still painted and hair combed to suggest he’s not following order 66 programming?

Star Wars: The Bad Batch - S01E10 "Common Ground"

Well, this wasn’t quite as exciting as previous episodes but it was nonetheless an enjoyable ride with a simple narrative. Perhaps a filler episode of sorts but it did move the story along. Thanks to Omega, the Bad Batch debt is cleared. One must think she’d won a lot of games in the time the Bad Batch did one mission. Betting games seem to be better rewarded than that of extracting people from dangerous locations? I’d guess Cid had the fact Omega was a child as a tactic to extract extra money from bets but it worked and she won a ton of games. We have also discovered that Omega is one heck of a strategist. Is this her special skill or one of many? Where does this leave Hunter? Not suggesting Omega will lead the gang anytime soon but if she’s this clever, Hunter’s tactics could be called into question in future. I bet they will. Is this also the end of our time with Cid? I’m still waiting for a degree of betrayal from her so maybe she’s still around next week for that. The gang aren’t worth as much to her now so I’m figuring she’d got to be thinking about the bounty on the gang soon.

The actual extraction was a simple plot with no overly complicated matters. Even taking over the clanker has been seen before although quite miraculous as I thought it had had a direct hit at the rear. I was also half expecting the senator to be up to no good and somehow leading the gang into a trap especially when he and his droid looked at each other on one occasion. And his droid? GS-8 was it? She sounded like there was someone inside the metal. I was half expecting the droid to say at the end “But I’m really a human hiding inside and I love you senator”. Didn’t happen though. Now that would have been a twist! Interesting to see what was happening on the planet with the Empire taking over. A little confusing though as at start of the senator speech he was being cheered despite his words supporting the Empire? Also, is it me or did the Bad Batch only ever stun the clones rather than kill?

Bit of a filler, but the story progressed.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch - S01E09 "Lost Bounty"

Taun We - condemmed to death from the minute this order was given.

Another highly entertaining episode injected with a degree of peril as Omega finds herself stuck between a battle of bounty hunters; Fennec and Cad Bane. We discover that Fennec was hired personally by Nala Se without the knowledge of the Kaminoan PM. This adds credibility to Fennec’s “caring” persona towards Omega in this episode and the previous time when one was unsure how sincere Fennec was back then. Turns out, she was actually more truthful than we thought. As she dramatically fights it out with Cad Bane, memories of The Clone Wars episodes are constantly reignited in my mind. Their jostling for advantage in battle is clever, as is their armoury and tricks of the trade. One might think Cad Bane has had it when tied up and sent flying over the edge, but alas those rocket boots save the day! His arm flame throwers also never fail to be dramatic. An absolutely delicious tussle in what can only be described as atmospheric (quite literally) and gorgeous scenery. The mist/dust/cloud effects were like butter melting on top a baked potato – absolutely dreamy. One assumes this is an old Kaminoan factory now abandoned for some reason? On a different planet? Different star system to Kaminoan? Whatever fell out one of those massive glass tubes looked a little Snoke like but think I saw big eyes on it so probably not, and it’s far too early for a Snoke wannabe to lurking about. Still, very intriguing. 

Cad Bane’s sidekick droid Todo was the star of the episode. As undoubtedly useful to Cad as he is, he’s also rather hapless at times, being totally misled by Omega initially, and failing at quite a few tasks subsequently. Still, he was a hoot and very much added to a great episode. The quick escape from Crosshair at the start was unexpected as one thought that had all been concluded somewhat last week but nevertheless that was the only minor oddity to the episode for me. Everything else was top notch entertainment. We also got even more reinforcement of Hunter becoming a father figure to Omega as previously it had really been only Wrecker shown to have the best relationship with her. Of course, one totally knows the end sentence is going to end up slapping him in the face with his promise of her never going back to Kamino. She’s SO GOING BACK TO KAMINO! 100% guaranteed now he’s said that. Also, given we find out exactly what it unique about Omega now, and it’s nothing to do with force power DNA as the conspiracy theories might have thought, but she’s essentially Boba’s sister? Alpha was Boba and Omega is, well, Omega. The only other last remaining clone of original pure DNA goodness. The likelihood of Boba showing up has now just gone up a big notch too. 

She's so going back to Kamino!

Star Wars: The Bad Batch - S01E08 "Reunion"

The one we'd been waiting for and wondering when the gang would be reunited with Crosshair. I was starting to think it might be left for the finale or mid-season cliff-hanger but thankfully they've given us a taste of the conflict sooner. In some respects it's a little bizarre it’s taken this long as sometimes it has seemed like the Empire were after them and then not really bothering. With three shuttles worth of troopers (Clones one assumes) and Crosshairs Stormtrooper wannabes squad in toe, we get a really good equal matchup between the remaining Bad Batch and the Empire. Quite why it never occurred to any of the Bad Batch that Crosshair would anticipate their plans I don't know. Hunter is a leader, but he's not as yet been shown to be that clever. I would have expected Tech to have thought that Crosshair would be likely figuring out their plans given they kept to their typical routines. I suppose we had to see an episode where the Bad Batch would learn the hard way that Crosshair would be aware of what they might plan, and this is it, but you'd think they'd have thought about that previously.

Fantastic comradery between the Bad Batch once again this episode. Omega is really one of the team now, which makes the ending all the more potent. If this had happened a few episodes ago I doubt we'd have been as heartbroken, but it's clear now that Omega fits in perfectly with the gang and they are learning and growing to utilise her in everything - Tech called Omega up to help him on the bridge. Sure, it was to do a simple task, but it shows she has integrated. We still don't know what's special about her yet, although I'm sure a few hints have been put in place. The Kaminoans refer to her as part of their contingency plan. Contingency for what? If the Empire saw no use for their clones? That seems the most likely reason but it's all hush hush. What's the plan? Omega is a much better clone? Maybe she can control the other clone? She needs to be cheaper too as it's unlikely that even a super clone (which in ways the Bad Batch already are) is likely to be something the Empire are interested in given their desire to spend money elsewhere. Death Star anyone?

All the scenes in this episode are atmospheric and gorgeous. Big vibes of The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker here with the insides of downed Star Destroyers. Loved the textures, the creaky sounds, the clanking of rusty metal - absolutely beautiful. And then, the surprise appearance, which even for me was totally unexpected - a reunion with a beloved character from The Clone Wars in Cad Bane. This is Afterall The Clone Wars Season 8 in all but name and Dave Filoni has the opportunity of a lifetime to continue stories from The Clone Wars and hell he's going to do so. I remember a scene from one of the unfinished episodes with Cad Bane against Boba Fett? Was it Bane? Didn't Boba kill him? Well, it was unfinished episode and I guess it never happened in that respects. It was dramatic to see him back and a real tense moment. You know Cad would be quicker even though Hunter is a clone. It had to be Cad who won the battle or pointless bringing him into the scene. He was awesome. But how did Hunter survive the shot? Not really explained although he's clearly winded or injured at the end.

The stakes are rising in this show and I'm loving it.

Feedback Hub – Six Painful years later.

“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

A much-debated question for decades.

In terms of Microsoft it’s, “If I submit something to the Feedback Hub, will Microsoft respond to me?”

This is easy to solve because it’s no.

I wrote about the top 5 most annoying issues with the feedback hub in 2015, and about its cousin app, The Insider App (Feedback Hub + Insider material) in 2016. We’re 5 years later and you’d hope things had improved, but alas it’s still the same problems. Thus, it’s time to limber up my finger muscles and vent again about why I feel the Feedback Hub is about as useful as writing your problem on a piece of paper and then throwing that paper in the recycling bin.

In many ways I’m wondering why Microsoft, and especially the Insider programme, bother with the Feedback Hub still. Just this year Microsoft began closing down its UserVoice communities - which one can understand because in many ways they were just webpage versions of the hapless Feedback App. There are also ways these days that Microsoft actually does user feedback much better! Yes, really. I’ll come to that in a bit.

First though, lets’ have a look once again at all that is wrong with the Feedback Hub; these issues have existed since it’s inception, so the usual response of “Oh, it’s new, it'll get better” no longer applies. In fact, to even think that anymore is just rude.

1. SLOW

It’s so slow searching and filtering through feedback that you’ve actually got more than enough time to reconsider your life and not bother submitting anything. The key to getting the public to engage and tell you what’s good or, more normally, what’s bad, is to make it simple and quick to give that feedback.

If you launch the Feedback App it’s a good 5+ seconds until you get to do anything, and then if you want to search to see if someone has posted about what you are “feeding back” before, the twirling ball of time appears like an omen of doom.  If that’s not bad enough, suppose you want to read the comments in any feedback post, it’s another 5+ seconds of hell until you see them.

It’s simply too slow.

2. SPAM

Something I’ve noticed in the last few years especially is that the Hub has become full of rubbish. I’m not referring to the problem of people submitting problems that aren’t problems, or giving suggestions for improvements that just are ludicrous, but literally posts and comments that are nothing short of spam. There are swear words, politics, and offensive matter lurking in the feedback hub. Comments for threads – which seemed like a very good idea at the time – on the whole add next to no value to any thread. The “I agree”, or “Fix it!” or “This is a stupid idea” really are like standing in the middle of a pavement and waiting for someone to take any notice of you.

Spam is a fantastic demonstration of how even Microsoft doesn’t look at the Feedback Hub anywhere near enough, because this Spam stays in the Hub for not just weeks, but months, and almost a year.

IF … and this is a big IF … Microsoft was really listening anywhere near attentively enough as it says it does, and that the feedback in the hub was divided adequately between different teams to examine and deal with … then this Spam would not exist.

Clearly something is very broken with the Feedback Hub in terms of how Microsoft responds to feedback (see next point) and looks at it … if they even do.

Let’s have a look at some of this spam so you can all see what I mean.

A great way to find spam posts is to search for Trump or Biden. It’s entertaining, and enough to make you cry with laughter and tears.

The above was posted 3 months ago. It’s not in anyway useful or actionable. Why is it even still there?

What’s worse about the above, is not only that it’s 3 months old, but that a Microsoft Engineer took the time to respond to it when it’s clearly Spam and not actionable.

This one above is perfect example of Feedback Hub Hell. Not only has it been there for 10 months, but it just shows that there’s no one is checking posts anywhere near enough.

This one has been there for a year! Whoever has the job to check the Apps/All Other Apps is clearly AWOL.

As clear as spam can be yet it’s still there after 2 months.

Clearly there is zero autodetection for swear words in the Feedback Hub. Not only that, but MS Engineers don’t seem to mind being insulted. This post is 8 months old.

Useful. But only as a sign that no-one is checking this section of the Feedback Hub.

Windows Server has left the Feedback Hub Building folks … about a year ago.

Proof not to use Feedback Hub in any emergency. No one will come to your rescue.

Conclusion: There’s little to no automatic spam detection in the Feedback Hub and manual monitoring is very suspect.

3. ONE-WAY

And herein lies the main problem with the Feedback Hub. I’d be fibbing if I said it was entirely one-way, but suffice to say, the vast majority of suggestions and problems you submit to the Feedback Hub will go without any official comment or acknowledgment. The default “We’ve got this!” message that the app gives you is like a kick in the teeth and means nothing, except that much like actually getting a kick in the face, it hurts. You know they’ve got it because you submitted it and can see it. But then what? It’s like tossing a twig into a stream and hoping it actually keeps going but knowing it probably won’t.

Out of the ~100 posts I’ve made in vain to the Feedback Hub over the last 6 years, a mere 15 have had an official response. It’s totally soul destroying. Why do I bother? There’s only so many times you can do something without any reward before you just simply give up. No one expects a personal response every time or even action from someone, but a sign perhaps that there is someone alive in the Feedback Hub HQ who can at least send some response, even if it’s a sentence, would be great. It would mean all the world and make a vast difference. It’s not as if Microsoft couldn’t do this, because they already do in other feedback departments. Yes, really.

I give you two examples; Microsoft Word and Microsoft Edge.

With Microsoft Edge, you can send feedback through the main menu, and I’ve done this a handful of times. Guess what? Every time I’ve done this, I’ve got a response! Yes, every time.

Example, 9^th March, I fed back a rather simple issue:

One day later, I got this:

In the space of 24 hours I felt valued. I knew someone was listening to me. They were going to keep me posted which is the total opposite of the Feedback Hub. Not only that, but what I reported was acknowledged as an issue and I’d helped to make Edge better. Ok, they already knew about the issue, but I found out that a future build of Edge had a fix in it. Likewise with Microsoft OneDrive, I submitted feedback on a problem I had and got a response the next day!

In a very surprising development too, in Microsoft Word I submitted an issue I had with comments and gave a suggestion for improvement. I got an email within 48 hours asking me for more information!

Microsoft is capable of very good feedback, and making their customers feel valued for contacting them, but the clear exception is the Feedback Hub which feels more like a trophy cabinet for failed suggestions and problems.

Star Wars: The High Republic - "A Test of Courage"

 

Spoilers below ...

Continuing my exploration of The High Republic series, and a desire to give audible books a go as I’m a really pathetic book reader, I picked up A Test of Courage which is a junior novel. The audible book is unabridged and is read by a rather pleasant lady, who mimics a few of the different character voices but primary doesn’t do anything too extreme. The background music and sound effects are in place, but unlike LOTJ (Light of the Jedi) audible book, background effects aren’t really as required in what is overall a simple premise.

The book centres around young characters, in line with it being a junior novel, with recent Jedi knight Vernestra Rwoh the centrepiece, Avon Starros this book’s technical genius, her droid J-6 (basically a nanny with attitude), Imri (a troubled padawan) and Honesty (an ambassador’s son) who is somewhat the random character who, in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t do much. They are all the only survivors of a Republic starship, the Steady Wing, which is sabotaged and destroyed by two Nihil. Then all end up on a jungle like planet, have a little matchup, and that’s the long and short of it.

However, along the way there’s plenty interesting stuff, mostly from Vernestra whose lightsabre she has modified to change into a light whip, which brings up an interesting little conversation about the historical Sith wars and its reveals the Jedi and Sith both used this modified lightsabre like whips. Then there’s a mini-Anakin like turn towards the dark side by Imri who has just lost his Jedi Master in the tragedy, and whose dark side is fuelled also by Honesty’s anger at the Nihi in a rather interesting spin on dark side being fuelled by other’s anger and pain as well as their own.

It's an enjoyable and easy to follow story, a tale of young Jedi finding their way, losing it and being shown how to come back from that. It’s uplifting in that respect but there’s little escape from the harsh reality from the consequences of the destruction of the star ship on all the characters as well as a mini end twist showing just how bad the Nihi can be.