Tag Archives: Rebels

Rebels Review: The Protector of Concord Dawn

Posted on by

SabineWrenIt’s been and up and down season of Rebels for me. Every now and then, there’s a great character episode I love to pieces, but mostly it’s been Ezra, Ezra, Ezra and more Ezra. This episode was a whole lot more of the former than the latter.

Sabine had an episode to shine earlier this season, but for large chunks of the second season run it feels like she’s been sidelined. That definitely isn’t true in this episode. We get a little bit of everything. Attitude and characterization for Sabine, Madalorian backstory, and even Kanan proving that Hera is his anti-Idiot ball.

The crux of the episode is the Rebels are searching for a new hyperspace route since the Imperials are cornering them left and right. Sabine suggests a shortcut through Mandalorian space, which prompts her to leave with Hera and Phoenix squadron to secure safe passage. The Mandos aren’t happy to see them, a few members of Phoenix squadron are killed, and Hera is badly wounded. Thus sends Sabine on a Western-style quest for vengeance. VENGEANCE!

I could keep breaking down the plot and the set piece detail, but let’s get into what made this episode so great. Sabine finally, after really a season and a half, had a chance to shine. She’s been begging Kanan and Hera for a chance to prove that they should trust her, and in this episode she made it clear why everyone needs to stop doubting her. Sabine is more than just an artist and explosives aficionado. She proves she’s smart and more in control of her emotions and surroundings than anyone has given her credit for.

If there’s something I’ll take issue with in this episode, it’s going to be something that has bothered me all season. Every episode seems to find a new way to sideline Hera. This time around, it’s putting her in the medbay. As great as this episode episode was, imagine how much better it would have been if it was Hera in Kanan’s place. Just let Hera do something outside of the one token episode about her, please.

Overall this is probably my second favorite episode of the season, right behind Wings of the Master,  and one of the better ones in the whole run. More character focused episodes, please!

There is Peace: Anakin, Ezra and Emotional Support

Posted on by

Yoda: Inside you much anger, much fear.

Ezra: I just want to protect myself and my friends.

Yoda: And this is why you must be Jedi?

Ezra: Yes, and not just them. Everyone. I’ll protect everyone. Before I met Kanan, I only ever thought of myself, but Kanan and the rest, they don’t think like that. They help people, they give everything away, and I see it. I see how it makes people feel.

Yoda: Feel, yes. How?

Ezra: Alive. They feel alive, like I do now.

– Rebels S01E09, Path of the Jedi

Anakin at nine: The golden child of the twin suns, given the choice to leave his hard but love-filled slave life behind to become a champion of the galaxy. He is warm, talented, and compassionate, but fear and anger already have firm footholds in his heart.

Ezra at fourteen: A street rat who will help others subjugated by the Empire, as long as it suits him. Trust doesn’t come easy after years of being alone and he is afraid, though he’ll never admit it. Still, there is goodness deep inside him, and Hera and Kanan encourage the light inside him.

Both of these young boys are taken in by a new family at the start of their respective stories, the promise of becoming a Jedi dangled before them. We know where Anakin’s journey takes him—his fall, his redemption at the end—but we don’t know where Ezra’s heading yet. His future is totally open.

star_wars_rebels_ezra_jedi

Source: Lucasfilm.

Continue reading →

Rebels Review: A Princess on Lothal

Posted on by

rebels logoHere comes the General! No wait, that’s not quite right… here comes the Senatorial Aide-Princess of Alderaan! This week, Rebels finally brought in the one character I’ve been hoping for since the show was first announced? How’d they do? Not too shabby.

The Rebels and the people of Lothal need help and Bail Organa is hardly one to turn a blind eye so he sends his daughter to the planet with three ships. One problem: the Ghost’s crew has to make it look like they’re stealing the ships so no one can suggest that Alderaan is aiding the Rebels. They’re going to have to come up with a really good plan to pull this heist off even with a Princess on the inside.

It’s impossible to discuss the episode and not talk about Leia first. I love that we got to see her in the show and that it didn’t feel forced. Like many have said, she’s the easiest film character to fit into this storyline without making it feel like a stunt casting. However, I was left wanting far more from her by the end. This is the story I want to hear more about because this is a 15-year-old girl who routinely leads these sorts of missions and faces down Imperial officers like it’s nothing. That said, I wish this had been a higher profile mission and not something that felt like a tool for convincing the Governor to come out of his exile and join the Rebellion. It also seemed a little odd that not a single one of the crew reacted to her title. Obviously I want the core crew of the Ghost to stay the stars of the show but I think we could’ve seen more of her interact with the crew in a bigger story and it’s too bad this is the only time we get to see her this season.

The episode did give us a lot of fun chances to compare and contrast Leia and Ezra. They’re the same age and yet their maturity levels couldn’t be more different. They may both be talented with the Force but they approach problems very different ways. There was an especially nice moment with them where he asks why she helps the Rebellion and her answer is a textbook perfect example of using privilege to the advantage of others.

I do have to note that this episode did two things very well. First is the score. Kevin Kiner always does a good job but he especially knocked it out of the park during the final battle scenes. Second is that this was an episode which really showed the crew as a team. While Ezra and Kanan still got a bit more screen times, the entire crew had to contribute in a meaningful way to their victory. It’s something that the second season has been sorely lacking in many episodes this season and I hope we continue to see more of it.

A Princess on Lothal was a fun an enjoyable episode but ultimately one that could have been a far better showcase for Princess Leia Organa.

Rebels Review: The Future of the Force

Posted on by

rebels logo

Rebels season 2 has really been hitting its stride these past few weeks, and The Future of the Force was just the latest of a line of great episodes.

From baby Ithorians, to speeder chases, to Ahsoka kicking butt in a way that is so like the young padawan we once knew, this episode has a lot going for it. Despite the lack of Hera and Sabine, there’s plenty of Ahsoka and a good amount of the Seventh Sister, too.

In this episode Ahsoka informs Kanan that she’s been monitoring transmissions from Mustafar to try and learn more about the Sith Lord, and has learned the Inquisitors have a mission beyond hunting Jedi which involves retrievals, though of what she’s not sure. She has two decoded sets of coordinates, and while she heads to one she tasks Kanan, Ezra and Zeb to check out the second on the planet Takobo.

star_wars_rebels_takobo

Literally the best trivia to ever come out of Star Wars. Source.

It doesn’t take long for Ahsoka to learn what the Inquisitors are doing: stealing Force-sensitive babies, similarly to how Palpatine tried before in the The Clone Wars episode, Children of the Force. On Takobo, Zeb finds the first kidnapped baby with the Inquisitors’ ships while Kanan and Ezra find a distressed Ithorian, Oora, who sent her child, Pypey, away before the Inquisitors arrived.

The rebels find the child, but are almost completely defeated by the Inquisitors before Ahsoka arrives, emerging from white light like some kind of guardian angel. Where the Seventh Sister easily disarms Kanan, the Inquisitors hardly seem a threat to Ahsoka. She is an extremely capable fighter, with a great command of the Force, and it’s great to see her in some real action in this episode. Her little Obi-Wan moment made my heart skip a beat though. Don’t scare me like that, Rebels!

Ending with everyone safe and sound on an at first hopeful note, the episode takes an ominous turn when the Inquisitors learn that the Ghost crew are hiding out on Garel, thanks to one of the Seventh Sister’s probe droids overhearing Ezra. The music during this scene is on point, but then the entire episode has a pretty great score, especially during Ahsoka’s entrance and fight with the Inquisitors. 

While quite an intense episode with hints at darker things to come, there are still lighthearted moments in typical Star Wars style. Zeb and Chopper, as always, are a great comedy duo, and the brotherly relationship between Ezra and Zeb is always sweet, if not frustrating when they argue.

Despite Ezra still being his typical, somewhat immature self, it’s nice to see the kid grow throughout this season (and the last). Even though he has trouble at first, he manages to calm Pypey in the midst of very real danger using the Force, showing his ability to find calm in even the most desperate situations and his use of the Force growing stronger. He’s even willing to take on both of the Inquisitors alone to try and save the child, though he obviously doesn’t stand a chance.

I like seeing his interactions with Ahsoka, though they are brief. The little details in the way characters interact within Rebels, such as Ahsoka’s wink at Ezra, deepen relationships in a nuanced way. Ahsoka likely sees a lot of her younger self in Ezra—headstrong, brave, but so determined to become a Jedi—and seeing her playful side come through with him is very sweet.

Chopper is still absolutely a terrible droid, suggesting they blow up the Inquisitors’ ships with the baby, Alora, still inside. But literally nobody is surprised by Chop’s lack of empathy or casual disregard for human life anymore.

The most interesting part of the episode for me was when the Seventh Sister asks Ahsoka, “Well, who doesn’t want to be a mother?” While this could be a throwaway line, I do wonder if there’s something more to the Inquisitor hierarchy, already with titles like Brother and Sister. Perhaps they have some kind of dark family, related not by blood but by ambition and brainwashing.

All in all, a great episode with a lot of action and maybe a little too much of crying babies, though one thing I did find weird was Alora’s grandmother, Darja, looking relatively young. I was somewhat surprised when the Seventh Sister called her “old one,” and it wasn’t until Darja stated Alora was her granddaughter that I realised she was meant to be older. Guess that anti-aging cream really does work in a galaxy far, far away.

Review – Star Wars Rebels: Stealth Strike

Posted on by

rebels logoHow do you please totally disparate segments of fandom all at the same time? You write Stealth Strike.

There’s a little something for everyone here. Rex reliving his military days and putting on his Big Damn Hero pants. One former clone trooper against an entire starship worth of stormtroopers? Sign me up. Kanan confronting the ghosts of his past by being forced to trust Rex? Check. A loving nod to the Death Star corridor chases? Yup. An Interdictor on trial runs that hearkens back to classic Expanded Universe material? Double check.

I’ve called Rebels a bridge series several times. It’s designed to be a link to the past, present, and future. This episode is full of nods to The Clone Wars, but its triumph is a brilliant homage to the Death Star escape in A New Hope. Corridor chases, sneaking around to disable critical infrastructure. You can show this to a young fan that’s new to Star Wars, ask them if they enjoyed it, and when they respond affirmatively you tell them you’ve got a great movie to show them.

That’s the brilliance of Stealth Strike and Rebels as a whole.

I could do a more detailed plot breakdown of this episode, but the plot really is secondary in this episode. We see some new Imperial tech, we get a fun rescue adventure, but what’s important is this episode is a 22-minute textbook example of Rebels succeeding at one of its most important goals.

Miscellaneous notes:

  • Ezra really is a whole lot more tolerable and entertaining when he isn’t acting like he’s deserving of Sabine’s attention and affection. When he’s doing his job, he’s great.
  • I need a gif of Rex shaking his boo-tay trying to fit into stormtrooper armor.
  • How cool was that shot of the Interdictor collapsing on itself? Extremely cool.
  • Chopper: sadistic droid or most sadistic droid?

Why Katooni Should Be In Rebels

Posted on by

Look, I know what you’re thinking: we already know about four Jedi who definitely survived the Jedi Purges. Why the heck would you advocate for a fifth? If you keep finding more and more Jedi who survived Order 66, doesn’t it take away from its impact? The short answer is that you’re right and it does take away if we find out that dozens of Jedi survived. However, it does make sense that a dozen Jedi out of hundreds were able to make it out alive and one of those could have joined a certain pirate crew.

While Vader’s attack on the Jedi Temple was most certainly ruthless and thorough, it stands to reason that a youngling could have escape. After all, Vader and the clones all marched in from the same direction and made a heck of a lot of noise with their killing people. That could have given Katooni enough time to make her way out. She’s small enough that the ventilation shafts are a possibility and I don’t doubt that the Jedi Temple has at least one if not more secret ways out. Plus, she’s just a youngling… barely a blip on anyone’s radar. Her escape wouldn’t be as nearly as noticed as Shaak Ti’s.

So let’s assume she escaped and, with enough time, made her way off Coruscant and eventually ran into the pirate gang of the one and only Hondo Ohnaka. Most people would think that Hondo’s first instinct here would be to err in the side of credits and sell Katooni out to the Empire… for the right price. Hondo’s smarter than that though and he has a little bit of a soft spot for her after the battle on Florrum.

It wouldn’t be unprecedented. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time Hondo offered to let her join his pirate gang and while he had no problem attacking a ship with kids, he wasn’t terribly inclined to take children into battle. We’ve also seen that Katooni can be very persuasive and convince him to do the right thing, which, in this case, is to not turn a child over to be murdered. More importantly though, Hondo could see the opportunities that having a Force user on his side would present especially when it’s a secret. It’s unlikely that smugglers would be fond of the Empire with its oppressive crackdown making their jobs even more difficult than under the Republic. When have smugglers been fond of any government?

So let’s assume that Hondo had a compassionate moment and brought Katooni into the fold, letting only his most trusted lieutenants in on the secret if even them. Probably not even them. To everyone else, she was a street kid that he took a liking to and who quickly earned her place amongst the group. And come on: Hondo’s an eccentric person to begin with. Adopting a stray is probably not the weirdest thing he’s done.

In the latest episode of Rebels, we learned that Hondo’s a bit down on his luck. No crew, no fancy ship, no base. Peace under the Empire has not been kind to him. One might think that the lack of crew or anyone seemingly on Hondo’s side would shoot this theory in the face. One would be wrong! At this point, Katooni would be a grown woman and she’d both need and want to branch out and try out being her own person. So she’s been off doing her own thing. Maybe she’s joined another crew. Maybe she’s leading her own crew. Either way, her path would definitely cross with Hondo’s again and then in turn with the crew of the Ghost.

Katooni could be a great example of yet another completely different path that the escaped Jedi have taken. In a way, she’d be like an alternate universe version of Kanan except instead of being brought around to the rebellion side of thinking, she’s completely abandoned the Jedi way of life and embraced being a smuggler who just happens to have the Force. Just think about it for a minute: an escaped Jedi who doesn’t have a lightsaber stashed away somewhere. Imagine how Kanan, Ezra, and eventually Ahsoka would react to her once they figured out her secret… and all this with patented Hondo wisecracks in the background.

Admit it: you’re on board with Pirate Jedi Katooni just for that last one.

Rebels Review: Brothers of the Broken Horn

Posted on by

If Rebels has figured out how to do anything, it’s making bottle episodes supremely entertaining.

Let’s just get this out of the way. This episode really didn’t add much in way of the show’s lore and didn’t exactly push the plot along. It’s very much like the X-Files monster of the week episodes that showed up between the main plot episodes. Interesting, entertaining, but not exactly groundbreaking. That disclaimer out of the way: this episode is one of the most fun episodes of Rebels yet.

bottle Continue reading →

Rebels Review: Always Two There Are

Posted on by

rebels logoIt’s another episode of Star Wars Rebels as Season Two kicks into another gear with the introduction of not one but two Inquisitors. One of Rex’s potential bases checks out as possibility and so Hera sends Sabine, Chopper, and Zeb on a mission to go check out the abandoned medical stations and retrieve any medical supplies that might’ve been left behind. Ezra tags along setting up what at first seems to be another humorous (if spooky) episode like Fighter Flight until the arrival of the two new Inquisitors.

There will be some spoilers for the episode in this review. Continue reading →