Rebels Season 2 premiered tonight! To celebrate,  you can head under the cut to see our unfiltered, chat-style take in real-time. Have fun!

Nanci: REBELS!!! I’M SO EXCITED!

Brian: I mean it’s been a good day. First we saw Chris Pratt and the Raptor Squad, no we’re seeing Rebels return (only to vanish again until September).

Bria: I’m just excited to see this episode again.  AND TO FINALLY TALK ABOUT ALL THE COOL STUFF IN IT.

Brian: This is definitely going to be an improvement over what I’m watching right now, The Astronaut’s Wives Club. Gawwwd this show is terrible. Watch From the Earth to the Moon instead.

Brian: And Here! WE! GO!!

Bria: IT’S HAPPENING

Brian: Starting out with a dogfight? Oh Rebels, you know just how to get to my heart.

Nanci: Yes give me all the space battles.

Bria: This FREAKING HERA AND KANAN BANTER

Nanci: I hear the Asteroid Field music.

Brian: Also Sabine flying solo in the Phantom? Hell to the yes.

Bria: Look! Another person of color!  I like Commander Sato for that alone.

Nanci: I hope Commander Sato doesn’t die. But I have a bad feeling about this.

Nanci: This whole opening scene is to make us feel complacent about the rest of the episode, right?

Brian: OOOHHHHHHHH #^!* VADER

Bria: This Vader design is McQuarrie EXCELLENT.

Nanci: I love Minister Tua. (Even with her stupid hat.) I want her to defect so badly. Please give this to me, Rebels.

Bria: Tua is a seriously underrated character.  Awww and look now we’ve got Kanan chilling on the ladder.

Nanci: HI AHSOKA.

Brian: Now that’s some serious sass Kanan. Something bugging you big guy?

Nanci: DUDE I DIDN’T EXPECT YOU TO LISTEN TO ME SO QUICKLY.

Bria: I love that Ezra has scars now.

Nanci: Oh, I would really, really, really love to see that list of Rebel sympathizers.

Brian: Really if anyone questions who runs this operation, this episode should answer it. Hera’s even throwing shade at Kanan.

Nanci: They’re arguing in a hallway. Like Han and Leia. Some dude even walked between them!

Bria: JUST WAIT IT GETS BETTER.  YEAH THAT’S RIGHT SLAM HIM UP AGAINST THE WALL.  #SpaceMarried #SpaceMarried #SpaceMarried

Nanci: Kallus sending a probe to follow Tua? I have a bad feeling about this. 🙁

Bria: I’m still having lots of Space Married feelings.

Nanci: That was a cool jump to hyperspace shot.

Brian: This generic transport the crew is in looks kind of like the early space shuttle designs.

Nanci: I think it looks like the Starspeeder 3000.

Bria: That is a gorgeous shot of Lothal with the sunset.

Brian: Get the feeling the animation budget got upped a bit this season?

Nanci: I still feel like everybody walks too slowly.

Brian: Oh Kanan. Hera is the one person you don’t want to sass. She’s going to make you pay for it.

Nanci: GENERAL HERA?! She’s going to smack you.

Bria: But that title sounds so good on her.

Nanci: “Surprise!” Okay Kanan, I LOLed at that one. But otherwise he needs to stop being so grumpy.

Bria: BOOM

Nanci: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Brian: Awwwww Tua no

Bria: That completely shocked me the first time I saw it.  Completely.

Nanci: They better give me another capable lady to replace her dammit. 🙁 🙁 🙁

Brian: This season of Rebels is brought to you by George R.R. Martin.

Nanci: Random aside, but some people have commented to me “So you can’t kill any female characters now without it being fridging?!” Yes, you can. That’s how you do it. Okay? Okay. We’re clear now.

Brian: Is it just me or do these first 18 minutes have Palpatine’s machinations written all over it?

Bria: I don’t think so?  This is way too small fish for him.  It’s Vader and Tarkin all the way.

Nanci: Palpatine ain’t got no time for Lothal.

Nanci: I like that Kallus did something right for once. And I like that Vader is able to manipulate them. Shows him doing what we’ve always been told he did.

Brian: Clearly no expense was spared on the animation budget for Vader’s cape swishing.

Bria: If you’re gonna blow your budget on something, it should be that.  And also Kanan swaggering in that armor.

Nanci: *insert Vader model walk comic cover here*

Brian: Brilliant marksmanship by those Stormtroopers. Just absolutely brilliant.

Nanci: This planning scene reminds me of Padme planning out the Battle of Naboo.

Bria: I love Zeb using all four limbs to cross that wire.  It’s always great when aliens get treated as more than humans with extra dressing.

Nanci: Oh my God, Ezra. You cannot do a mind trick yet. (This scene reminds me of the stormtrooper pre-show at Star Wars Weekends.)

Brian: Oh my god they’ve already upped the banter game by a magnitude of ten this season.

Bria: Oh Kanan.  Don’t pat yourself on the back.  You should know better than to tempt fate.

Nanci: I also still hate the animation for the running.

Brian: oh lord. Oh SITH LORD. HERE WE GO

Nanci: Oh that was a gorgeous gorgeous shot.

Bria: I still can’t believe this fight was in this first episode.

Nanci: OMG THIS MUSIC. THIS MUSIC. And that was a RUDE cut to commercial.

Bria: Ezra and Kanan are no match for Vader.  This will not end well.  I am f$#(ing terrified for them right now.

Nanci: Thanks to Star Wars Weekends, I know how this ends. It’s still terrifying, though. This is how you do dramatic tension.

Bria: Oh ffs did they really spoil that at SWW?

Nanci: They showed what I’m assuming is the next scene, with them in the shuttle and Ezra going “What was that?!”

Bria: Okay so not completely spoiled I guess but… ugh.  This whole sequence is so good that it makes me sad that people aren’t seeing it in its entirety for the first time. 🙁

Nanci: This is why I hope they don’t show too many clips for The Force Awakens. 🙁

Nanci: Yes Sabine, blow stuff up!

Brian: This banter early on is Whedonesque. I love it.

Bria: SHIVERS DOWN MY SPINE

Nanci: “If that doesn’t kill him, what will?” The answer to that question is a combination of Force lightning and Palpatine and Luke Skywalker.

Brian: FLY YOU FOOLS

Nanci: You do not fight Vader. You run away with your tail between your legs.

Brian: Going back a bit, that little scene with Sabine and Zeb backs my headcanon that Zeb is totally her adoptive older brother.

Nanci: GAH VADER YOU EVIL BASTARD BURNING TARKINTOWN.

Nanci: And I also figured out this cameo was coming, thanks to Star Wars Weekends.

Brian: Lando says he’s taking a risk? Yup. A risk of Hera punching him in the dangly bits again.

Bria: This droid’s voice KILLS ME

Nanci: OMG this droid is fucking hilarious.

Brian: That droid is like something out of Fallout: New Vegas and I LOVE IT.

Nanci: Well, that was a lot more violent than the moisture farm.

Brian: I think this show may have just grown Riker’s Beard.

Bria: What’s that?

Brian: See TV Tropes. Growing the Beard is when a show jumps from one state to a more SERIOUS state. Trope namer was Star Trek: TNG. That show got crazy good when Riker grew a beard.

Bria: I thought that happened during like episode three….

Brian: I did too! Now here we are.

Nanci: “Reminds me of fighting with the Honor Guard.” HEY DAVE FILONI WHY DON’T YOU GIVE US SOME MORE INFO ABOUT THAT.

Nanci: “I’m taking an awful risk, Vader. This had better work.” OF COURSE it worked, Vader’s done this before. He knows what he’s doing.

Brian: Can I mention how weird it is to see Doctor Who back catalog episodes being advertised on Disney XD? Even weirder, seeing Doctor Who playsets being advertised on Disney XD.

Nanci: Ghost Away Team? Nice Trek nod there. Also a nod to the “Into the Trap” musical cue.

Bria: I feel like Chopper should’ve caught that transponder sooner.  Also, nice use of that RotJ cue…

Brian: This A-wing launch sequence has a very oldschool Battlestar Galactica feel to it.

Nanci: “He was the best starpilot in the galaxy, and a cunning warrior.”

Bria: Yeah, Phoenix Squadron ain’t gonna cut it.

Nanci: Battle of Yavin music!

Brian: Note it’s Hera and Ahsoka taking the primary seats in the Ghost.

Nanci: “Do Mom and Dad proud”? I’ll leave that one to you, Bria.

Bria: I’m too worried about Sato for that.

Nanci: I’m very very worried about Ahsoka right now…

Brian: OH MY GOD

Bria: THAT FRICKING MOMENT WHEN AHSOKA AND VADER RECOGNIZE EACH OTHER.  SO GODDAMN PERFECT.

Nanci: oh my god. I didn’t think they would do that this quickly.

Bria: I’m still shocked by how much from the Celebration trailer ended up in this episode.  Like… I thought that was for the entire season and we got ALL OF THIS in the first hour.

Bria: Can we all please appreciate that Hera’s a good enough pilot to out maneuver Vader to get away?  THAT LADY HAS SKILLS.

Nanci: This is going to be an awkward conversation. … So wait, she doesn’t know who he is?

Bria: No she knows.  She lied.  Look at her face in that last shot.

Brian: Yeah, I think she’s pulling a bit of an Obi-Wan here.

Nanci: Ah okay. Yeah.

Nanci: PALPY!!!!!!

Brian: God Sam Witwer is SO GOOD.

Bria: Oh my god Anakin LISTEN TO YOURSELF AND HOW SCREWED UP YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF IN THIRD PERSON.

Brian: Ahsoka I love you but you are in SO MUCH TROUBLE

Nanci: Here’s hoping the Vader and Ahsoka stuff doesn’t end up taking over the show. I don’t think it will, though, they’ve been really good about that so far.

Bria: From everything they said at Celebration, they won’t.  I think Filoni and company are very aware that this show is about the crew of the Ghost and Ahsoka is just a supporting player.  With that last mention of an Inquisitor, I suspect that new character(s) will be the main antagonist so we won’t see as much of Vader and Ahsoka will be off doing her own thing.

Brian: I’m no longer capable of rational thought. God that was amazing.

Nanci: “Another Inquisitor.” Yay officially official confirmation that there are more than one! And here’s hoping one of them is not you-know-who because I want NEW characters (and that would be dumb regardless).

Bria: Going by the trailer, we seem to be getting two new ones.  Who will be new characters because DAMNIT THEY BETTER NOT DO THE THING.

Brian: If they do the thing I will be very disappointed. Which is why I’m bracing for the thing 🙁

Nanci: This was fun guys! Prayer circle for the next episode.