Collected links, 1 of n

This entry is part 3 of 10 in the series Bits and Pieces

I’ve spent the past couple of weeks getting my heart torn apart (and stitched back together) by animated series.

First, there was the seventh and final season of The Clone Wars, which steered the series to the pitch-perfect and devastating conclusion that fans had given up hoping for after six¹ years. Ahsoka Tano is the best addition to the Star Wars canon post-original trilogy, and this final season did justice to the character and the vital role she plays in the stories of both Anakin Skywalker and the Jedi Order as a whole.

Then there was the final season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, a series that I’d refrained from mainlining because it was a remake that hinted at some radical ambitions — and I wouldn’t have been able to take it if they couldn’t stick the landing. Spoiler alert²: They did, and I’ve caught up on everything, and I have spent the past few days laying on the floor, bursting with love and pride and gratitude.

I got up to yell on Discord every now and then, though.

There’s so much I want to say. I don’t think I’m at a point yet where I can lay out any of it, if only because the experience is still too raw and visceral. It’s probably ridiculous to have such an outsize reaction to what are essentially cartoons, but what can I do? I needed these stories; I’ve watched them unfold over the course of years. These goodbyes will take a while.

In the meantime, Emmet Asher-Perrit wrote a couple of thoughtful pieces over on Tor.com that really hit home:

Spoiler alerts, obviously.

Bonus: Noelle Stevenson³ has given nothing but excellent interviews about She-Ra, especially now that the final season is out. Here are a couple of my favorites.