Sabine brings in Wedge and Hobbie to the Rebellion! The episode this week focused on Sabine as she responds to a distress signal from someone who might be questioning the Empire. She sneaks onto a pilot training facility and meets up with the ones who might want out of the Empire. Turn out two of the people in this facility is Wedge Antiles and Hobbie Klivian who were side characters in the original trilogy films. They all team together and create a plan to escape the facility but run into trouble when actually trying to leave. They get captured by Agent Kallus but Sabine finds a way to break free and save the others so they can make a final escape. I thought this was a pretty safe episode, as we didn't get much in getting the plot to moves yet we did get introduced to two side characters from the movies. It is nice to get backstory to them I just hope they can become more involved later on in the show. The moment I found the most interesting was when Agent Kallus lets Sabine and the other go as a repayment for Zeb. More and more they are hinting at Kallus becoming a Rebel and I think those hints will only increase. Overall I wasn't too impressed but I don't thing this episode was aiming for anything more than what it did. Rating:
The episode starts off with a rescue mission lead by Ezra. He is older and now has the experience to be a leader on missions. While the first mission in the episode goes well enough for Ezra to take on the next one, we do see that he is struggling a bit with his emotions. He has secretly kept the sith holocron from the finale and has been learning some new tricks and information about the force that he hasn't told anyone about. He is more angry and has a constant seeking of more power, something that he has had before but seem to be amplified now that he has spent so much time with the holocron. Kanan has spent a lot of time alone and away from the group. This has affected the group and Ezra in a not so positive matter as he still has fear in himself from his encounter from the finale. Ezra leads them to the next mission and continues to fumble as he disobeys orders thinking he can accomplish more than what was needed. Ultimately in the end they do get the ships they need but it did come at the cost of recklessness from Ezra. He realizes that he was wrong to think the way he did and Kanan learns to accept his past failure and become stronger in the force.
Overall I think this was a solid beginning to a new season and really explore Kanan and Ezra in a way that I thickens them as character. They now have struggles to move on from that can comeback to haunt them in the future but also strength themselves. The one aspect I am still no sure about is the addition of Thrawn in the series. I think its a great character to bring into the show but I don't think they are going to use him to his full advantage. Especially if he is only the villain of this season and doesn't return in the future. Rating:
In recent news, there has been some hints at the possibility of future Star Wars Rebels seasons being tied into the films much more than there already are. Is this a good thing? Well not totally. I do think this will become more prevalent in anything Star Wars related in the future as it seems that Disney is really serious about connecting everything that is apart of this universe. I like the idea of connecting everything but I don't like the idea of crossing over everything, what do I mean? Star Wars Rebels is a good show on its own. In fact I would say that the show gets better and better I look at it through the perspective that this is not connected to the movies but other animated shows like The Clones Wars and the books based off of the show it self. To me this should be its own universe that can build upon it self instead of having to shove in references and characters that we are already familiar with just to throw them in. I am interested in seeing the direction they take this show and how they continue to grow these characters. I don't however want to see them put in a live action movie where they would obvious cast a different actor and most likely have to change the character to fit the tone of what ever the film calls for. On top of that there is also another problem that is becoming more noticeable with the modern era of Star Wars. That is the large universe that seems to be getting smaller and smaller. No longer are we getting stories that take place in the galaxy else where or exploring a side or background character and expanding their story. Now we just focus on the main plot. The plot that we know the ending too and we know the back story too. It just feels very limiting to the stories they can tell by having so much be connected to the movies. Before everything was canon we got stories like Dark Forces and The Force Unleashed that connected to the main story but also took them in a different direction and most importantly focused on taking their characters in their own direction. I still don't see how this canon thing can work going forward, especially when there is just so much material coming out and much more to come. This will only lead to them quitting or worse, rebooting the universe and starting over from scratch. So is connecting Star Wars Rebels to films a good idea? Well it really is a "We will see" scenario here. On one hand I like to see great stories be connected but at the same time, I think that stories should stand on their own in their own mediums that they were presented on.
Maybe my mind will change but at the moment It just leaves me skeptical.
The finale of Rebels is here and this time they are taking on Vader! Ezra, Kanan, and Ahsoka all arrive at Malachor trying to find out why Yoda wanted them to go there. The first assumption is to gain knowledge that could help them take on the Inquisitors. Of course we know that isn't the case entirely as the group actually stumble upon a sith temple! The explore inside and see what they find as they walk past a battlefield with old lightsabers. An Inquisitor takes them on trying to distract them to get to their ship and make them stranded or worse, trace back to the rebels hideout. Ezra falls into a lower level and is met by the formally Darth Maul who leads him to a room that he claims that can destroy the sit. Maul manipulates Ezra into opening the door to this room through the use of anger and other emotions that lead Jedi to the dark side.
Maul leads him to a holocron that contains all the sith secrets and they use the force to get to the platform. they retrieve the holocron and meet back up with Kanan and Ahsoka who are fighting all three Inquisitors in which Maul begins to help them by fighting them off. Maul convinces the group to get the top of the temple where there is a room that only can be opened by the holocron. After an Inquisitor attack they split up and Maul teams up with Ezra once again. They fight one for Inquisitors and Ezra almost dies from the attack but Maul saves him and kills the Inquisitor just in time. He even goes to help Kanan and Ahsoka and takes out both of the other Inquisitors. He reveals that Ezra will be his new apprentice as the location they thought to be a Sith temple was actually a battlestation! Maul wants to destroy all his enemies including the rebels so he can get his revenge. This is when we get Ahsoka vs Maul to Maul vs Kanan! Which is over quick when Kanan throws up off the cliff, but of course that wasn't enough to stop him. Ezra realizes he was tricked and as that happens, DARTH VADER SHOWS UP! Vader fights Ezra destroying his lightsaber and when he is about to attack Ahsoka shows up! She takes on Vader alone and they battle it out Master and Apprentice! Kanan shows up and helps Ezra turn off the Hollocron, Ahsoka sacrifices herself to take on Vader alone, we don't know if that was end of her for good but I have a feeling that is the end we will see her on the good side. Maul escapes on a tie fighter and Vader escapes his battle with Ahsoka. We leave the episode seeing Ezra as he takes a look inside of what the Holocron has stored in it. Possibly beginning his journey to the darkside? Just when Rebels was getting great it comes to an end! This was a great episode and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time! The biggest highlight for me was Ezra subtle turn to the dark side with Maul manipulating him so easily the entire time. But when Vader showed up, that is when the episode quality just bumped up and began to feel more authentic to the original trilogy. I do wish that the Inquisitor were delved into a bit more or at least were kept alive especially after they introduce a fourth new Inquisitor in this episode. I know I am not alone in knowing what is stored on that Holocron and even to know the voice of who ever was speaking from it! A very satisfying finale and makes me excited for where they go next with this Rebels story line! See you on the next season of Rebels! Rating:
The Rebels fight off alien creatures to keep their new base protected! Even though they have a new base that is hidden from the Empire, the rebels are still having trouble keeping their ground from the planets own hosts. Sabine and Rex are sent out to go search for a crew member that disappeared the previous night and was capture by these spider like creatures that live on the planet. But while searching, Rex ends up getting captured himself and Sabine calls in backup! The rest of the group show up and explore this cave where the creatures are hold Rex. Hera has Kanon and Ezra go their own route because she wants the group to get used to not having their help. Its clear she doesn't want this to happened but knows it is for the better. It goes smoothly as they retrieve Rex but it does come at the cost of having every creature in the cave after them! The Phantom gets stuck from the webs and the group have to find a away to remove them without getting captured. Sabine uses a signal that keeps the creatures away and brings it over so Ezra and Kanon break the ship free from webs. This idea leads to them establishing these signals as a border to protect their base from the creatures. Now what is left is for Ezra, Kanon, and Ahsoka to leave the group behind to protect them from the Inquisitors, leading to the finale of this Season of Star Wars Rebels.
The running theme that Hera is worried about Kanon and Ezra going separate away from them is interesting as we, along with Hera don't know the fate of the Jedi remnants especially now that Vader will be involved. Its clear that there is some romantic connection between her and Kanon but it is kept to nice subtlety. Ezra has become a much better Jedi in his fighting skills as he is able to tie with Kanon at almost every fight. There is still the one draw back of him not being patient enough to not quickly be taken over. Something that was shown during his training. I thought this was a good episode of Rebels, but I didn't think we needed to have this adventure that took place for the majority of the runtime. This could've been better if it was a smaller more intimate episode just focuses on the group and how they are handling the situation they are in. Even better to address how Kanon and Ezra are going to have to take on the Inquisitors now without any back up, anything like that would've have been this episode great and even make me look forward to the finale which is coming right up soon.
The next episode we get will be the season finale of Rebels and I can't wait to see what happens next! I am thinking... Vader Vs. Ahsoka! Rating:
Chopper gains a friend! I didn't expect this episode to be as enjoyable as it was, especially because it was focusing all on Chopper. Chopper isn't the most likable characters on the show and even by the end of this episode he still isn't very likable. What was very well done was the journey he went through, from the stealing a replacement leg to him taking over an imperial cargo ship! The group go through their standard rebel mission while Chopper is mean to stay behind and watch the ship. While doing that he takes notice of a shop owner selling a leg that would match his. Of course when Chopper wants something he is going to go after it! This leads to him stealing the leg and being chased by Stormtroopers. To quickly loose them he make a turn into a cargo ship that is taking off.
This is the point where the episode gets really interesting as we begin to get to know an Inventory droid who once was a navigator in the Clone Wars. He is mistreated by his new owner who seems to hate droids and the droid himself begins to develop a emotion out of it. While checking the ship for Rebels he runs into Chopper who slowly convincing him to start helping him take over the ship. Even going so far as to lock troupers inside one cargo and taking out his owner in another situation. Chopper even sets him free so he is no longer tied down to the Empire. This give him motivation to escape and help Chopper get to the Rebels. While we were able to see the character arc for this new droid, we didn't get much out of Chopper. Who really is the more important character. Yes he did do a good thing by helping a droid escape from the Empire and realize he is better off helping the Rebels, but it was only so he can be taken to safety after stealing. Choppers character is quite a bipolar one, doing one bad thing that leads to a good thing. I did like how the dynamic of both Chopper and the Droid mimicked the dynamic of R2-D2 and C-3PO, with one being very strict and by the book and the other being a loose canon. I liked the episode for what it was but I think it is time we start getting back to the more focused stuff that this season has to offer. Rating:
Ezra and Kanon are engage in a fight with the Inquisitors, teaming up to get out of there as fast as they can. Kanon realizes that their presence in the rebellion is dangerous and they need to find a new way so they can't be followed. Ahsoka is watching old holograms of training sessions from Anakin reminiscing on how great she saw him as a teacher. They travel back to Ezra's homeworld of lothal and go to a Jedi temple, the same one from before.
They open up the temple only to reveal that there is a second floor below that was hidden. Kanon opens up a path that is just mean for him and Once inside he is met from a Temple Guard, and is challenged by him. What makes this meeting interesting is that the guard tells Kanon that the darkside is calling for Ezra and with that they begin fighting. Kanon is getting outmatched and begins to take a new lightsaber as three more guards show up! The Inquisitors, show up as they tracked them to the Jedi Temple and make their way inside. Ezra and Ahsoka talk about Yoda and his training as well as some of the qualities he had. In a blink of an eye Ezra wakes up in a different space and is met by Yoda. Ezra wants to know how to stop the Inquisitors and Yoda tells him about the Clone Wars and how the Jedi became consumed by the darkside.
Ahsoka is by herself and is then met by a vision of Anakin telling her that she shouldn't have left. It is pretty obvious that she is guilty about her leaving the Jedi behind. The Inquisitors begin to reveal the Temple themselves as everyone is still stuck in their visions. They open it and make their way inside of the temple as it is collapsing. Kanon is once again outmatched by these guards and begins to realize that he can't save Ezra. With that the Temple guard reveals himself to be the grand Inquisitor who tells him that he can still be what he once was. Yoda tells Ezra to find Malachor as his next journey.
The Inquisitors are met by the Grand Inquisitor and other Temple Guards before they are taken out by them. The group makes their way out safely and are saved by Chopper as more Imperial forces make their way to them. I like this episode and by far the most interesting aspect was Kanon's battle between the Temple Guards! We had already expected who the Grand Inquisitor might be but now having confirmation makes it a bit more interesting! Also it is heavily implied that Ezra is going to be seduced to the darkside and Kanon is going to have to let that go at some point. Will be become a new Inquisitor? It is always possible. A really good episode of Rebels and now that Vader is back, it is going to be even more interesting as we get closer to the finale!
Zeb and Agent Kallus, two enemies that must work together! During their latest mission that gang get surrounded by Stormtroopers and are forced to split up. Zeb ends up having to fight Kallus alone and has to find his own way to escape. He gets on an escape pod only to be attacked by Kallus once again and they both activated the escape pod. They land on Geonosis and are stuck in an underground cave. This forces them to have to work together so they can come up with a plan to escape. It is not easy however because in this cave lies creatures as well as empire scouters above ground. So until the Rebels can find them they are stuck on this planet. Kallus tells Zeb a story about one of his first missions on Alderon and how a Lasat took out most of him men and almost killed him. Through their conversation they begin to develop a common ground with each other and being in the situation they are in they are going to have to. More creatures show up and they decided to climb the pillars to make it out. They make their way to the top only having to use a cleaver way to dodge the creatures and get to the top. Once their it becomes too cold to make their way through the surface. They find a sheltered area and Kallus realizes that what happened on Lasat was wrong and doesn't want to take credit for it.
The ghost crew make it and save Zeb taking him back to the ship. While Kallus waits for the Empire and begins to see everything differently now, taking notice that he isn't really present on his own ship. Maybe even realizing he is on the wrong side. We will have to find out later on I suppose. I really enjoyed this episode, it was simple and it is always entertaining to see two enemies having to work together and find a common ground. This reminded me a lot of Avatar: The Last Airbender that had a similar episode during the series. It wasn't what I was expecting but I can appreciate when they take the chance to give the characters more development to make them more interesting as the show goes on. Rating:
