SPOILER "Aftermath: Empire's End" By Chuck Wendig (Discussion)

I'm curious as to why he thinks Snoke is from another galaxy.

I've always found that interview intriguing. Seems like the dark side was supposed to be a sapient entity that Vader worshipped.

 

okay here's some slightly more coherent thoughts:

1. continued implications that droids are not just machines; they may be capable of actual sentience.
   
2. light/dark and good/bad duality throughout. most clearly in Sinjir and Sloane. Sinjir finds an interesting balance. Sloane does not.
3. the origins of the First Order is basically Lord of the Flies in space as a deliberate experiment.
   
4. dumblr tag "Kylo Ren needs a hug" is now canon ~ hahahaha
5. am i the only one who found Kyrsta totally boring?
   
6. if i'm totally honest i was glad Mon Mothma was dead. until she wasn't.
   
7. and did i miss something? why would Sinjir understand the implications of the pta fruit? he wasn't there when Mon scuttled Tarworl.
   
8. Jom wasted his life ~ (ha! that's so mean).
9. i can't believe Niima survived all that.
   
10. was anyone else stuck with a mental image of Krennic while reading Rax? i couldn't shake it.
    
11. if the tall girl was Phasma, i'm calling the kid who gets punched Mitaka! : D

while the story was mostly about Norra and Sloane, i found they didn't get really interesting until the end. Jas was like an afterthought throughout--she didn't even need to be here (nor Jom). Sinjir was Sinjir, which means he was awesome. he's a stronger character than Norra who dumps her kid twice! in this book--jeez! i liked her in the end because she did right by Sloane even though it was probably a mistake, but i kind of felt she deserved to lose Brentin (poor Brentin!!!).

 

2. Yes, those are the main ones--the fuel of conflict! We get it to a lesser degree in Jas (ledger mentality v. maybe auntie was right about benevolence) and Norra (revenge v. justice). They both find a healthy solution too, Norra outside the box.

At first I was like, really, Sinjir in politics? Isn't that kind of ...tame? Turns out no, no it is not.

3. YES!
4. Or just a lil snuggle.
5. Zzzzz
6. Zzzzz
7. I assumed he'd heard about it, I guess?
9. Apparently Hutts' only weakness is being strangled.
10. YES!
11. I'm calling that kid is too old to be Mitaka.

I really didn't get jumping out in an escape pod. Srsly, Norra? I knew Brentin was toast as soon as Norra started having feelings for Wedge in the last book, but he lasted longer than I expected. I thought her choice re: Sloane was a paradox--a good choice for Norra personally, but a bad choice for the GFFA (hindsight being 20-20!).

--- Double Post Merged, Feb 24, 2017, Original Post Date: Feb 24, 2017 ---

So we know that Palpatine wanted to scrap the Empire if he couldn't be the one in charge; hence the Contingency. But we also know that the SSD Eclipse (with Thrawn in command??) went on ahead into the Unknown and is waiting for Sloane when she arrives. So, was that entirely Rax's doing? But what about the coordinates beamed from the Imperialis to select Imperial commanders on Palpatine's orders (according to the pilot droid)? What about the Imperial ships that jumped into hyperspace from the Battle of Jakku to mysterious coordinates, "presumably to suicide"?

 

i know, right? he fits right in! hahahaha
in fact when Mon blew up, my first thought was: oh man! Sinjir's out of a job! and then i immediately hoped Leia would take him on ~ hahaha

you're right. it's heavily implied that they are all older than Hux and Mitaka is almost definitely younger. okay fine. it's Datoo then. hahahaha

there are a number of curious paradoxes in this book. i agree that her ditching them in space was stoooopid. i lost all empathy for her at that point. but i was glad to see she regained her senses and loved Brentin in the end. i guess she had to let Sloane go to fix the planet from imploding, but i totally agree: it likely set off a chain-reaction of another kind.

the other thing is how is Snoke (if it is Snoke agitating Ben in the womb) breaching the galaxy if he hasn't actually been found. or...like Snoke called to Palpatine (as it's implied), is he now calling to Ben). beh....[shudder].

 

Yes, I'm assuming this dark power calling to Palpatine was Snoke. Same with whatever/whoever is troubling miniBen. I'm about 90% sure it's Snoke. But what if it's not? That's...even scarier in some ways.

--- Double Post Merged, Feb 24, 2017, Original Post Date: Feb 24, 2017 ---

Here's an interesting quote:

"The planet will soon begin to crack. It shall break apart. It'll swallow the empire and the new Republic fleets and soldiers whole. When it does it will leave this galaxy to the scavengers and the scum, rotting like a fruit lying forgotten in the dirt. Though an idle thought troubles him: all fruit, no matter how rotten, can leave behind seeds."

Since this is about Jakku (which did not, in fact, blow up), I think this quote is meant to turn our thoughts toward Rey. But do you think it tells us anything about Rey's origins?

 

what's left on Jakku? Niima basically takes over, the Empire is destroyed, and the Republic abandons the planet. we've basically got the Hutt, the Church of the Force, and potential pockets of Imperials?

 

Well, seeds, of course!

 

hahahahaha! yes! ; D

 

Don't you just want to give the little bantha poodoo a hug, a kitten and a time out?

 

the nasty little pants-wetter needs a mother ~ hahahaha

i'm guessing that was all part of the Contingency and that Rax was wholly in charge of the putting the Contingency into action--the destroyers that jumped to suicide probably went wherever Sloane and Thrawn went. they all met up out there in the Unknown and that's where they're been nesting and plotting--presumably with Snoke's Dark power to feed off of.

leastways that's what it seems like happened.

 

Spoiler: spoiler

I kind of like that Rae Sloane kind of took to him a little there at the end. What becomes of her? I hope we find out.

 

took him in!?!? she did nothing of the sort! hahahahahahaha

she used him to protect herself against Phasma and the undead children, and then seems to have left him to his own corrupted devices.
i tell ya, this is the most disturbing thing in the book!
i was so excited when she started bashing Brendol in for being awful to the kid, but ultimately she's no better.
she only beat up Brendol to get on Armitty's good side, knowing he was key to her own survival.

dis-gusting. : o p

 

So you think that once the GFFA Empire died (and the Shah-tez board "broke"), it actually was Palpatine's plan for the Empire to start over in this new or uncharted galaxy (a new Shah-tez board)? This was not a product of Rax's off-roading?

 

hmmmm ~ Rax did look at the Imperator and the Outcast and make that choice to claim the Imperator role, didn't he?
he too seems to be have been messing with something he didn't fully understand.

i assumed Palpatine believed that whatever was out there in the Unknown could resurrect him to start a new "game" as it were.
but did Rax change the plan, ultimately? or just think that with the Emperor gone, he was now the big cheese?

 

Yeah, Sloane saw the good qualities in him (or just felt sorry for him)...but decided to use him as a buffer/protection. *sigh* And I had hoped for better things for Sloane.

 

me too! in that one moment i really thought: okay, she's defending someone who is ultimately going to grow up to be a viper and probably kill her, but at least she's doing the right thing. but she didn't .
she was every bit as bad as Rax to him.

that happens thematically throughout the book . the acolytes fight and one replaces the other, Rax replaces Palpatine, Sloane replaces Rax, there are light side examples too with Dengar and Jas and Sinjir whatnot, but it definitely seems to be a thing: becoming what you despise/disdain/etc.

 

I don't know. I'm confused. Too much snoozing for me, clearly.

I thought it was Rax's idea to go out to the Unknown...but then the Imperialis did beam the coordinates out at Palpatine's command. Why would he do that if he was assuming it would all be scrapped? Or was he, as usual, playing the long game and manipulating Rax and playing him to get him to do this anyway?

 

i confess i snoozed through the battle, waking up occasionally when Ackbar piped up. hahahaha
so yes, my understanding of the overall plan might be a little muddy too.

mine too! : D

i know, right??? it's terrifying to think! and makes Finn all the more amazing in my eyes (and i already thought he was amazing!).

pbbbbbfffttt. hahahahaa

i don't hate Mon. i just think she was sort of limping along here and her death would have been potent (and yes, i still secretly wanted Sinjir to work for Leia).

no lie! Huttslayer!!!

maybe i'm just disappointed because i wanted Krennic to be more Rax-like ~ ha!

ughhhh! hahahaha