Rebels: "A World Between Worlds" (Ep. 4.13)

-- "Train yourself to let go of all that you fear to lose."

Ezra finally gets to say goodbye to Kanan. In a manner of speaking. He is finally able to let him go.

Though finally seems like a somewhat inaccurate adverb to use here. It's not like it's been all that long since Kanan's death. And, really, it's all about choices, because Ezra discovers there is a way to save Kanan, but it would negate Kanan's sacrifice...

And that could have been a really interesting story line to follow, because saving Kanan would have resulted in Ezra's own death. We haven't dealt with any weird time paradoxes in Star Wars -- at least, not to my knowledge, but there are scores of books and comics I haven't read -- so it would have been interesting, at the very least, to see what they did with that. I guess that's more of a Star Trek thing.

Oh, hey, Ahsoka is back. That's significant.

Vader makes an appearance.

The Emperor tries to grab Ezra.

Overall, I'd say this is a pretty significant episode.

I didn't even mention Sabine's verbal shenanigans.

"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power."

"How did you open the portal?"

"I'm smarter than you."

"I can see that the Mandalorian in you understands only one form of discourse."

Rebels: "Dume" (Ep. 4.11)

-- "Kanan's gone."

Death is tough. I think there are not enough representations of it in media intended for children. And I get why: Parents don't want to deal with it and the questions it causes and having to try and explain what it means and... well, I'm sure you get the idea. It's a difficult topic and, even in fiction, it can be hard to process. And not just for children.

However, seeing how fictional characters handle death can be a good learning experience for kids. We get a wide range of examples here in Rebels.

Hera is busy blaming herself.

Ezra is lost and in despair.

Sabine and Zeb want revenge.

And the loth-wolves... Well, they want something, too.

We also get to see a little more of what Rukh can do in this episode as Sabine and Zeb end up going toe-to-toe with him.

Oh, and Thrawn? You'd expect him to be happy about the death of Kanan, right? Well, Thrawn will always surprise you.

This last arc is just something you need to watch.

"Expect them to strike out recklessly, and when they do, eliminate them."

"The Empire and us? We're not even yet."