Welcome back, Shadow Lords! In this episode, Julia and Bex are back with our trusty character, theme and plot analysis. And, of course, don't forget the goofs.

Talking points include: - Maul is Mr. Darcy?, our old friend: Pacing, how’s the dark side changing up its game, three act structure vs the 17.685734 structure, stretching the rubber band of pay off, female characters can be complex now, right?, showing and not telling makes a return, the trials and tribulations of writing a well established character, how do you work with a character archetype when its so specific?, character motivations vs. character perception, who IS Maul’s mommy?, information a writer should know about a character vs information that’s relevant, Maul is Sisyphus, Whodunnit? No, WHYdunnit, when will they let Obi-wan say f*ck, the role of comedic relief characters, how to amp up the stakes of lightsaber duels (don’t have one every episode), passivity vs activity > good vs evil, its about the YEARNING, ladies, is star wars too star wars now?, divorce court in space.

Don't forget to leave us a review if you like the show and drop by our socials on Instagram, Bluesky & Tumblr (@thebatchpod) to say hi, chat, and enjoy Bex's beautiful memes.

"3 Rounds" by Bisou is licensed CC BY NC 4.0.

Welcome back, Batchers! Er, Maul-ers? Let's go with Shadow Lords. Welcome back, Shadow Lords! Happy inaugural Maul: Shadow Lord episode! In this episode, Julia and Bex are back with our trusty character, theme and plot analysis. And, of course, don't forget the goofs.

Talking points include: the religious aspects of the Jedi and the Sith dissected, quick pacing, How-To introduce characters, how to do archetypes and not let archetypes do you, balance of characters, the power of a single well written scene, how to frame light side vs dark side stories well, from my perspective the Jedi are evil, when the dark side is ACTUALLY tempting, The Missing Wife Problem™, the Jedi are evangelicals?!, Resident Evil?!, the Juxtaposition™, Peter Cushing, a medieval times planet, maybe?, allegories for leaving the church, Star Wars: 1313, Please hire us, we know so much about Star Wars and are desperate.

Don't forget to leave us a review if you like the show and drop by our socials on Instagram, Bluesky & Tumblr (@thebatchpod) to say hi, chat, and enjoy Bex's beautiful memes.

"3 Rounds" by Bisou is licensed CC BY NC 4.0.

Welcome to our new show, which is the same as the last show but about different shows! This one's about Tales of the Underworld! As always, Julia and Becca are here in the name of character, theme, and plot analysis. Goofs mandatory.

Talking points include: yall im too tired for this, consider it a surprise.

Don't forget to leave us a review if you like the show and drop by our socials on Instagram and our Tumblr (@thebatchpod) to say hi and chat.

"3 Rounds" by Bisou is licensed CC BY NC 4.0.

Welcome to our new show, which is the same as the last show but about different shows! This one's about Tales of the Underworld! As always, Julia and Becca are here in the name of character, theme, and plot analysis. Goofs mandatory.

Talking points include: The universality of storytelling, Andor as another layer of connecting the prequel era with the original era, time jumps as a story mechanism, redeemed in death & the danger of being complicit, use of POV shots, how Andor integrates the audience, how to craft an environment & fashion to communicate a message, complex, human characters, the insane balance of plot driven vs. character driven storytelling, and we expect you to all watch Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Don't forget to leave us a review if you like the show and drop by our socials on Instagram and our Tumblr (@thebatchpod) to say hi and chat.

"3 Rounds" by Bisou is licensed CC BY NC 4.0.

Welcome to our new show, which is the same as the last show but about different shows! This one's about Tales of the Underworld! As always, Julia and Becca are here in the name of character, theme, and plot analysis. Goofs mandatory.

Talking points include: We have some feelings about book plot + animated show, how to support a character motivation, alternate tropes for Ventress, Artists R Us, the punchy character arc of sad separatist grandpa, Westerns 101 and the art of fated tragedy. There's some good, some bad, but certainly nothing ugly!

Don't forget to leave us a review if you like the show and drop by our socials on Instagram and our Tumblr (@thebatchpod) to say hi and chat.

"3 Rounds" by Bisou is licensed CC BY NC 4.0.

Welcome to our new show, which is the same as the last show but about different shows! This one's about Skeleton Crew! As always, Julia and Becca are here in the name of character, theme, and plot analysis. Goofs mandatory.

Don't forget to leave us a review if you like the show and drop by our socials on Instagram and our new shiny Tumblr (@thebatchpod) to say hi and chat.

"3 Rounds" by Bisou is licensed CC BY NC 4.0.

Welcome to our new show, which is the same as the last show but about different shows! This one's about The Star Wars Holiday Special! Usually, Julia and Becca are here in the name of character, theme, and plot analysis, but uh... this ones all Goofs. Oops all goofs!

Talking points include: Was this as unfunny in 1978 as it is now? its hard to tell, more of an experience than a story really, Jefferson Starship should be cannon in the Star Wars universe, the horror anime that is Mark Hamil's eyes, Chewie went to war and came back with a boyfriend, and yes, I think this was written by a sentient bag of cocaine.

Don't forget to leave us a review if you like the show and drop by our socials on Instagram and our new shiny Tumblr (@thebatchpod) to say hi and chat.

"3 Rounds" by Bisou is licensed CC BY NC 4.0.

Welcome to our new show, which is the same as the last show but about different shows! This one's about Andor! As always, Julia and Becca are here in the name of character, theme, and plot analysis. Goofs mandatory.

Talking points include: First and foremost, we want to smooch Diego Luna, the success of "plot units" in keeping the narrative fresh, a cast of deeply flawed characters and how that makes them more human, the radicalization of Cassian Andor, the responsibility of creators and their impact on an audience, and the key to resisting tyranny is by championing community. Also we're so happy there is no Jedi garbage in this.

Don't forget to leave us a review if you like the show and drop by our socials on Instagram and our new shiny Tumblr (@thebatchpod) to say hi and chat.

"3 Rounds" by Bisou is licensed CC BY NC 4.0.