Or to title this piece more accurately: Why Alderaan, Queen Breha, Leia Organa, and Winter Need To Be In Rebels Too And Bail Organa Needs To Be In It More
Bail Organa in Star Wars Rebels
As the fandom well knows by now, the second episode of Star Wars Rebels ended with a cameo from the one and only Bail Organa, Senator and Prince Consort of Alderaan. This was definitely a great sign for both fans who want to see existing film characters make it into the new show and for fans who want to see other parts of the fledgling rebellion. But hey! Why stop there? We need tons more of Alderaan and the characters who hail from that beautiful planet. Why? I’m so glad you asked.
It gives viewers and fans a sense of familiarity
While we’ve only actually had the chance to visit Alderaan on the screen very briefly, it’s been one of the Star Wars planets that we’ve known the longest. Likewise, Princess Leia was one of the first characters that we met back in 1977 and she’s one of those characters that fans still love passionately to this day. Visiting Alderaan and seeing a young teenage Princess Leia would be an easy way for Rebels to make the show feel even more familiar to fans. After all, what sort of character could be more Star Wars than a Skywalker?
It’s a chance to recanonize some aspects of the Expanded Universe
As of the now, the Queen of Alderaan doesn’t actually have a canon name.* She wasn’t named in either the film or novelization of Revenge of the Sith and didn’t appear in the Clone Wars. If she were to appear in Rebels and be officially named Queen Breha, that would be fantastic. After all, it’s hard to run a planet and probably secretly fund a rebellion when you don’t have a name.
*This was discussed amongst the blogosphere on Twitter several months ago. If we missed something, please let me know.
More than just names could be recanonized though. Having a young white-haired girl standing by Leia’s side in Rebels would go a long way towards making Expanded Universe fans hopeful about seeing some of their favorite characters again. Winter’s backstory was already retconned to fit with the prequels and most of her story comes from beyond the Original Trilogy which means writers wouldn’t have much trouble making it work. Quite frankly, she’s a pretty useful person to have around. Most people wouldn’t give a 14 year old girl a second look much less suspect her of silently remembering everything that she says and hears. Basically she’s the perfect person to have involved in a rebellion. Also she’s one of my favorite characters so pleeeeeeease bring her back.
Finally, there are opportunities outside of the Royal family for recanonizing aspects of the Expanded Universe. I suspect that no one would loudly object if there were a sly mention of Novacom… And if the showrunners want to make Sabé going to Alderaan and tutoring Leia more than just a Legend, I certainly won’t object. Continue reading →
I wasn’t too excited when I first heard that ABC was going to broadcast “Spark of Rebellion” with a new Darth Vader scene added in. Sure, I love Vader as much as the next Star Wars fan, but it seemed like selling out to me. I wanted him to show up in Rebels, but only as the trump card — similar to Darth Sidious finally showing up in the Season 5 Maul arc of The Clone Wars. When Darth Vader shows up, you should know shit has gotten real.
Rebels gives its viewers a chance to catch their breath this week after a heck of a brutal ride the episode prior. Breathing doesn’t mean the creators slacked in any way shape or form though with this week’s episode: Breaking Ranks.
