Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, R.A.s

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! R.A.s

Constructors: Olivia Mitra Framke & Sally Hoelscher

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructors

Olivia: This was a fun one! The concept of a REDEMPTION ARC is so intriguing to me, and I'm happy to showcase it here. One of my favorite shows growing up - Angel - followed a vampire with a soul's quest for redemption. More recently, I've gotten into my fair share of debates about the redemption of Darth Vader. Stay tuned for my thoughts on this!

Sally: Always a joy to collaborate with Olivia! When we submit an idea for a puzzle, and are working through the process of making it, we never know what date the puzzle will run until we get the proof back. When we received the proof of this puzzle, I was elated to discover it would be published today (for reasons I'll discuss in a bit).

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• IGGY (9A: "Black Widow" singer Azalea) "Black Widow" is a song from IGGY Azalea's 2014 debut album, The New Classic. Rita Ora is featured on the song.
• EWAN (13A: "Obi-Wan Kenobi" star McGregor) Obi-Wan Kenobi is a Jedi Master in the Star Wars franchise.  In the original Star Wars trilogy (Episodes IV, V and VI – 1977, 1980, 1983) Obi-Wan Kenobi is portrayed by Alec Guinness. In the prequel Star Wars trilogy (Episodes I, II, and III – 1999, 2002, 2005), a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi is portrayed by EWAN McGregor.
• AGES (18A: Numbers on birthday cards) Well, this clue turned out to be timely, because today is my birthday! It's fun to have a puzzle published on my birthday. Check that one off of the bucket list.
• REBEL ALLIANCE (19A: "Star Wars" faction fighting against the Galactic Empire) I'm going let my Star Wars-loving collaborator write about this entry. Olivia: The Rebel Alliance was the small but mighty force that opposed the Galactic Empire in the original Star Wars trilogy. With the help of one Luke Skywalker, they succeeded in destroying the Death Star in "A New Hope" and the second Death Star in "Return of the Jedi." Of course, the Emperor would have ultimately won out if it wasn't for the actions of a certain Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker completing his REDEMPTION ARC and fulfilling his prophesized purpose as the Chosen One by ending the line of the Sith (...we don't talk about the sequels).
• CARGO (32A: ___ pants (clothing characterized by a plethora of pockets)) I am a fan of pockets. They're just so handy. I used to have a pair of CARGO shorts that had the most wonderful pockets. I'm sure they were not at all stylish, but they were certainly useful. Speaking of pockets reminds me that last year Olivia and I constructed not just one, but two puzzles about pockets.
• REDEMPTION ARC (34A: Villain's path to atonement) This is the theme answer that led to the existence of this puzzle. Olivia wanted to use REDEMPTION ARC in a puzzle, so we brainstormed for possible theme ideas, finally landing on R.A.s. A couple of years ago, BuzzFeed surveyed its community to find out which TV character they thought had the best REDEMPTION ARC.
• CST 40A: Winter hrs. in Iowa) Always happy to work in a shout-out to Iowa.
• THANOS (45A: "Avengers: Infinity War" supervillain) In the 2018 movie, Avengers: Infinity War, THANOS is an alien warlord in search of a means of randomly wiping out half of life in the universe. Most of my knowledge of THANOS comes from solving Amanda Rafkin's July 2, 2022 puzzle. I think it's safe to say that THANOS does not experience a REDEMPTION ARC.
• CLAUDIA (47A: Supermodel Schiffer) CLAUDIA Schiffer achieved supermodel status in the 1990s, appearing on over 1,000 magazine covers. She's also had an acting career; her movie credits include Zoolander (2001) and Love Actually (2003). CLAUDIA Schiffer is still modeling. She appeared in Versace's Spring 2024 show last fall.
• ALLA (57A: Spaghetti ___ puttanesca) Spaghetti ALLA puttanesca is an Italian pasta dish made with tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, hot chili peppers, and olive oil.
• PETS (61A: Animals taken home from shelters) Olivia and my PETS, Charlie (Olivia's dog) and Willow (my cat), are fans of this answer, because they were adopted from shelters.

• ESTA (63A: "___ bien?") "ESTA bien?" is Spanish for "Alright?"
• WALL (6D: "Another Brick in the ___") "Another Brick in the WALL" is a three-part song by Pink Floyd. It appeared on their 1979 album, The WALL. Possibly the most familiar of the three parts – "Part 2" – was written by Pink Floyd's bassist, Roger Waters, as a protest song against rigid schooling and corporal punishment. "We don't need no education / We don't need no thought control..."
• ALDI (7D: Trader Joe's parent company) ALDI has owned the Trader Joe's chain since 1979.
• LAP (20D: Place for a snoozing kitty) She's not snoozing in this particular picture, but my cat, Willow, and I are both happy when she is on my LAP. At our house, C.O.L. (cat on Lap) is a valid excuse for not getting up. For example, "I'm sorry, I can't put the laundry in the dryer; I have C.O.L."

• ERIE (28D: Lake that sounds spooky) Hello to our crossword-friend, the eerie-sounding, Lake ERIE. August has been a relatively slow month for ERIE; this is its first appearance this month.
• IRISH (30D: Like someone from Dublin) Dublin is the capital of Ireland, and also the country's largest city. Approximately 40% of the IRISH population lives in Dublin.
• EPCOT (35D: Spaceship Earth theme park) EPCOT is one of the theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Spaceship Earth is a geodesic sphere housing an amusement ride in which passengers journey back in time. Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury helped design Spaceship Earth, and wrote the ride's original storyline. The ride has been updated several times since Spaceship Earth opened on October 1, 1982. The current version of the ride features narration read by Dame Judi Dench.
• RAMA (52D: Avatar of Vishnu) RAMA is a deity in Hinduism, and is the seventh avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu (one of the principal deities). 
• NIBS (53D: Pen tips) and CAP (54D: Pen lid) Think of this as our mini ode to pens, from NIBS to CAP.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• REBEL ALLIANCE (19A: "Star Wars" faction fighting against the Galactic Empire)
• REDEMPTION ARC (34A: Villain's path to atonement)
• RETURN ADDRESS (51A: It's often found in the upper-left corner of an envelope)

R.A.s: Each theme answer has the abbreviation R.A.

Would it be an Olivia-Sally collaboration if there wasn't a mention of Star Wars and cats? I'm delighted to say that in this collaboration we managed to work in multiple references to each in order to make us both happy. I hope you had as much fun solving this puzzle as Olivia and I had making it.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

• USA TODAY’s Daily Crossword Puzzles
• Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers