WICKED Rises to the Moment
Hyperspace Theories
Continuing our recent witchy trend on Hyperspace Theories alongside our discussion of Agatha All Along, this episode discusses the movie Wicked: Part I, which broke box office records in its first week of release. Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester begin with a common focus of the podcast: the storytelling structure of the movie, and how it compares and contrasts with the Broadway musical that the films adapts. Director Jon M. Chu maximizes the opportunity of the movie medium to broaden the visual storytelling for the characters, themes, and world-building beyond what is possible on a Broadway...
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Agatha All Along: Mother to Mentor
Hyperspace Theories
In this podcast episode, Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester consider the recently released MCU Disney+ series Agatha All Along from the perspective of long-running themes at FANgirl Blog and Hyperspace Theories: the influence of myth and heroic journeys on contemporary storytelling and how contemporary storytelling is evolving those ideas, especially in stories told by women and other creators from diverse and marginalized backgrounds. The story structure of Agatha All Along itself is built around the idea of an evolving myth, the “Ballad of the Witches’ Road” song, which...
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Hyperspace Theories at 10: The State of Star Wars
Hyperspace Theories
It’s been ten years since FANgirl Blog launched the Hyperspace Theories podcast. On the latest episode, Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester look back on the podcast’s evolution from its origin in discussing how to speculate wisely on upcoming Star Wars stories to a broader consideration of storytelling, character arcs and the Hero’s Journey, and franchise management. We reminisce about our favorite episodes of the podcast over the years. After looking back, we turn to the present and future of the franchise through the lens of two recent articles in major Hollywood trade publications. James...
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The Heroine's Journeys of the MCU's Echo and What If? Series
Hyperspace Theories
The Marvel Cinematic Universe accomplished an unprecedented track record of box office earnings, followed by an uneven phase that included a few box office miscues and a mixed reactions to its span of Disney+ streaming series. In this episode of Hyperspace Theories, Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester discuss two MCU series that had lower profiles in fan attention and viewership, but much to consider in what they got right in their storytelling: the binge-dropped live-action series Echo and the animated series What If? released weekly in its second season. Most significantly,...
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THE ACOLYTE and Brand Management
Hyperspace Theories
On this episode of Hyperspace Theories, Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester examine the Disney+ live-action series Star Wars: The Acolyte through the lens of recent Lucasfilm’s brand management struggles, especially with the Star Wars franchise. We begin with the strengths of The Acolyte that we want to praise, including the fight choreography, the performances of the cast, and the diversity, inclusion, and representation the series demonstrates both in front of and behind the camera. When it comes to The Acolyte‘s weaknesses, the problem of brand management is the...
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Metamorphosis and Sacrifice in The Bad Batch Season Two
Hyperspace Theories
Before turning to the currently releasing third season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Hyperspace Theories podcast returns to the concluding episodes of Season Two. Having previously analyzed the first ten episodes, Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester discuss episodes 11 through 16, starting with “Metamorphosis” and “The Outpost” and ending with Tech’s (apparent) self-sacrifice by implementing the tragic “Plan 99” during the squad’s fateful mission to Tarkin’s base on Eriadu. On the theme of metamorphosis and transformation, we consider the introduction of Doctor Hemlock as the...
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The Future of Star Wars
Hyperspace Theories
Hyperspace Theories kicks off 2024 with a new episode analyzing recent developments that appear to chart a new course for the future of Star Wars. Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester begin with the November 2023 news, first revealed in a Vanity Fair article by longtime Star Wars and entertainment journalist Anthony Breznican, that Dave Filoni has been promoted to the position of Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm. We discuss what a CCO role entails and how Filoni’s position compares to other CCO roles within The Walt Disney Company overall. Filoni also now holds the title of Executive...
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Ahsoka and the Allegories of Mortis
Hyperspace Theories
The epilogue montage of the recently concluded Ahsoka series on Disney+ included a surprising and exciting image: former Jedi turned antagonist Baylan Skoll standing amid colossal statues of the Father, Son, and (partially destroyed) Daughter of Mortis. These mysterious and powerful “Force Wielders” have a long connection to Ahsoka mastermind Dave Filoni: they interacted with Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Mortis trilogy (2011) in the third season of The Clone Wars animated series, for which Filoni served as supervising director under...
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AHSOKA Tackles the Jedi, the Force, and the Future of Star Wars
Hyperspace Theories
The Ahsoka series on Disney+ has reached its finale. On this episode of Hyperspace Theories, Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester analyze the storytelling in Part Six “Far, Far Away,” Part Seven “Dreams and Madness,” and Part Eight “The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord” and consider what Ahsoka establishes for the future of Star Wars tales. We begin by examining the conclusions to the character arcs of Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren, and their relationship as master and apprentice. With Ezra Bridger reunited with his old friends, the series portrays three different...
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Ahsoka and Anakin Reunite!
Hyperspace Theories
Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester return for another episode of Hyperspace Theories discussing the Ahsoka Disney+ series, specifically the second act of the story: Part Three “Time to Fly,” Part Four “Fallen Jedi,” and Part Five “Shadow Warrior.” Often Star Wars is at its best when it advances not only the character arcs of its principals, but also the mythology of the franchise, The episodes of Ahsoka, and “Shadow Warrior” especially, mark a great success in that tradition. As we mentioned in our previous episode discussing the two-part...
info_outlineEpisodes eight to ten of Andor center on a common theme: everyone is trapped in a literal or metaphorical prison. In this episode of Hyperspace Theories, Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester discuss how writer Beau Willimon used this theme as the keystone for all of the characters in this story arc.
Cassian, of course, spends this arc in the Narkina 5 prison facility, where the Empire uses convict labor in a prison-industrial complex to produce countless components necessary for the military-industrial complex necessary to sustain its galactic tyranny. Kino Loy, played by the amazing Andy Serkis, is both a literal inmate and a metaphorical prisoner of the gamified labor regime within the facility. Others play along too, at least until they realize the game is rigged and they can never “win” their freedom.
Beyond Narkina 5, the theme pervades the other characters’ stories, too. On Ferrix, we see the ways Bix, Paak, Brasso, and Maarva suffer under Imperial occupation. On Coruscant, Syril thinks his connection with Dedra and the ISB are his ticket upward, only to discover how trapped he remains. Dedra perceives her upward trajectory continuing, but she remains bound within an ISB mindset. Elsewhere on the capital planet, Mon Mothma confronts the reality of her seemingly inescapable personal situation, including a demand for a terrible family sacrifice, and her newly revealed cousin Vel faces a similar personal toll. Luthen Rael, the “axis” of the burgeoning rebellion, struggles to unite the disparate factions of the incipient Rebellion, personified in Saw Gerrera’s certainty that he is the only one with clarity of purpose. Despite his machinations and his successful Aldhani heist, Luthen admits that he is trapped by the obligations and burdens of his unbreakable commitment to sacrifice everything for the Rebellion.
Cassian, at least, ends the arc by escaping the prison and swimming to shore. Whether any of the other characters can break free of their confinement remains to be seen.
Related Links:
- Fangirls Going Rogue Episode 22.14: Let’s Get Ready for Andor
- Andor’s Diego Luna and Genevieve O’Reilly On Fangirls Going Rogue
- Fangirls Going Rogue Episode 22.16: Andor’s Adria Arjona Roundtable
- Andor: Striving To Get Back To Star Wars’ Political Roots
- REVIEW: Andor
- Hyperspace Theories: Andor Begins
- Andor: Fascism and Star Wars
- Hyperspace Theories: Andor: Where Is It Going?
- Hyperspace Theories: Andor: The Heist and Its Aftermath