"The End is the Beginning" – Star Trek: Picard S1E03
There is ample evidence for the therapeutic utility of a shared mythical framework… —Soji Asha It took three full episodes for us to get the first command to “Engage” from the former captain of the Enterprise, but it sure was…
"Maps and Legends" – Star Trek: Picard S1E02
Dr. Moritz Benayoun: You really want to go back out into the cold…knowing… Jean-Luc Picard: More than ever, knowing. —“Maps and Legends” In stories, there are two types of rest: a state of rest or calm, usually temporary, where a…
Re:View| Flash Gordon: 40th Anniversary
“Pathetic earthlings. Hurling your bodies out into the void, without the slightest inkling of who or what is out here. If you had known anything about the true nature of the universe, anything at all, you would have hidden from…
"Remembrance" – Star Trek: Picard S1E01
You must look inside, deeply and honestly. Have you ever considered the possibility that you are something lovingly and deliberately created? —Jean-Luc Picard I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. As a fan of a great many TV…
The Force is Strong In My Family: A Look Back at the Star Wars Saga
The saga that created the modern blockbuster is “over.” And while The Mandalorian, a plethora of upcoming Disney+ shows, and a still-rumored Rian Johnson trilogy will keep the Far, Far Away galaxy on our screens until the heat death of…
The Mandalorian Chapters 7 and 8: Failure's Favor
It was almost impossible to review and comment on “The Reckoning” without seeing “The Redemption.” Chapters 7 and 8 are the show’s first true two-part episode; they’re truly and completely entwined and inextricable from one another, and with Deborah Chow…
Truth, Names, and The Rise of Skywalker
It’s hard to believe everything to which we’ve dedicated our lives is gone. —Padme Amidala-Skywalker For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the old Republic. Before the dark times. Before the…
S07 E05 – The Rise of Skywalker and Choosing Our Family
On this episode of the Reel World Theology Podcast: What more appropriate way to end an up and down 2019 than with what will likely be one of the most disagreed-upon films of the year, The Rise of Skywalker. Leave…
The Mandalorian Chapter 6: Old Prison, New Accusations
The Mandalorian has done a lot of work toward making a lot of things frightening that have frankly been jokes in the past. In a previous article, we talked about how “Sanctuary” did that with the AT-ST; but the Sandcrawler…
The Mandalorian Chapter 5: A Reputation to Keep
Coming back to Luke’s hometown is like coming home at last. The Mandalorian as a whole lives on nostalgia; while other parts of the Star Wars canon are advancing the story of the Force and the universe it balances, this…