Let’s get this out of the way: I did not like last night’s episodes of Rebels. If you did, I am super happy for you, and you probably shouldn’t read this review.

I procrastinated on writing this review because I don’t enjoy disliking things about Star Wars. I have my preferences, and I admit I was biased against these two episodes of Rebels knowing there would be Mortis connections, but deep down I wanted to be wrong. I would much rather talk about things I enjoy rather than things I dislike.

There were things I liked about these episodes, and that’s probably why I’m so frustrated. The idea of the Empire wanting something with the Jedi Temple on Lothal is a solid plot. We know from Season 2 and Minister Tua that the Empire came to Lothal for a reason, and not just to build the TIE Defender. I can even accept a little bit of Force mysticism; perhaps the Lothal Temple was very strong in the Force, or amplified people’s powers, etc. etc. I enjoyed all the scenes with Sabine and the minister. I have been waiting for a scene like this since Thrawn joined the show — and to be honest, I’m a bit bummed we didn’t get that scene with Thrawn. I always love Palpatine, especially played by Ian McDiarmid. The animation was brilliant, especially the portal animation, which reminded me a lot of the Tale of the Three Brothers from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Kevin Kiner’s music continues to be one of the best things about the series. The Ghost crew saving the day is always fun to watch.

But…we also got wolves. (Which, honestly, was fine, if a bit self-indulgent when you know Dave Filoni loves wolves.) We got Mortis lore. (I am not a fan of the Mortis episodes from The Clone Wars and hate the idea that it’s an actual place, not just a metaphor/vision/Force trip thing.) We got a “world between worlds” where you can jump through portals that take you between all of time and space. We got Ezra “saving” Ahsoka during her fight with Vader by pulling her through one of those portals. Apparently she goes back to Malachor at the end of this episode, and that’s how we see her walking back into the temple at the end of “Twilight of the Apprentice,” so apparently Ahsoka has been stuck on Malachor this entire time. (I don’t know how that’s a more satisfying character arc than her sacrificing herself by confronting her former master, but okay.) We got Ezra contemplating saving Kanan in the same manner, but Ahsoka lecturing him not to, because it would take away Kanan’s choice…even though Ezra did the same thing to Ahsoka and the show doesn’t even mention it. We got Palpatine chasing them through this world between worlds with some sort of Sith alchemy (which was actually pretty cool), only to have Ezra and Ahsoka escape back to their proper “times” through separate portals. (I’m assuming their good-bye insinuates Ezra will seek out Ahsoka later on? Who knows. And how did Ezra know which portal was his to go back through?)

All this is a long way of saying that the “Force mysticism” of these past two episodes gave me a headache. Star Wars and the Force have always been mystical. I know. I’ve been hearing that from various sources since yesterday. But there’s a big difference from “luminous beings are we, not this crude matter” and jumping through a literal portal to a different time and place. I like the Force when it’s weird, not concrete. I like visions and voices, not literal interpretations. I like that Luke Skywalker can do something like project his image to another planet through Force meditation, but it costs him his actual physical life. There are stakes. There is logic. There are rules. The Mortis lore-fest from last night? Did not feel that way to me at all.

I am, I know, in the minority on this, and that’s fine. Like I said, there were things about these episodes I liked! I just wish the show would run with those sorts of things more than the Force stuff. On Twitter, I read a discussion about balance between Force and military stuff in Star Wars media, and how we’ve always jumped from one to the other (see: Hoth and Dagobah in The Empire Strikes Back), but to me it seems like Rebels has never done a good job in striking this balance. It’s especially tiresome considering Dave Filoni said at the end of Season 2 that going forward, the series would focus on the fight between the Rebellion and the Empire. Instead we got Bendu, the return of Darth Maul, and more Mortis lore.  We never saw the actual formation of the Rebellion (which would have been a great follow-up to the “Gathering Forces” episode). We saw x-wings for one episode, only to have them all crash into Lothal’s surface. We hardly saw Yavin 4. We hardly saw any original rebels from A New Hope, or even Rogue One.  If Filoni and company want to draw from other places in the saga, why not those that fit along the same place in the timeline? Why go back to The Clone Wars well so much? (I know the answer to that question.)

Rebels has never lived up to what I wanted it to be, and three episodes from the end of the show, I’ve finally accepted that. I’m sad to say I’m not looking forward to the series finale. I dread them killing a character like Thrawn to tie up loose ends, but giving Force users like Ahsoka and Ezra nebulous fates throughout the Original Trilogy, when Luke Skywalker is supposed to be the last of the Jedi. I’m not a slave to continuity, but I do feel that certain aspects of the movies shouldn’t be retconned or danced around, and this is a big one for me. (I’ll feel the same way if Filoni ever does a Resistance show and refuses to kill one of Luke’s apprentices, even though the Sequel Trilogy goes through great pains to declare Luke as the last Jedi.) I guess in the end, all I can hope for is a cool space battle with some cameos by saga characters and Rebels characters I’ve missed. (Kallus, what have you been up to? AP-5, are you still organizing things? Dodonna, are you preparing Red and Gold groups? Biggs, have you arrived yet? Wedge and Hobbie, we hardly knew ye, and alas, not a Janson to be seen.)

If you’ve been a fan of The Clone Wars, Ahsoka and Ezra, and Mortis-type lore,  you’ve already seen these episodes and loved them. They’re definitely the epitome of Not For Me. And that, I’ve learned, is okay. Star Wars is huge, and there’s always something to love.