Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: last spring my wife and I had the sincere pleasure of watching the first full-length trailer Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker in its premiere airing at Star Wars Celebration Chicago, surrounded by thousands of fellow fans:

The crowd watched as one. We cheered as one. We whooped and hollered as one. Together we held our breath in the seconds before the subtitle was revealed to the entire world at that very moment after years of speculation. Together we got it. Tens of thousands of voices cried out in Chicago with the interjections and expletives of their choosing. To say nothing of the reactions of the Viewers at Home.

Whether the setting is a state-of-the-art theater or an extra-large flea market, there’s something about a geek harmonic convergence that convention showrunner fiat and any number of internet trolls can’t blast away.

There was no convention to attend for the new trailer’s premiere tonight during Monday Night Football halftime, unless you count the game itself. I doubt they showed the trailer live at the stadium, but who knows. No, for this event I was at home at the same time as millions of other viewers, online and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting. It wasn’t nearly the same kind of experience as the previous trailer, especially since I was trying to watch Black Lightning when it finally premiered around 9:50 pm EDT, give or take a few minutes, right in the middle of a key development with the Pierce family.

I didn’t feel like switching to ESPN; instead, when the clarion call came from the SW fans far and wide, I waited for The CW’s next commercial break, cued up YouTube, frantically searched for the official Star Wars channel instead of the annoying guys who showed up in the first wave of search results, pushed Play, and did some marveling.

Given that Tuesday will be National Microanalyze That New Episode IX Trailer Day, there’s little point in me writing about anything else at the moment. Sometimes I counterprogram; sometimes I hop the bandwagon. Here’s that trailer, in case you just woke up and this very site is your first stop in your web-surfing routine, however unlikely yet flattering that might be:

I don’t have deep thoughts at this point, only my scattered reactions that occurred to me over my next few views.

Last thoughts before I call it night and step aside so the rest of the internet can carry on with frame-by-frame LET’S ENHANCE breakdowns:

• Not till my third view could I tell who all the speakers were.
• Whither Hux? I noted one fan pointing out a vaguely ginger-ish bearded guy at the 31-second mark, but I don’t think it’s him.
• Did anyone else catch Keri Russell at the 1:17 mark without having her pointed out to them? I feel so proud, though that didn’t happen till my fifth viewing.

…and yep, that music is still tugging at my heartstrings. And that last word: “Always.”