Top Star Wars Moments of 2023: A Year in Review 

Merry Christmas! What was your favorite Star Wars experience in 2023?

Tech’s death was such a horrible, horrible ugly and heartbreaking moment. I think that’s just number one for me. Two is easily Shadow Warrior, just all of it, with the addition of the end of Fallen Jedi in the WBW. Three is Thrawn and Ezra’s returns in Far, Far Away. Four is Palpatine’s Senate speech in The Bad Batch. Five is a spoiler for Jedi Survivor (“I’ve been waiting”). Six is Grogu saving Din and Bo from the fire. Seven is the ending of Jedi Survivor. Eight is the ending of Ahsoka, particularly the final shot of Baylan and Ray with him. Nine is Crosshair finally realizing the evil of the Empire thanks to Nolan. Ten is Zeb’s cameo in The Mandalorian.

Aaron's reaction to seeing the Zillo beast return is my number 1 Star Wars moment of the year. Loved all the work across all your different channels this year, and I'm so excited for the loads of content coming in 2024. Merry Christmas boys!

Live Action Ezra Bridger played by Eman Esfandi was my highlight from Star Wars this year 🎆

Totally agree with Eric when it comes to rewatch. I was not a big fan of episode 9 and almost a year later I decided to rewatch and actually loved it

Also I agree. It’s close match between Ahsoka and bad batch as my favorite show this year. Bad batch really impressed me and was a big step up from the first season. Can’t wait for the final season

Hello there! I'm looking forward to 2024 with *Tales of the Jedi, The Bad Batch, Acolyte and Skeleton Crew!!!* HYPE is HIGH!!!

I need to rewatch Andor because it’s so darn good. And the prequels. From watching you guys I’ve been learning a lot. I’m 51 so I watched A New Hope in the theater. So by the time the prequels came out I was in college & didn’t pay attention as much. Now that I’ve been watching streaming I find I want to watch a lot more.

I like the inclusion of Gorian Shard's design. And similar to the new-galaxy highlight, we also had the live-action debut of Mandalore. My favorite experience for the year is Shadow Warrior. I love the overall meditative style, getting a new level of appreciation for Hayden, and Ahsoka's whole catharsis. But there's also the inter-media, meta-narrative aspect of the ending sequence, in Jacen referring to the stories Hera told him. Those events of Rebels are now stories for the characters, much as they are for us, and now the characters (and some other elements) have been brought to life in a new way. Watching the full-length reaction to that episode was pretty special in its own right. I envy the people who got to see the episode on the big screen.

Amazing conversation guys. Really appreciate it. I feel the same about Star Wars. I'm going to do a rewatch now. You motivated me lol

Ahsoka, Bad Batch and Mando S3 made for a great year for Star Wars.

For me, Paz Vizsla's sacrifice, the retaking of Mandalore, and Din adopting Grogu as his son would all have to be in my top 10. Yes there were a couple of weaker episodes in Mando season 3, but chapters 7 and 8 were S tier. This IS the way.

hey guys, yall should react to the new Battle of the Heroes fan-film made by the Hello There crew, it's truly amazing and I'm sure you'll enjoy it ;))

I’m sooo glad Eric is FINALLY going to start survivor

Although the Star Wars community (at least the more vocal parts of it) have not been too satisfied this year, I am glad to come to this channel and enjoy the best bits!

The biggest moment for me this year was probably them announcing the new Rey movie! She's my favorite Star Wars character and I'm looking forward to seeing her in the role of "Master" now! And for next year I'm looking forward to The Acolyte! Also, loved hearing Eric say he enjoys the Sequels even more now on rewatches (it's my favorite of the trilogy) and is coming around more on Episode 9. I think that movie gets WAAAAYYYY to much hate and although I agree that it's not a perfect movie, I still really enjoy it and it's nice to see others coming around to it (even though Eric never outright hated it like some do online)

Many thanks to Eric and Aaron! 🦌

Still very much so looking forward Eric playing Jedi survivor

A good point to make about rewatching is that watching your guys reaction is essentially a condensed rewatch for many of us viewers. So thanks for everything can’t wait for 2024!

I relate to the not rewatching thing. I did rewatch Andor though and that one only gets better

react to the fan made obi wan vs anakin clone wars animation fight

Star Wars celebration for the first time is number 1 for me, unbelievable experience

Ahmed Best returning to act in The Mandalorian after all the vitriol and abuse he took in the early 2000s nearly made me ugly cry. I rewatched “The Foundling” last night while gift wrapping presents and it was so well done. Major props to Ahmed for agreeing to return after talking with Favreau and Filoni. And to Carl Weathers who directed that episode!

Got mandolorian on blue ray now I get to watch it over and over again

The Outpost in Bad Batch. What an episode. Followed by episode 5 of Ahsoka - I was a wreck that whole episode, and I don't even like Anakin! Agree with Eric about Gorian Shand too. I've seen others go on about how his lips doesn't move etc; but they are missing the point with it, so I hope to see more daft stuff like that back in Star Wars.

Really enjoyed winding down the year to watch this. I love that there is so much Star Wars and even when it's not all to my taste, there is still stuff to enjoy. I was also thinking about how I need to make time to rewatch the movies more, haha. I do listen to the music almost all the time, and my son has been going through TCW, Rebels and even Resistance and it's fun to catch a glimpse. I do LISTEN to the movies a lot because they also get frequently picked for road trips and so my kids in the back watch them on the minivan DVD player. I haven't even delved into the books yet (I'm still trying to get through the Legends books I never finished) but I want to read Dark Disciple so bad, especially as I LOVE Assaj as a tragic character and want to see some redemption for her. And speaking of the Path - I absolutely hope we see more of that (for reasons that will come up in my countdown). The sequels are still the least watched in our house (even my kids are WAY more likely to ask to watch the prequels) and I don't know - there are parts I love but also parts that on re-watch are almost more clumsy and obviously shoddy, and so many place I see the missed potential, so it's an uneven experience for me. I have a few of my own mental headcanons that 'fix it' though, so it is what it is. But - there's still stuff I enjoy, and even if I don't there's PLENTY of other stuff to go around. In addition to my general 'top moments' I also have just generally loved hanging out in positive SW communities and comment sections. But this is a fun exercise! I'd say my top moments are, in general descending order: -This might be an unusual one, but I really loved the Pershing episode of Mando season 3. I love those kinds of deep dives into what is going on elsewhere in the galaxy and I thought it was a valuable look at where the galaxy is, politically, right now. (Also the March of the Resistance theme in 'festival' mode, haha). -Baylan is such a fascinating character and I really want to know more about him and his motivations. I struggle with similar spirals of both despair and disillusionment so in some ways I really related to where his head is at. Ray Stevenson will be sorely missed. He brought such a dignity and elegance to the role. -The new season of Star Wars Visions, especially Screecher's Reach and the Spy Dancer. I really enjoy the art, music and story directions these go. -The Armorer. I just really love her as a spiritual leader of her people and am so glad a lot of the theories about her 'betraying' Mandalore ended up unfounded. She was probably one of my favorite parts of season 3, along with the general spiritual journey of the Mandalorians. -Live action Nightsisters. Oh my god it was GORGEOUS. And I was honestly fascinated by and so invested in Morgan's arc and even though she is a villain and not a great person (as her behavior in Mandalorian shows) there was something so fascinating about her journey to her ancestral homeworld. I was gutted when she was killed - I really hoped she'd stick around a bit more. And there is so much more I want from Nightsisters including exploring them in a non-villainous way. -Like you, everything Tech. Seeing him get more of a spotlight, the way his mind works, and the neurodivergent representation was really meaningful to me (especially his moment with Omega where he explains that even if he doesn't express it the same way, he still has feelings and emotions) and then the total gut punch of his sacrifice. I'm still holding out some hope. (Honorable mention: Seeing Ian McDiarmid return to KILL IT as Palpatine in a short but very impactful and chilling scene, which was also scored excellently.) -I am a huge soundtrack nerd and we got SO many good soundtracks this year (Visions, Mando 3, Bad Batch, Ahsoka, Survivor) but I really have to point out a few moments from Ahsoka. One is that glorious moment where Jacen is sensing the shadow battle and you here a beautiful Force theme rendition mixed with Kanan's theme - the whole moment made me tear up. The other is from the same episode - the music where Ahsoka, reborn, communes with the purrgils and then we jaunt to another galaxy. It was just incredible. It represented SO much about the fun, hope and excitement of what Star Wars can be. And these are definitely my top 3: -Everything Jedi Survivor. I don't even play video games, I just watch cut-scene/game play compilations but I am SO INVESTED in Cal, Merrin and Cere (and BD!). Cal is honestly a top-3 all time character for me (right up there with Luke and Kanan). Since you haven't played it yet I guess I can't say much but there were moments that made me scream and made me totally want to cry and were just a brutal gut punch. And it also ties into some of my desire to see more with the Nightsisters, as well as Path related stuff. -Our voyage on the Halcyon this past March. I understand if some people couldn't afford it, but everybody who turned their nose up at it or dismissed it as an 'overpriced hotel' SERIOUSLY missed out. It was some of the best Star Wars/Disney magic has to offer and wildly exceeded my expectations (I was admittedly a bit skeptical especially as the sequel era isn't my favorite part of the timeline). I got to cosplay for 2 days as a character loosely based on my own Legends-era OC and my husband and kids also came up with characters and we still talk about it and all the stuff we saw - all of us had different experiences, went on different story paths, had different interactions and it was just magical. I still get so excited when I think about how I helped open up a holocron. I truly cannot say enough about the dedication and creativity of the cast and crew. We were actually planning a second journey in a few years to try stuff we missed when they announced its closure. -Everything Anakin - I'm an unrepentant Skywalker fan girl and seeing Hayden return in Ahsoka just made my year, and ESPECIALLY seeing him as a bona fide Force ghost at the end. And on a meta level - seeing all the renewed prequel love is supremely gratifying for me. I was a die hard prequel defender back in the day and still am :) Seeing Hayden, Ewan, Ahmed Best and Temuera get more time in the limelight always makes me happy and I also love exploring that time period.

Please react to the new fan animation of the battle of heros from revenge of the sith from Hello There

Hope to see Eric play Jedi survivor soon

Literally watched the prequels over and over

For me it's funny. I was eagerly awaiting Mandalorian season 3, but then Bad Batch season 2 was going strong. The episode 12 The Outpost is probably what impacted me the most, with commander Mayday (such a good character for just 1 episode) and Crosshair's change of mindset. The rest of the season was just great too, so I can't wait for the last season. Meanwhile, Mandalorian season 3 was good but underwhelming in comparison for me. Ahsoka didn't impact me much because I was never a big Rebels fan, I didn't like Ezra, Kanan, or most others. As Eric says, I just love Thrawn in this, more than the animated version. Ezra's actor Esfandi did a great job. Standouts for me though were Baylan Skoll and Anakin.

react to the new battle of the heroes animation

The Star Wars fandom doesn't deserve this channel.

No ROTJ back in theaters for the anniversary this year????

What happened to the exposure? Very different than the stream VOD?

algorithm comment

What if I said that my favorite Star Wars thing this year is the Bad Batch episode "The Solitary Clone."

I bet you George loved Ahsoka

First

I hope you get to talk with Star Wars Theory this year. The biggest Star Wars content creator. It’d be interesting to see the things you agree and disagree on

The Outpost in Bad Batch. What an episode. Followed by episode 5 of Ahsoka - I was a wreck that whole episode, and I don't even like Anakin! Agree with Eric about Gorian Shand too. I've seen others go on about how his lips doesn't move etc; but they are missing the point with it, so I hope to see more daft stuff like that back in Star Wars.