Star Wars Rebels: Path of the Jedi (S1Ep9)- Review

rebels_pathHello everyone!  Danie is on vacation, and she is letting me fill in for the Star Wars Rebels review of the latest episode (thanks, Danie!).  So, here we go!

RECAP

This episode follows up the event that took place in Gathering Forces, namely Ezra’s touch of the dark side.  Ezra is excitedly running to Kanan, who we see has been meditating with the Jedi puzzle box.  Ezra interrupts him, apologizing for missing their training session.  Kanan tells him that Ezra must pass a test to see if he is ready for more training.  The reason for the test now?  Ezra’s venture into Dark Side power has Kanan concerned.

The two travel to a planet by way of the force.  More specifically, Kanan has Ezra use the force to find a Jedi temple that has been used for tests before.  Ezra does let the force direct them, but we find Kanan already had sensed the direction.  They use the Force to upheave the entrance to the temple and proceed in.

Once inside the Jedi pair see entries to some paths and skeletons of former Jedi Masters in a meditative position.  These Masters stayed behind while their padawans went in to be tested.  The padowans didn’t make it out, and the Masters were…left behind.  Ezra enters with the door closing behind them, Kanan meditating in waiting.

As Ezra proceeds, he sees Kanan run ahead.  Both find The Inquisitor who kills Kanan!  The Inquisitor begins to battle Ezra as well, though Ezra can’t use the lightsaber left behind from Kanan.  Ezra is thrown over the side as well, only to find himself on the Ghost overhearing the crew talk about him.  It seems like they all never shared their true feelings which are of disdain for the young padawan.  But, Ezra soon realizes that it’s not real.  The Inquisitor comes and attacks, and things do seem real.  Soon Ezra is back in the temple again.

Ezra overcomes the illusions, also realizing his fear is to be alone and abandoned.  Yoda also greets Ezra…in voice vision form.

Meanwhile, Yoda reaches out to Kanan through thought.  It’s revealed, through their conversation, that Kanan “lost his way” at some point in his Jedi life.  He doesn’t feel like he can truly teach Ezra, but Yoda is encouraging.

Yoda questions the path that Ezra is on, pointing out that he could easily go to the Dark Side.  As Ezra states his intentions to become a Jedi, it seems his intentions are good because he receives a Kyber crystal – the crystal used to make a lightsaber.  He and Kanan are reunited and make their way to the ship.  Though Kanan is surprised Ezra received a Kyber crystal so soon, he and the crew give some spare parts to Ezra for him to construct his own lightsaber.

crystalMY TWO CENTS

Star Wars Rebels keeps up the great work with this episode.  In addition to the expansion of the two main characters, we are greeted by an old friend: Yoda.  Even though it’s just his voice, it’s wonderful to have Frank Oz reprise one of his most famous roles.  It was Yoda in his finest form…mysterious and firm.  The revelation that Kanan lost his way once makes me think that it’s how he survived the Jedi purge.  He wasn’t fighting with the others to be killed with them.  What it means that he lost his way is yet to be revealed.  In my opinion, I don’t think it was to the Dark Side, but rather leaving the path to do his own thing.  Ezra’s coming to grips with fear and why he wants to be a Jedi was touching for his character.  I still feel like Yoda is right that we have yet to see where Ezra will be headed, but it seems he’s on the path of the Jedi for the most part.  His having a Kyber crystal is exciting!  I loved that he put together a lightsaber that is very unique to him.  An interesting element is the sound it makes.  It’s not a traditional lightsaber sound we all know, and was probably on purpose.  One thought is it’s just because of the parts he uses, but even the sound it makes as he waves the blade is different.  That makes me wonder what it stands for that his is so unique.  Maybe I’m looking into it too much.  If there’s any complaint that I have about the episode, it’s that we are getting a lot of Ezra and Kanan and not the rest of the crew.  There has been a couple episodes that explore the background of the rest, but still not a lot.  We know much more about this pair.  I wish there were longer episodes to draw out the background of the rest.

As far as the logistics of the episode, like writing and music and whatnot, everything was pretty spot on with the way the series has been.  Yes, some things are a bit predictable plot-wise, and the delivery of lines are a little childish, but I don’t expect more than this, to be honest.  It’s not entirely bad.  It’s a great series and a great episode.  This whole season has kept me engaged all the way through!

Let me know what you think after you watch, and until next time, have a marvelous day!


Comments

6 responses to “Star Wars Rebels: Path of the Jedi (S1Ep9)- Review”

  1. I agree. This is a great series and a great way to introduce younger audiences to Star Wars while, at the same time, bringing longtime fans on a great adventure. I loved The Clone Wars, especially since it sort of made up for the prequel trilogy for me, but, there is something very special about Rebels. I’m looking forward to more episodes!

    1. Yea, completely agree. Clone Wars really did fill in a lot of gaps and enhanced the prequels for me. I’m loving how with both Star Wars and Marvel they are now using TV shows to fill in the gaps of both time and story.

      1. Same with me. I’m excited to see how Rebels ties into Episode VII as they say it will.

        1. Yea, I’m curious how deep of a connection it turns out being. I wonder if it’ll be a character connection or more of the building of a foundation for the story that is used in the movie.

          1. I’m with both of you at how stronger this series is than Clone Wars. Not that it was bad, just that this feels more like the original trilogy. I’m a little afraid at how the characters will connect to the rebellion overall. Like, we don’t have them in the original episodes, so do they die?

          2. That is a good question considering the only two Jedi we know of that survived were Obi-Wan and Yoda. We don’t know of Kanan (or Ezra if he completes his training) . But, that doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t make sense. But, I did wonder this myself. Although, it is a big universe and conceivable that these characters could still be alive during the original trilogy era without running into the Skywalkers. Regardless, I’m definitely in for the ride!

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