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: "Wolves and a Door" (Ep. 4.12)

-- "Hold tight."

So...

So...

Okay, honestly, I don't know what to say about this episode.

Remember back in the Clone Wars when Obi-Wan and Anakin end up on that planet with the family who were incarnations of the Force? You know, the father was the balance (I think), and the daughter was the Light, and the son was the Dark. They wanted Anakin to become the incarnation of the balance. Or something. Man, I need to go back and watch those again.
Anyway...

This episode takes us back to that story line. I'm not sure how, yet, but Palpatine makes a rare appearance in this episode wanting to get his hands on some gateway on Lothal, but Kanan's death has thrown everything out of whack for him.

Way to go Kanan! I guess.

Not a lot of hi-jinks in this episode, which you can probably tell by the lack of amusing quotes.

I'm just going to guess that this last arc of Rebels is going to be a truly important one.

"I'm just glad they're on our side."

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."

Rebels: "Flight of the Defender" (Ep. 4.06)

-- "I'll believe it when I see it."

My first experience with the TIE Defender was... oh, a long, long time ago. Sometime in the early 90s. It was introduced in either X-Wing or T.I.E. Fighter, the first two of the Star Wars video games. I don't remember which of the two games it debuted in, but I was more than a little ambivalent about it for a long time. Sure, it's a cool looking ship, but it wasn't in the movies, and I had a problem with that. Yeah, I was a real legalist at the time, and this was all before the Expanded Universe began.

At any rate, the Defender is full canon, now, and it's cool that they're showing us bits of its development, like they did with the B-wing.

All of that being said, this story isn't really about the TIE Defender; that's just the cover story for whatever it is they have developing as what I'm guessing is the last plot arc of the series. Kanan almost says as much during the episode.

And all of it starts with Ezra's mystical encounter with an extinct wolf.

"I like those cats more and more."

"I told you it'd get interesting."

Rebels: "In the Name of the Rebellion: Part Two" (Ep. 4.04)

-- "We turned a worst-case scenario into the best!"

Considering that we know where Saw Gerrera ends up, it should be no surprise that this episode puts us on the trail of the Death Star with the discovery that the Empire is transporting another overly large Kaiburr crystal. This ongoing plot line, carried over from Clone Wars, is one I really like. It's interesting to follow the rebels trail to discovering the Death Star, not that they were able to do anything about it before it was too late. At least too late for Alderaan.

Which takes us back to our question from last episode... sort of. Because this episode doesn't really address the issue; it just kind of skirts around it. Rather than dealing with the philosophies of the opposing viewpoints -- one being that we should be better than our enemies rather than lowering ourselves to their level, the other being that we should win at all costs -- they turn it into a personal matter for Ezra and Sabine because Saw betrays them when they balk at what he wants them to do. They're not likely going to see any part of the side of "win at all costs" when they are the ones being considered a cost of victory.

But that still leaves the philosophical question hanging in the air. I mean, we know what the Empire is doing and that they're going to use it to destroy whole planets, but does that, even with knowledge, justify the sacrificing of some "innocents" to achieve victory?

I don't have any answers at the moment.

But I'm sure that this question is weighing on me the way it is because, in many respects, the GOP is currently the Empire, and they are doing their best to build a Death Star and, mostly, the Democrats are just arguing about what to do about it. We already saw in the last election that "going high" when they go low does not win battles. Or elections.

"What you're saying is that we owe you."

"Just an observation, this isn't a very good rescue."

"This droid is cross-wired."

"Those two can't go anywhere without blowing something up."

Rebels: "Heroes of Mandalore: Part Two" (Ep. 4.02)

-- "A Mandalorian with a jet pack is a weapon."

This is an episode that is a bit difficult for me to review.

On the one hand, it's a fine and good episode in the same vein as all of Rebels, all of Star Wars, in fact. It's exciting in all the ways Star Wars is exciting.

However, it fails in the same way much of Star Wars does in really making the characters have real stakes in the game. The most notable exception to this was Rogue One.

Maybe I've said this before, but Lucas' original idea for Jedi was that the Falcon wouldn't make it out of the Death Star explosion at the end of the movie, hence Han's "funny feeling" comment before they go off to Endor. But Lucas had a change of heart and decided that that would end the trilogy on too much of a down note, and he wanted it to be a full-on happy ending, so Lando and the Falcon come spewing out of the fiery explosion of the Death Star.

In much the same way, the tragedy at the end of part of of this two-part story is rolled back as we discover right away that Sabine's mother and brother did not die from the Empire's powerful new weapon. Just everyone else did. I feel it robs the story of its emotional impact. But I suppose it is a show that is supposed to be kid friendly, which is why so many of the stormtroopers throughout the series escape with their lives rather than being killed by the rebels. You can't have your heroes indiscriminately killing the bad guys.

Yeah, I'm in a bit of a mood after watching this one.

And I haven't talked about the deus ex machina ending.

I'm also not going to.

bah

"Mandalorian? I don't want to be a Mandalorian."

"It's time for you to prove your loyalty, not just to your family, but to all of Mandalore."

"It was a series of bad decisions, okay?"

"Don't move!"

"Oh, I'm movin'."

Rebels: "Heroes of Mandalore: Part One" (Ep. 4.01)

-- "Blowing things up definitely runs in your family."

Man, talk about heart-wrenching... Which is something you can't often do in Star Wars and even less so in the animated shows. But this episode...
Well, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Oh, fine, I know someone is going to make some comment about Han's death or this thing or that thing that have made people (my wife) cry, so, sure, Star Wars has those moments. But, mostly, it doesn't. Those are not the moments people think of when they think about Star Wars.
Except Rogue One.

Anyway, that's all beside the point.

The point is that Sabine leads a raid to rescue her father, who is being held captive by the Empire.
Yes, of course, it's a trap.
Also, Ezra learns how to use a jet pack. Sort of.

But the episode is kind of tragic. Not kind of. It is.
They played the sad Star Wars music as the end credits.
See what I'm saying?

"Wow, this just got more and more..."
"Interesting, The word you're looking for is interesting."
"Nope. Just more."

"Are you a Jedi?"
"Let's hope so."

Rebels: "Zero Hour: Part Two" (Ep. 3.22)

-- "There's a future for us, one where we're all free, but it's up to us to make it happen."

Spoiler alert: Kallus didn't die. I'm a bit surprised. Not that the way he didn't die wasn't cool, but I really expected that he would be one of the characters that they ended. Yes, that means some characters got ended in this season finale.

Sabine returned, so that was cool. Not that I think she'll be staying around, but involving the Mandalorians is always interesting.

And I suppose that's really all I have to say about this. These two episodes are mostly combat and anything else I could say would be spoilery.

They do leave me ready to get into season four, though, so that's where I'm heading.

"This way!

The other way! The other way!"

"This is your friend?"
"I might have made him angry."

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: "Trials of the Darksaber" (Ep. 3.15)

-- "Legends tell it was created over a thousand years ago..."

We've never known much about the Darksaber. Hmm... That's misleading. You can look up all the information you want about the Darksaber, but, if you're getting your knowledge of it strictly through watching Clone Wars and Rebels, there hasn't been much revealed about it before this. It's a thing that just was, so to speak. But this episode gives us some background on the weapon that hadn't been revealed before.

Needless to say, this was a pretty cool episode.

Sabine is put into a situation where she kind of has to take up the weapon. Not that she has to has to, but it wouldn't be great for her to walk away from the situation. So she has to have Kanan train her, which means that Ezra gets to spend time training her. Ezra kind of better at it than Kanan. He has more patience, at any rate.

I really enjoyed this episode and would kind of like to talk more about, but

1. Really, it's mostly about the training, which is much more interesting than it sounds since we get more of Sabine's past through what's going on, too.

2. You should just watch it. Yeah, I know that's not going to happen, but it doesn't change the truth.

3. I don't really have more time than this today. Interruptions and all that good stuff, and I have run out of time.

I think this is probably an important episode. Lots of character development and what appears to be a major plot arc developing. Cool.

"I'm not that popular with my family these days."

"I'll damage you if you don't shut up."

"I already know how to fight with a stick."

"Then this should be easy for you."

Rebels: "Imperial Supercommandos" (Ep. 3.07)

-- "Strategy is an art. Maybe I'm luring you into a false sense of security."

Oh, wow, it's been a while since I've done one of these. I've just been busy, I guess.

But this was a good, and exciting, episode to jump back in on.

Of course, the Mandalorian stuff is always good. Or, at least, interesting. This one was both.

This episode ties back to... oh, I don't know, some episode or other, back in season two, I think. Another Mandalorian episode, but I'm not going to go look it up, right now. At any rate, in the earlier episode, the Rebels cook up a deal with a Mandalorian outpost for safe passage through their system.  But that outpost has gone silent, so Ezra and Sabine, along with a "guest," go to check it out. They fear the Mandalorians may be setting a trap for Rebel ships passing through the system. Oh, the deal? Well, it wasn't exactly reached by choice on the part of the Mandalorians.

When they get there, though, the find that the base has been wiped out, everyone killed. Those responsible? Imperial Supercommandos. And they are pretty cool looking, let me tell you. They are also traitor Mandalorians who joined the Empire, which is part of why they're so cool. They're like hybrid stormtrooper/Mandalorians. And what kid didn't want that action figure back in the 80s?!?! Or now, probably.

The episode is actually a lot more complex than what I've gone into here, but, hey, no spoilers, right? Well, I guess I kind of did give a spoiler about the commandos... excuse me, supercommandos! But, hey, it's in the title, so I'm going to give it a pass.

And, well, we find out a thing about Sabine, and I think that's going to come back to haunt her. Or us. I am writing this on Halloween evening, so I'm going with the haunt... Hey, you know what? No one ever goes trick-or-treating as a ghost anymore. Did Charlie Brown ruin it for everyone?
Maybe no one ever went as a ghost? Except me... Because I did, sort of, when I was 11: the ghost of Scooby Doo. Yeah, I'm not going to explain that.



"What took you so long?"
"I was using strategy! It takes longer!"

Rebels: "The Antilles Extraction" (Ep. 3.04)

-- "We are unarmed. You have no right to fire on us!"

One of the things that has become kind of accepted lore about Star Wars is that the rebels have better pilots (and ships) than the Empire, just much fewer of them. What the Empire lacks in skill and shields, they make up for with numbers. Lots and lots of numbers.
The opening of this episode abuses that notion as a handful of TIE fighters lay waste to an entire rebel squadron of a-wings.
It was fairly spectacular.

But, you know, early days of the rebellion and all that.
It was clear the rebellion needed better pilots...

So they sent Sabine in to get some.

And we get to meet Wedge while he's still an Imperial cadet!
Which is pretty fucking cool.

I can't honestly say at what point I became a Wedge fan. I know that it feels to me that it was before Empire came out. I mean, he did fly his x-wing right through a TIE fighter. So cool. Of course, he also abandoned Luke during the trench run, so... there's that. I do know that I was very excited that he was Red Leader in Jedi. I suppose it doesn't really matter when, just that I am. Cool character. Glad to see his origin story, per se.

"We have to make the most of this chance; we might not get another."

"What's your plan?"
"I'll tell you when I figure it out."

"We were coming to rescue you."
"That's cute."

Rebels: "The Protector of Concord Dawn" (Ep. 2.13)

-- "It looks like diplomacy won the day for once."

"There was a time when it always won the day."

You know, the dialogue in this show is pretty good. I always come away with more quotes than I can use. Well, almost always. This episode was one of those episodes where there were a lot of great lines.

And OMG! Sabine is Death Watch! That is something I hadn't seen coming! And not just Death Watch; she's from the house of Vizsla. You know, as in Pre Vizsla, the guy with the Darksaber during the Clone Wars. Things just got that much more more interesting and, then, that much more interesting again! Especially since we meet up with some Mandalorians this episode.

I would say that you should just watch this episode even if you're not a fan of the series, but I'm not sure this episode is one of those that would work without the background. To really appreciate it, you need to have watched Clone Wars, but they fill in just enough of the details that you don't have to have watched Clone Wars, but my "OMG!" is exactly because I have the Clone Wars background to know what stuff means.

Though this episode is exactly centered on Sabine, it does reveal more of her background, and, as I've said before, it's always a good thing when they give the female characters a bit more focus. They can't just be cardboard stand-ups for Ezra and Kanan to act in front of.

"This Jedi philosophy stuff doesn't work for everyone."

"That's why we're at war."

"Kanan, you need to stop talking now."

"When you set your mind to something, you're kind of frightening."

Rebels: "Blood Sisters" (Ep. 2.08)

"It was mostly just an accident."

I've mentioned before the lack of attention given to the female characters and who they are and where they came from. We got origin-type material for Ezra and Kanan and, even, Zeb fairly early on, but, until now, there's been very little background provided about Sabine or Hera. Not that there's a lot in this episode, but it's something.

So what do we know now?

Sabine used to be a bounty hunter.

I don't know; she seems a little young to have used to have been a bounty hunter, but I suppose that explains the Mandalorian armor.

She used to have a partner. And they... split up, not on the best of terms.

Which, of course, makes their reunion less than pleasant.

I wish I could say that there was some kind of moral dilemma in all of this -- I'm going to be spoilery here -- some kind of dealing with past emotional trauma or... something..., but there's not. The Empire conveniently shows up and puts the two "friends" back together again. In some ways, it's a "Han Solo scenario," but it doesn't quite go that far.

Anyway...

It's a fine episode. Lots of action. But it's another reminder that Rebels fails to tackle the difficult questions.

Rebels: "Out of Darkness" (Ep. 1.6)

"Stay calm; it's all part  of the plan."

I was going to say, at some point you have to start revealing the back stories of the supporting characters, then I realized they've revealed the major points already on the male characters. Sure, it's only episode six, but they gave us the stories for each of the male characters by the end of the second episode.

1. Ezra: The protagonist. Orphan boy with special powers. Fantasy cliche hero. Same model as Luke, actually. And Anakin. And Harry Potter. You get the picture, I'm sure.

2. Kanan Jarrus: Jedi on the run from the Empire and trying to do it harm at the same time. Sure, we don't know everything about him, but that's really enough to place him in the spectrum of things. He's the mentor character. Flawed, but the best available.

3. Zeb: The strong man. One of the last survivors of his race. The Chewbacca replacement, down to the part where his race was exploited and killed by the Empire.

We get all of that in the first two episodes with nothing about the women other than that Hera owns The Ghost and is the pilot, and Sabine wears some pieces of Mandalorian armor.

We get to find out a tiny bit about Sabine in this episode. She was a loyal Imperial in the Academy on Mandalore, blindingly following orders... until something bad happened. Now, she has trust issues and hates it that Kanan and Hera keep her in the dark about things. The whole episode is an exploration of trust between Hera and Sabine.

There is some fighting of monsters, too.

And the repeated referring to someone called Fulcrum.

But, overall, this episode was back down into the "kids' cartoon" realm for me as the fight with the monsters had a very video game feel with even the characters referring to the combat as "wave one" and "wave two" and so on. So I'm back to waiting to see where the show goes after the brief moment of hoping that it was rising about merely being a cartoon for kids.