Review Detail

This was a slightly difficult review, as I both wanted to be fair but also truthful. I really struggled to determine how many points to take off for issues, but that's partially due to the sheer scale of this edit. Sure, I noticed issues every once in a while, but how numerous were they in relation to the total number of edits?

So, here's the review: this edit is the best way to watch this show. Start to end, it strengthens the weak points and highlights the existing strengths. It cuts out a lot of fat and is, for the most part, seamless in its edits. It's what those of us who love the show already remember watching, and what those who couldn't get into it needed in order to have a chance to get into it.

To begin, some favorite bits:

- The decision to use the Mandalore story as a narrative spine is very good - it is definitely already a central story of the show (as evidenced by the finale), so this decision makes that more evident.
- The structure of each season is a huge improvement over the original show.
- It's just... fun to watch this way. So much of it just feels like how the show should have been, so it's almost hard to find individual things to highlight because when the edit is at its best, you're not noticing it.

However, I have the following criticisms:

- There are a few really harsh edits - some of them visual, but most often audio (especially at the ends of episodes). The audio edits are definitely far more noticeable than the video edits. I definitely understand how difficult some of the edits are to make, but I really hope we see some improvements in future versions! These are what hold the edit back from feeling completely polished.
- I'm not a big fan of the use of the Cinematic Captures video for the Anakin/Obi discussion. I find it very distracting to have such a huge shift in animation style in-episode. This isn't a deal-breaker at all, but I would love an alternate cut.
- I would love an extended cut of the Mortis arc. I know it's not for everyone, but I think too much was cut out, to the point where it almost feels more like watching a recap than the actual story.
- Others have mentioned it, but the Domino to Rookies cut is a little abrupt. This is easily my smallest complaint (as, on the flip side, it actually does a much better job than the original show at making it clear these are the same clones).
- The senate hostage inclusion in the holocron heist doesn't completely make sense to me. I know this isn't the only edit to combine them in this way, but it left me a little confused. Why did Cad Bane bother with the hostages? If it were a distraction, why weren't the different operations going on at the same time? I know that the reason is "these are separate episodes that were combined", but it'd be nice if this could be a little cleaner somehow.

I want to be as clear as possible that the above criticisms are not reasons to not watch this edit. This is the best way to watch the show - the flaws of this edit are, frankly, nowhere near as significant as the flaws of the original show. Further, this edit is still ongoing! I just checked the document today and noticed there was a brand new hour-long episode available. I'm confident that this edit will be near flawless by the time EddieDean hangs up his hat. I will return to this review when we reach that point!

To EddieDean: thanks for your hard work on this! I can't imagine the hours that must have gone into this project, but they have surely paid off.