What happens when three Tosche Station staffers get together virtually to watch the Season 3 finale of Rebels? We do a live (written commentary), of course! Did we like it? Did we throw anything at the screen? Did we finally get another Space Married moment? Hit the break to find out!
THIS IS YOUR FIRST AND ONLY SPOILER WARNING.
Brian: Midday Rebels, haven’t done this in a while. I think I kinda prefer this?
Bria: Yeah it’s… different. I mean, I’ve usually watched the episodes during the day this season but it’s a group experience this time.
Nanci: Disney XD shows prior to Rebels are definitely weird.
Nanci: All right, here we go!
Bria: Oh snap! Death Troopers with Thrawn!
Nanci: I thought that’s what they were!
Brian: Have I mentioned lately how much I love Kevin Kiner’s work this season?
Nanci: Hey, Tarkin! It’s really cool to see him and Thrawn interacting together.
Brian: Oh right, commercial breaks happen when you’re watching on TV instead of on the app.
Bria: This is the most unnecessary commercial too. We’re already watching the Rebels finale!
Nanci: Yeeeeah.
Brian: We’re watching, Disney. We’re already hype.
Nanci: I swear to god if Thrawn dies….
Bria: You riot, we know.
Brian: I’m not sure what I’ll be more annoyed about, him dying or people gleefully gloating and saying “Told you so.”
Nanci: I won’t riot. I’ll just pout. (And grumble.)
Brian: I think morning Rebels brings out saltier than normal editorial staff.
Bria: That’s our secret, Cap. We’re always salty.
Brian: You know this can’t possibly end well for the Rebels. This whole Lothal operation. Isn’t Scarif their first major victory?
Bria: I guess it depends on what counts as major?
Brian: Good point.
Brian: THEY PLAYED THE MUSIC
Nanci: AHH THAT MUSIC
Nanci: Oh yay, it’s the scene when we tell Ezra how great he is even though he disobeyed orders last week.
Bria: KANAN YOU HAVE SO MUCH TO TEACH HIM.
Brian: This is sounding kinda… uh… fatalistic for Kanan.
Bria: Oh hey lady pilot!
Nanci: MASSASSI GROUP?!
Nanci: And yes, I agree about Kanan. :/
Brian: Oh my god this is great. FLEET JUNKIE PORN.
Bria: I’m nerding hard at the fleet. NERDING SO HARD.
Nanci: OH SNAP. OH SNAP. OH SNAP!!!!!!!!!!!
Brian: Oh. #*!&. Kallus is -SCREWED-
Bria: OH $H!T!!!! BYE KALLUS NICE KNOWING YOU.
Brian: Oh. Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man oh man oh man.
Bria: Is the Schlarsen household okay right now? Still breathing after watching Thrawn beat up Kallus like that?
Brian: I’ll be honest we liked that ~a lot~
Bria: I shouldn’t be laughing at Kallus’s single, out of place lock of hair but I am.
Nanci: God, I love Thrawn. Please don’t kill him. Lol. (Also I wonder who had the Death Troopers first – him or Krennic?
Brian: Commercial break! Time for a reminder that DisneyXD has some weird-ass programming.
Nanci: I forgot how annoying commercials are. Lol.
Brian: Thrawn knows what? Thrawn knows y’all are ssccccreeeeewwweeeeeeeed.
Bria: Battlestations? Why not– oh wait. Too late.
Nanci: That’s a lot of Star Destroyers.
Brian: Anyone getting the feeling we’re about to witness the end of Phoenix Squadron?
Bria: If true, poor Sato.
Brian: Lady POC Rebel officer!
Nanci: YES, THE INTERDICTOR HAS RETURNED
Brian: OH SNAP INTERDICTOR. Gahhhhhh so much amazing fleet stuff in this episode.
Bria: THEY DID THE THING
Nanci: Ahahaha I screamed when Thrawn showed up in the hologram.
Brian: “Let us proceed” is such a quintessentially Thrawn line.
Bria: Uhm. Hera. Bringing in your reinforcements might be what Thrawn wants…
NancI: I thought Kanan was going to say he couldn’t leave without giving Hera a good-bye kiss.
Brian: Oh right. The Bendu. That’s a thing I keep forgetting about.
Nanci: I’m too entranced to type anything right now.
Bria: I can only hear some of it because my housemates will not shut up. Also, I’m getting Hoth vibes from this.
Nanci: That must be the Jay line he wanted to tweet. 😛
Brian: Oh I’m getting the Hoth vibe too.
Bria: Was that Wedge?
NancI: 70s pornstashe sighting!
Brian: I wonder if this is the episode where Dave finally gives us X-wings in that P-51 Mustang Cadillac of the Skies moment.
Bria: I am zero percent surprised that the Bendu is So Not Pleased at Kanan right now.
Nanci: Concept – Luke meeting the Bendu in his travels around the galaxy.
Brian: Sidebar but I am ALL IN on this Duck Tales reboot. David Tennant as Scrooge is ~inspired~
Nanci: Sidebar – Mara the dog has her head buried in the pillows. She’s also scared for the Season Finale.
Bria: Kanan. Honey. Why did you think this would go any differently? Also, let’s be real, there was a pretty girl who could kick your ass involved.
Brian: Ohhh hinting back to some lovely literature backstory there Kanan.
Nanci: I’m getting very big “Kanan dies” vibes right now. 🙁
Brian: This is certainly a bloodbath so far.
Nanci: My head canon tells me that Fel is in one of those TIEs.
Bria: Head canon accepted.
Nanci: Oh snap, Sato’s going to sacrifice himself, right?
Brian: Oh. Oh this is going to be bad.
Bria: Oh no. This hurts so much more in the wake of Rogue One.
Brian: Oh this is going to hurt so much. But is he going to take Konstantine out with him?
Nanci: Oh, Konstantine is going against orders. He ded.
Bria: He super dead.
Brian: Here lies Konstantine. He was a !*#&ing moron.
Bria: It’s fine. They’re just setting us up for Pellaeon next season, right?
Nanci: Man, I hope so. (Also, this is SO ROGUE ONE.)
Brian: Thrawn is NOT. AMUSED.
Bria: Pour one out for Sato. You did good, buddy, you did good.
Nanci: At least we know Jan has to survive.
Bria: Yeah, he’s got to be captured by Isard and go to Lusankya.
Nanci: I am very fucking confused about where the ships are supposed to be going.
Brian: They were originally trying to escape Atallon, but the blockade was so fierce there was no getting away, so now they’re retreating back to Atallon for cover.
Bria: Uhm. Can we discuss what just happened with Bendu??
Brian: That was. Uh. That was something?
Nanci: Ezra, stop mansplaining Mon Mothma. (Also, won’t Thrawn just attack the ships on the ground?)
Bria: Okay that was a really solid first half.
Brian: Agreed.
Bria: I need Sabine to come in like a Big Damn Hero and save the day.
Nanci: Screw BBL. BRING BACK SABINE.
Brian: “Faster. Please?” Hera reserves that sass for special people.
Bria: Like her Space Husband.
Nanci: I’m kind of hoping they never actually show them kiss because that’ll be the episode when he dies. 😛
Bria: Nanci. Why.
Nanci: I WATCHED TOO MUCH WHEDON, OKAY?
Brian: Well the rate this episode is going, I have a feeling you’re going to see them kiss.
Bria: I hate you both right now. IT’S THE ONLY THING I’VE EVER SHIPPED THIS HARD.
Nanci: Don’t blame me, blame Dave Filoni!
Nanci: Also, why isn’t Kallus dead yet? Is that going to come back to bite Thrawn in the ass?
Bria: Dramatic finale. Also okay that was DEFINITELY Wedge in a Rebel flightsuit by Hera.
Brian: “THAT IS ONLY FUNNY BECAUSE YOU’RE STILL ALIVE NOW PLEASE COME HOME.”
Nanci: “Don’t forget the LOVE.”
Bria: My stress levels can’t take this. BUT HEY CLAN WREN AWWW YEAH
Nanci: I don’t like Thrawn going to ground.
Bria: Aww look at Tristan’s shoulder armor. Sabine totally painted it for him.
Brian: Sabine’s friends make the impossible possible. Sabine, you’re a Wraith not a Rogue silly.
Nanci: I thought that was Rogue Squadron. 😀
Bria: Yeah but she does it with Wraith flair.
Nanci: Head canon – Sabine and Kell become BFFs.
Bria: I love how Rex and Zeb are battle bros.
Brian: WEEEEDGE AND HOOOBBIIEEEEEEEEEE
Bria: This is like one-part a reverse Hoth and one part Battle of Naboo.
Nanci: Wedge looks weird not in orange.
Bria: KANAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Uh-oh.
Brian: You need a cape for that kind of an entrance, Thrawn.
Nanci: Nice hat, Thrawn.
Bria: It’s a nice nod to Veers/what the AT-AT commanders wear.
Nanci: Oh i know, I just think it’s funny on him. 🙂
Nanci: Also now I’m getting bad vibes about Pryce.
Bria: Yeah she seems to have taken her previous encounter with Sabine very seriously.
Nanci: OMG did you see AP-5 running the background with his hands raised?
Nanci: YES YES YES YES YES
Bria: OH NO OH NO OH NO
Brian: OH NO
Brian: There’s twelve minutes left oh god
Nanci: “What Jedi devilry is this?” HAHAHA. (Also, Thrawn, please leave before Bendu kills you.)
Bria: Oh my.
Brian: I dunno how I feel about Bendu saving the day here.
Nanci: Is that what you call a “deus ex Bendu”?
Nanci: “I don’t have a jetpack.” “Use your little thrusters!” Hahaha I love big sister Sabine.
Bria: brb nerding out over all this Mandalorian stuff
Brian: Oh GOD BENDU IS PISSED
Bria: “I made him angry.” “Yeah, I can relate.” SO SPACE MARRIED.
Brian: Kanan. Kanan is going to do something stupid isn’t he.
Nanci: THRAWN YOU NEED TO LEAVE – Wait hold on did that actually work?!
Brian: I was NOT expecting that. DID THAT WORK!?
Nanci: OMG Sabine is freaking awesome.
Bria: SABINE WREN IS A BIG DAMN HERO AND WE DO NOT DESERVE HER
Brian: SABINE WREN IS ALL THE AMAZING SUPERLATIVES
Bria: Hello Governor Pryce-Roslin. (No really: how did I beat Brian to that joke?)
Nanci: Aww shit Kallus. What are you up to? – Oh, I see. Getting picked up by the Rebels.
Bria: Oh. Really? I thought he was a goner for sure.
Nanci: Saaaaame.
Bria: I just really want Cassian to show up at some point.
Nanci: Saaaaaaaame, lol.
Nanci: Oh, shit.
Brian: The Rebels may have gotten away but they did NOT fare well.
Nanci: So if Sato is dead, Hera’s in the fast track for promotion. Right? Right.
Bria: Here comes the general (rise up!)
Brian: YAVIN. YAVIN YAVIN YAVIN. YAVIN. YAVIN.
Nanci: Shouldn’t they go to Dantooine first? 😛
Bria: Maybe another group is there.
Nanci: True. I do hope we get to see it at some point in time.
Bria: Okay that was a solid finale. Not quite as painful and emotional as last year’s but that’s okay. It didn’t need to be. And thank goodness Thrawn survived!
Brian: Only real surprise for me was that Kallus didn’t eat vacuum.
Nanci: Super eager to see the repercussions for Thrawn and Pryce. I’m also wondering with the Bendu and last week’s episode, if this is the big transition to Rogue One and A New Hope.
Bria: Also, I know that none of us are big Ezra fans but I do want to point out that when he’s part of the ensemble and when the show is about the crew of the Ghost as a whole, it works really well and I don’t mind him in the least. Kanan and Hera’s exchange about getting the family back together again really drove that home especially since we haven’t had a team episode in I don’t even know how long.
Brian: Yeah when he’s used in this kind of a ratio, he adds a lot to the show. I think it’s really when he’s getting shoehorned into important narrative threads throughout Star Wars it gets side-eye-y. But you’re absolutely right. This show is at its best when it’s about family, and all of them. Not just Ezra.
Nanci: Agreed. He makes a good teammate. My biggest problem is when they take the “Jedi are better than everyone else” attitude instead of letting everyone on the team using their skills.
Brian: The show may nominally be about him, but there’s just too many other interesting characters.
Bria: Are we all satisfied with our care how the season ended? Excited for whatever they tease at Celebration?
Nanci: I liked it. I mean, there was a big space battle, so….I think I would have preferred a stronger Imperial victory without deus ex Bendu. (Although his prediction about Thrawn’s defeat was interesting.) I’m definitely looking forward to them moving forward in the timeline.
Brian: Some qualms here and there but no real deal breakers. I think it was a pretty solid finale. Didn’t quite pack the punch last season’s did, but it establishes the dire straits they’re all in going into season four pretty well. This cell lost the bulk of their fleet, lost their leader in Sato, and are on the run a bit. Thrawn didn’t fully succeed, but showed why he should be feared. Without divine intervention from a Force thing, he would have obliterated the Rebels there. Even then he still dealt a rather sizable blow.
Bria: And honestly, there wasn’t much they could do to top the emotional punch of Vader versus Ahsoka.
Brian: Oh agreed. Season two’s finale was in a way TCW closure, and given where things are narratively and in the timeline, the punches were going to be limited.
Nanci: I’m just glad Thrawn didn’t die because what a waste that would have been. 😛 I’m sad about Sato; Konstantine deserved it, lol. I was expecting Rex to bite it, too.
Brian: First time an antagonist is carried over to another season. Really happy about that, and not just because it’s Thrawn.
Bria: I’m going to start the Give Us Pellaeon chant now.
Nanci: Oh man, imagine if they announce THAT at Celebration? We’d have to taunt Jay.
Brian: Got a feeling next season Thrawn is going to be PISSED at the people he was working with and is going to be looking for better. Much better.
Nanci: Thrawn does not like group projects.
Brian: I’m still going with my theory that Thrawn fails next season and won’t be killed, but will get exiled for it. I still don’t buy that they have to kill him.
Bria: I can also see Palpatine executing him though. Unless— ohhhhhh snap. Thrawn joining up with SLOANE to become part of the First Order.
Nanci: OR Thrawn returns to the NR to defeat the First Order. 😉
Bria: Listen, Nanci. Let me have my First Order dreams.
Nanci: Hey, you got Sloane! 😛
Bria: But I want moooooooooooore! 😛
Brian: By all indications they’re making a Big Deal of Thrawn being from the Unknown Regions. I suspect there’s use for him there after Rebels is all said and done.
Nanci: Yeah, Palpatine might want to execute him but just exile him instead to plot all the Unknown Regions for “The Contingency.”
Brian: That would definitely be repurposing some Legends backstory for some really interesting effect here.
Bria: I guess we’ll have to wait and see when we 1) get the Thrawn book soon and 2) what they tell us at Celebration which is way too soon and I am not at all freaking out about that. I HAVE SO MUCH WORK TO DO.
Brian: Good lord. Three weeks.
Nanci: I already started making my spreadsheet again, haha. Saturday’s gonna be fun because it starts with the Rebels panel and the Del Rey panel is right after!
Brian: Well, last thoughts on the season as a whole? I thought this was perhaps the most balanced season yet. Less Force mysticism going on certainly, but this early Rebellion formation stuff is my jam and hashtag brand.
Nanci: I know a lot of people didn’t like this season compared to Season 2, but I felt the opposite. Season 3 had all the military and character stuff that I love. Also, Wedge and Thrawn!
Bria: I enjoyed the season a lot but I just really want there to be fewer episodes where we focus on just one or two crew members. Those are fine occasionally but this show has always been strongest when it’s about the entire crew. That’s why I fell in love with them during Spark of Rebellion. I’m super digging all the early Rebellion stuff though.
Brian: Yeah I’m in agreement there. This ensemble is too good not to feature them all in the bulk of episodes. I hope season 4 is less Ghost Crew Disassembled.
Nanci: Agreed with all of that. I hope now that they’re part of the larger Rebellion, they’ll stick together on missions more often. Or split up into smaller groups while working with other Rebel officers. (Also, after seeing this episode, “Twin Suns” seemed so out of place.)
Brian: Also I want my damn X-wings.
Bria: So say we all.
Nanci: Okay I can go look at the TFN thread now. 🙂
Bria: And I’m off to do that aforementioned Celebration sewing :O
Brian: And I’m… going to eat lunch. Ciao!
