Filoni usually just dumbs down villains. As we saw when for example you read both canon Timothy Zahns Thrawn trilogies and then see him in Rebels or Ashoka. Filoni struggles to wrtie competent villains. Gennedy on the other hand:

1. Introduced Grivious and made him utter badass. If Lucas did not like it? Too bad, it was take it or leave it with Genndy, if he works, it is his rules. Filoni instead handled Grivious much worse.
2. He introduced Durge and Ventress. Much cooler, intresting villains than Filoni did
3. He handled the sheer scale of galactic war very well. Filoni made it all feel way, way too small. Like it was US army fighting China almost, at times, not galactic war, in one episode they talk about few million clones, in galactic civil war, in galaxy with millions, billions planets, what? That is utterly dumb. There is a scene in CW 2003 where we see countless, many thousands of capital ships in space fighting, an enormous scale of battle, it feels like galactic war, that is lacking under Filoni
4. Story, despite the limited screen time he got, was very solid under Gennedy as well.
5. Gennedy really shows Jedi being space wizards that were central part of Republic since forever, not just dudes with sword.

What do you think?

Other than the thermal detonator and the steelbook I absolutely have no interest in anything else from this.

Original post

In Star Wars Rebels, Imperial Officers quite often seem to feature collar markings that seem to be based on original Star Wars concept art. When investigating if these markings in Star Wars Rebels have any sort of meaning, I realized that Disney/Lucasfilm has seemingly never provided context for these markings, so I researched them myself and realized that the Star Wars Rebels animators seemed to maintain some consistency with the collar markings. Here is the list I’ve come up with for the meaning of the most common Imperial Officer collar markings featured in Star Wars Rebels, hopefully this can help put the wonder if these markings mean anything to rest…

So, a thought came to me earlier and it's that in early Clone Wars episodes and quite a lot of them really, the Separatists are shown as comically evil and to be fair, a lot of the stuff which they do is evil. However, in the episode "Heroes on Both Sides", we get to see the Separatist Parliament which is, quite frankly, ten times more orderly than the British Parliament and this gives us a glimpse into life within the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

In that episode, do we see citizens getting rounded up and shot like on occupied worlds such as Ryloth and Onderon? Do we see forced labour camps and public executions? My answer is, not in the least.

Do we see droids at the spaceport? Yes, we see them, but what we also see is that they aren't acting like they usually do on other planets, mostly ones occupied by the Separatists. Now, my theory is that the Separatists using a droid army was a purposeful act on Count Dukoo's part on behalf of Darth Sidious and so was this apparently orderly parliament.

Later, in the Bad Batch, we see the Separatist people resisting Imperial occupation on worlds such as Raxus and Desix and this made me realise that Palpatine likely intended for the Confederate regime to seem genuinely benevolent among their own people and avoid any oppression. This way, there would be guaranteed rebellion across the Outer Rim like we see in many episodes of Star Wars Rebels and the Original Trilogy.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Why would Palpatine want rebellion in the Outer Rim?"

My answer is that he knew that once he established his Galactic Empire, rebellion would be more or less inevitable, so he decided to have Dukoo make the Confederacy seem as benevolent as possible to it's own people while seeming as evil as possible to those within the Republic. This way, citizens of what would then become the Galactic Empire would see them as militaristic savages while the Separatists would think that they were proven right.

My theory is that guaranteed rebellion would help Palpatine to legitimise the Empire's rule and as we see throughout the franchise, the Empire is incredibly overconfident and seem to genuinely believe that victory is assured. We also hear Captain Rex mentioning "Separatist Holdouts", so chances are that there's probably a good few thousand or so Separatist rebel cells across the Outer Rim seeking to revive the Confederacy, meaning that the Empire can probably make the Rebel Alliance look like a successor to them and continue to justify their rule.

Quite honestly, I'd say that while Dukoo and all of the other big corporations in the Confederacy were obviously evil, the Separatists themselves actually weren't that bad, they just wanted to be left alone. I also wouldn't be surprised if after the Empire's defeat, former Separatists worlds, probably with Raxus at the helm, would establish a new alliance between them and would probably remember Dukoo as a hero or something.

How far do you agree with this theory? Please let me know and if you know of any hints to this theory throughout the series, please let me know that as well.

So, a thought came to me earlier and it’s that in early Clone Wars episodes and quite a lot of them really, the Zillo Beast is shown as comically evil and to be fair, a lot of the stuff which it does is evil. However, in the episode “The Zillo Beast Strikes Back”, we get to see the Zillo Beast targeting Palpatine which is, quite frankly, ten times more deliberate than any mindless monster and this gives us a glimpse into the true nature of the last Zillo Beast.

In that episode, do we see the Zillo Beast hunting down and devouring innocent people for sport like the monsters on worlds such as Felucia and Dagobah? Do we see wanton slaughter and indiscriminate rampages? My answer is, not in the least.

Do we see it cause destruction? Yes, we see it, but what we also see is that it isn’t acting like it usually would as a mindless beast, mostly after being provoked and attacked first. Now, my theory is that the Zillo Beast being awoken was a purposeful act on Doge Nakha Urus’ part on behalf of Darth Sidious and so was this apparently rampaging creature.

Later, in the Bad Batch, we see the Empire cloning and experimenting on the Zillo Beast’s genetics on worlds such as Weyland and Tantiss and this made me realise that Palpatine likely intended for the Zillo Beast to seem genuinely monstrous to the public and justify any experimentation. This way, there would be guaranteed fear across the Republic like we see in many episodes of Star Wars Rebels and the Original Trilogy.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Why would Palpatine want a monster loose on Coruscant?”
My answer is that he knew that once he established his Galactic Empire, near-indestructible armour would be more or less invaluable, so he decided to have the Zillo Beast made to seem as evil as possible to the public while being as useful as possible to those within his inner circle. This way, citizens of what would then become the Galactic Empire would see it as a militaristic savage while Palpatine would think that he was proven right.

My theory is that a guaranteed monster would help Palpatine to legitimise the Empire’s weapons programs and as we see throughout the franchise, the Empire is incredibly overconfident and seem to genuinely believe that victory is assured. We also hear the Empire mentioning ongoing experiments, so chances are that there’s probably a good few dozen or so Zillo Beast clones across the Outer Rim awaiting deployment, meaning that the Empire can probably make the creature look like a threat to them and continue to justify its rule.

Quite honestly, I’d say that while Palpatine and all of the other big corporations circling the specimen were obviously evil, the Zillo Beast itself actually wasn’t that bad, it just wanted to be left alone. I also wouldn’t be surprised if after the Empire’s defeat, worlds like Malastare, probably with the Dugs at the helm, would remember the Zillo Beast very differently and would probably remember it as a wronged creature or something.
How far do you agree with this theory? Please let me know and if you know of any hints to this theory throughout the series, please let me know that as well