Rebels: "Twin Suns" (Ep. 3.20)

-- "I didn't want any of you to be involved. Not this time."

Wow! OMG!
Not at all what I expected from Obi-Wan Kenobi's first appearance in Rebels. Probably his only appearance, but I don't actually know. It's not like I'm looking ahead, but I can't see any other reason for them to bring him back into the series. This appearance, I believe, was to finally tie off a dangling plot thread from... well, from the beginning.

Not unexpectedly, Ezra sticks his nose where it doesn't belong. He is always a great example of the Dunning-Kruger Effect, thinking he's more of an expert than he actually is. It gets him into trouble and, frequently, gets others into trouble, too. Especially when he gets lured into traps set by Darth Maul. How many times has that happened? I don't know; maybe this is just the second time, but it feels like a lot more than that.

That's about all I'm going to say about this episode. It's a must see.

"Maul is an old adversary, and a persistent one at that."

Rebels: "Double Agent Droid" (Ep. 3.19)

-- You are mistaking my attention to detail for an attack on your obviously fragile ego.

One might be tempted to think that I've been inspired to get back into Rebels because of the recent release of The Rise of Skywalker. One would be wrong. Actually, it was the ending to The Mandalorian which has put the fire back into me to finish Rebels. Sorry not sorry for the spoiler but the first live action appearance of the Darksaber! Well, I have to know how it ends up where it ends up because, right now, Sabine has it.
This episode has nothing to do with any of that.

No, this episode is a spy mission gone awry. On the surface, it's a chance for us to get to know more about AP-5 and Wedge... except that that doesn't really happen. AP-5 is the same as he always is. Well, except for something that happens at the end of the episode, a something that is probably the most bizarre thing I've ever seen in Star Wars. That doesn't sound quite right. Star Wars, once accepted as a world setting isn't bizarre at all. I can't think of anything from any of the movies or animated shows that I would call bizarre -- okay, a case can be made for the Holiday Special being bizarre, but I haven't seen that since it first aired, so I'm not making that case -- but this was bizarre. So bizarre that my wife looked up from whatever it was she was doing that had nothing to do with watching Rebels to say, "What the fuck is going on?" I may need to watch it again.

The appearance of Wedge in the episode, which I was initially excited about, was a letdown. His entire presence seemed to hinge on a joke that he was on the mission with the two droids because no one else wanted to be. Mostly, he just hung out in the background and didn't speak. Zero character development. It was definitely a missed opportunity to give us some background on a beloved character.

In the end, though, this episode was just a stepping stone for me to get further along in the series so that I can find out what the heck is going on with the Darksaber.
Probably, you can expect a lot more Rebels reviews in the near future.

"The odds are with us."

Rebels: "Legacy of Mandalore" (Ep. 3.16)

-- "Maybe things have changed. They might be happy to see you."

You know, crash landings in spaceships in the Star Wars universe is way safer than crashing a car here in ours. I mean, no one ever dies. Or is even hurt. Sometimes, the spaceships aren't even hurt that bad. I suppose 40 years of precedence is hard to overcome. No, I don't know why I've never realized this before, but this episode gets us going with a crash landing, and the realization sort of just hit me like a spaceship to the skull. Not only is everyone fine, but the spaceship doesn't need any repairs.

Anyway...

Mandalore has gone over to the Empire, something I'm not sure I've mentioned in any of my earlier reviews, and their armor looks pretty cool in white. Sabine has gone home with the darksaber to try to rally support to the Rebellion. Hi-jinks ensue.

By hi-jinks I mean betrayal and family conflict.

This episode marks a turning point in the series. I'm not sure what kind of turning point, but I will say that Ezra and Kanan leave Mandalore with only Chopper, leaving two of their companions behind.

Yeah, read between the lines; I'm not spelling it all out for you.

Or go watch the episode.

"Didn't you tell them who you were?"
"That's probably why they're shooting at us."

"That went better than expected."

"That was better?"

Rebels: "Warhead" (Ep. 3.14)

-- "Like I said, bored... to... death!"

Mmm... What a classic opening for this episode. Right out of Empire. Infiltrators rather than probots, and, boy, are they tough! Sort of a cross between IG-88 and Grievous' bodyguard droids. Not something you want to meet in an alley, dark or not.

Our Rebel group has taken off for some kind of training thing and left Zeb in charge of the base. To be fair, they left Chopper with him to keep him company. If you can call it that, because they left him with... um... that other droid that Chopper befriended in that one episode. The Imperial droid that switched sides and now works as an organization and efficiency expert... and drives Zeb crazy. [All of the quotes below are from him, most of them directed at Zeb.]

That's the backdrop to the base being infiltrated... because Zeb brought the Infiltrator right into the base. Shenanigans ensue.
It's a very entertaining episode.
And it possibly contains an important plot point toward the end involving Thrawn. I guess we'll see how that plays out.

Mostly, the episode was one of those character study kind of things. Or relationship studies. It was about Zeb, but it was also about AP-5 (that other droid; I looked it up). Chopper was the third wheel, so to speak, but he played his own part. Not an essential episode (maybe?) but a fun one.

"Did they seriously leave you in charge of this entire facility?"

"Is that because you never learned to count? I can teach you."

"No, no, no. This is all wrong. Rations in the munitions section."

"That gives me an idea."
"Really? You can have those?"

Rebels: "Twilight of the Apprentice -- Part One" (Ep. 2.21)

-- "There's always a bit of truth in legends."

And now for the moment I've all been waiting for...!

It's Chopper versus an inquisitor, and Chopper...

Oh, wait, no. That's not what I've been waiting for.

I may have indicated in my review of Solo that I was quite excited by the reintroduction of Darth Maul into the movies. Not that I was ever one of those huge Darth Maul fans after The Phantom Menace. In fact, I wasn't all that impressed with Darth Maul. But, the truth is, he was never supposed to be dead dead. Lucas always intended to bring him back and the only reason he didn't come back in Attack of the Clones was because Ray Park opened his mouth about it within a few weeks of the opening of Phantom, so Lucas brought in Darth Tyranus instead. Still, I can understand people not being thrilled about him being brought back. Being cut in half is pretty final...

Unless you take into account that General Grievous was a heart and a brain and eyes in a robot body. I'm assuming that's all they were able to salvage of his organics. Compared to that, Maul was a veritable treasure trove!

All of that aside, I've found Maul to be a much more interesting character since they brought him back in Clone Wars. Not right at first, but, as they've gone along, they have deepened his character and complicated his motivations. I very much want to see what they have in store for him, and I am going to be sorely aggravated if we don't get the rest of the Solo trilogy, not for Solo but for Maul.

His first appearance here in Rebels is intriguing, which is about all I'm going to say about it until I get a chance to watch part two. I guess you'll just have to come back for that.
Or go watch it yourself.

"You don't exactly outrank me anymore."

"In my book, experience outranks everything."

"Then I definitely outrank you."

Rebels: "The Mystery of Chopper Base" (Ep. 2.20)

-- There's  no such thing as a tie. You lose; you die.

Man, I want to be covering these episodes more quickly, but I'm not being able to get them in more than one every few weeks. I feel like I need to take a page out of Ferris Bueller's book or really focus on that line from that Simon & Garfunkel song:

"Slow down; you move too fast.

You've got to make the moment last."

None of which has to do with this episode.

Though maybe the rebels are feeling that way, too...?

Unlike Clone Wars, Rebels is a pretty straightforward show most of the time. It's about what it's about: no layers, no subtext, no background plots. This episode is a bit more complex. On the one hand, they have a very Hoth moment with their new base -- you know, the one Chopper found -- but, on the other, emotional tensions are high because Kanan and Ezra are about to take off with Ahsoka to "deal with" the inquisitors.

One thing is for certain, though, all of them should have learned by now to never say anything like,

"This planet may be hot, dry, and unpleasant, but at least nothing's trying to kill us."
Because as soon as you do, something will start trying to kill you. Like this:

On a normal day, maybe it wouldn't have been such a big deal, but the emotional tension, especially between Hera and Kanan, really raises the stakes. Everything feels very... final.

So, yeah, good episode. I'm hoping this is leading to more complex stories in season three, though I still have a couple more in season two to get through. Hopefully soon...

"Trust me, Hera; I'm excited. This is my excited face."

"We can argue about this later."

"You always change the subject when I start winning!"

Rebels: "The Forgotten Druid" (Ep. 2.19)

-- Chopper, we're not here to shop.

One thing seeing Solo has done for me is renewed my interest in Rebels, not that my interest had waned, I just haven't had a lot of extra time, lately, for watching anything. But, after the reveal at the end of the movie, I was reminded I needed to get back on this show. And, then, one of the first things my son said to me as we left the theater was, "Dad, we need to start watching Rebels again." Apparently, I couldn't agree more.

Historically, episodes centered around droids have not been my favorites, which is unfortunate since I really love R2 and 3PO. They just never seem to stand up to the spotlight being directly on them. Such was not the case with Chopper. Not this time, anyway. And it seems the writers wanted to give us a bit about Chopper's backstory.

The stuff dealing with droids and their societal condition is pretty interesting, all things considered, and this episode was a good one to go along with the recentness of Solo because of it. Chopper becomes... acquainted... with an Imperial protocol droid, and it's immediately clear that there is a marked difference between the condition of the droids on the rebel side -- or, at least, Chopper (and R2 and 3PO) -- and the droids on the Imperial side:

Free will sounds nice. I admire your fortitude.

It's good to be reminded that the droids are sentient beings and that their restraining bolts serve as nothing more than slave collars.

And, sure, the droids are manufactured beings, but is it okay to enslave a sentient being even if it's a being you built? It's an interesting question and one I'm sure we're soon going to be dealing with on a practical level and not just a hypothetical one.

"The entire rebel fleet is betting on Chopper."

"Yeah, try not to think about it."

Rebels: "Idiot's Array" (Ep. 1.10)

"Smuggler's such a small word. I'm more of a galactic entrepreneur."

I don't tend to think of Star Wars in comedic terms. Sure, there are funny moments, and characters who have been inserted specifically for comic relief -- not just Jar Jar -- but this is the first episode of any of Rebels or all of The Clone Wars that really had me laughing out loud. Not just once.

We get to meet a young Lando Calrissian (actually voiced by Billy Dee Williams!) and to say that hi-jinks ensue would be an understatement. We get to see sabacc being played for the first time. At least, it's the first time I know of that the game has been shown onscreen anywhere. "Idiot's Array" refers to a sabacc hand. Of course, playing cards with Calrissian can get anyone into trouble, and that's what happens here. The rest of the episode is trying to get out of said trouble.

Lando, as you might expect, spends the episode trying to sweet talk the ladies. The guys, as might also be expected, react poorly to this. I think each of them says something to the effect of "I hate that guy" at least once. And, of course, Lando puts them in a situation where they're forced to defend him and rescue him from, well, himself.

Oh, yeah, and to get Chopper back, which is what started everything off, Zeb losing Chopper to Lando in a game of cards. The big question is whether Chopper wants to stay with Lando or not.

That's all I'm gonna say. Oh, except that we find out a cool thing about Ezra's lightsaber.

"Mine doesn't do that."