Rebels: "Iron Squadron" (Ep. 3.08)

-- "The Iron Squadron doesn't run."

Ever want to see the Dunning-Kruger effect in operation? Well, in fictional operation, at any rate. This is a good episode for that.

What we have is a group of rebels evacuating from a planet that the Empire is coming to... cleanse...? of its rebelliousness. Most of the rebels do the smart thing and leave before the Empire's task force arrives. However, one group, Iron Squadron, refuses to leave. According to their leader, Martin, Iron Squadron doesn't run.

Of course, Iron Squadron doesn't really know what they're dealing with. When they manage to take out an Imperial transport ship -- a transport! -- Martin believes they've taken out a Star Destroyer and won't listen to anything that says otherwise. Not that he doesn't believe that it wasn't a Star Destroyer, he just doesn't believe there's any conceivable difference between the Star Destroyer and what he just destroyed. Until he runs up against a light cruiser and... loses. Only then does he begin to understand.

It's an interesting exploration into ignorance and touches on why some people don't flee from natural disasters. Or, well, vote for things that do they harm, like Republicans. They're so uneducated as to think that the transport ship they're facing is a Star Destroyer.

Anyway...
Good episode.

"Good luck with Iron Squadron..."

"Sounds like a ship full of Ezras!"

Rebels: "Steps Into Shadow -- Part Two" (Ep. 3.02)

-- "Get ready for another demotion."

More Hondo! And he speaks Ugnaught!

heh

So... Last episode, Ezra was promoted and given his own mission to command. Let's just say that the promotion ends up being short lived. Let's just say there's some Dunning-Kruger effect going on here, as Ezra thinks he's got it all under control. You know, on his first command mission. Though I'm pretty sure it didn't go as badly as Ahsoka's first mission.

Also, I learned something in this episode!

Most everyone is familiar with the y-wing fighter as they appeared in the original Star Wars trilogy:

It's one of the reasons everyone preferred the x-wings, right? I mean, besides the fact that Luke flies an x-wing. Y-wings just look kind of junky.

But y-wings are also prominently featured in The Clone Wars and, in Clone Wars, they look like this:

I've always just assumed that the ones in the movies were a later model, like with the changes in the x-wing between the original trilogy and the current trilogy. Turns out there's a completely different explanation for the different look. Which I'm not going to tell you.

Anyway, while I was having my ah-ha! moment, my kid looks over at me and says incredulously, "You didn't know that?"

Yeah, well, I don't know everything about Star Wars. Even less so these days as I actively avoid material which may contain spoilers.

And/or horrible Star Wars fanboy trolls.

"When were you going to share that information?"

"Well, of course, I just did."

"They fight so hard to gain so little."