[7.0/10] I’m still not a fan of the Jindas being vaguely East Asian stereotypes, but I appreciate this episode giving them a little more depth and backstory. It’s not much, but having them be constantly on the move not merely because they’re lost, but because they’re fleeing a curse that afflicts them if they stay in one place for too long is an interesting twist.
Granted, the rock wizard comes out of nowhere, and the song Bondo uses to describe their history and plight is pretty bad. But there’s at least some symmetry to the Jindas using their cleverness to help the Ewoks out of a jam, and then the Ewoks returning the favor when the magic rocks start pursuing the Jindas again. You’re starting to see the broader communities and ecosystems of Endor built out, or at least the groups that are relevant to this show, and I appreciate that.
That said, I don’t really get the point of Wicket buying Kneesa the “magic rock”. I guess she’s the only one who didn’t encourage him to buy something for themselves? And then his brothers make fun of him for it, but the rock turns out to be the Rock Wizard’s missing tooth? I guess that's fine. A little coincidental, but fine. I just don’t know what the moral’s supposed to be. It’s framed as “How dare you doubt me buying this useless trinket...it turned out to be useful!” But I assume it’s something about being caring to friends no matter what others think that just got bungled in the execution.
Otherwise, the little racoon kidnappers were sort of weird, and the anteater trader guy is a quirky character who adds nicely to the milieu. The pacing’s a little off, but there’s at least a solid throughline for everyone here. Overall, a solid episode.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-05-06T21:32:09Z
[7.0/10] I’m still not a fan of the Jindas being vaguely East Asian stereotypes, but I appreciate this episode giving them a little more depth and backstory. It’s not much, but having them be constantly on the move not merely because they’re lost, but because they’re fleeing a curse that afflicts them if they stay in one place for too long is an interesting twist.
Granted, the rock wizard comes out of nowhere, and the song Bondo uses to describe their history and plight is pretty bad. But there’s at least some symmetry to the Jindas using their cleverness to help the Ewoks out of a jam, and then the Ewoks returning the favor when the magic rocks start pursuing the Jindas again. You’re starting to see the broader communities and ecosystems of Endor built out, or at least the groups that are relevant to this show, and I appreciate that.
That said, I don’t really get the point of Wicket buying Kneesa the “magic rock”. I guess she’s the only one who didn’t encourage him to buy something for themselves? And then his brothers make fun of him for it, but the rock turns out to be the Rock Wizard’s missing tooth? I guess that's fine. A little coincidental, but fine. I just don’t know what the moral’s supposed to be. It’s framed as “How dare you doubt me buying this useless trinket...it turned out to be useful!” But I assume it’s something about being caring to friends no matter what others think that just got bungled in the execution.
Otherwise, the little racoon kidnappers were sort of weird, and the anteater trader guy is a quirky character who adds nicely to the milieu. The pacing’s a little off, but there’s at least a solid throughline for everyone here. Overall, a solid episode.