#2: EB Games & Walmart

After My first foray into the world of Pop!, I continued with a second EB games visit and a Walmart visit. As expected Walmart had almost nothing, besides a handful of Star Wars Pops. I picked one up and prior I collected Two from EB games. My aunt also brought one back from Honolulu. These are the four I got:


Krall

Immediately you will probably notice that, this time the Pops I got were much more minor characters. The first was Krall, who was the main Antagonist of Star Trek: Beyond. I enjoyed Star Trek: Beyond for representing both sides of Star Trek: The Exploration side And the Action side. I Personally prefer the action side, but Star Trek was originally based in exploration and it's important for a Franchise too stay true to it's roots. it's essential for the series to repeat both sides and I feel Beyond did that better than any Modern Star Trek film save the 2009 one. Krall was of course played by Idris Elba, who is one of my favourite actors. And so I was hugely looking forward to his part of the film. I thought the reveal of Krall's past was a bit silly, as you already know since Elba is credited as Krall, which means the big twist is spoiled by the poster… which is a bit amusing. otherwise Krall was arguably the most effective Villain of the Star Trek "reboot" series. Though I thought it a bit bizarre that Krall spoke a alien language. I mean, I can accept the altered appearance stuff, but speaking a weird alien language for no reason? Is it like the drone language? A bit unimpressed with that. The Pop I got had some wear on the side of the box.


Saw Gerrera

I grew up with the Star Wars prequels, So for the longest time I never minded them. however at around age twelve, I started to pay attention to criticisms, that were much more legitimate than my nine years of age, self thought. To many peoples surprise the Clone Wars TV series, was by season III, better than the prequel films in many ways. Saw Gerrera was a creation of the Clone Wars. A character that initially acted as the "First Rebel." The character originally was meant to appear in a live action Star Wars series, until the series was scrapped. Instead the character appeared as Resistance Fighter/Terrorist/Revolutionary in a story arc on Onderon. The character is okay, however things get truly interesting in the excellent film Rogue One. In it Saw Gerrera is old and grizzled. His war never ended, having fought through the Clone Wars and then fighting the Empire as a member of the rebellion. The animated series Star Wars: Rebels promises to tell that side of the story, but by Rogue One he has left the Rebel Alliance and formed his own splinter force. I felt it was a extremely interesting yet underused side of the film, featuring his extremist Rebel force and asking the question: Is their really a difference in-between The Rebel Alliance and the "Terrorists''? And as such I found his death underwhelming and wished there was just a bit more screen time for the arc.


Director Orson Krennic

Star Wars has a unfortunate history of creating brilliant Villains and immediately, killing them off. Darth Maul, Boba Fett And Captain Phasma, who survives but is embarrassingly utilized, thrown literally in the garbage. I am unsure whether or not to count Krennic among these. He's charismatic enough and definitely sympathetic, but he wasn't written that great. then again the entire movie had some iffy dialogue at times. Still Krennic's journey for recognition was interesting to follow, and I thought the addition of a cape to his officer's uniform, was a pretty cool look. I would love for the character to show up in Star Wars: Rebels. The Pop itself was brought back by my aunt, as a gift from Hawai'i. My first exposure too the character was through the video game Star Wars: Battlefront. specifically the Rogue One themed expansion pack. Fun fact: Director Orson Krennic is one of my favourite "hero" type characters to play as in Star Wars: Battlefront.


Galina "Red" Rezkinov

Orange is The New Black is one of Netflix's greatest success stories. unsurprisingly their most watched show Orange is The New Black, is one of the few examples of a TV series I have binge watched. I watched four seasons in two months. I was impressed with it's dialogue based humour, that reminded me of Get Fuzzy and it's story lines. To be honest I am not very fond of series lead Piper Chapman, as I am unimpressed with actresses skills. Instead I feel the supporting cast steals the show, and I appreciate how the series comes close to using an ensemble cast. One of the characters that stood out the most was Galina "Red" Rezkinov, a Russian-American prisoner who runs the kitchens. I found the storyline of the fall of Rezkinov over the course of the First Season. And then in Season II, her return to some semblance of power. One thing I hate in television and film, is over multiple installments characters failing to evolve in personality and position. Rezkinov is one of the best examples of a character succeeding in doing this, while still staying true to the character.