My weekly review of Star Wars Rebels is a tad bit late this week and I hope you will forgive because I feel like we have quite a bit to talk about. First, lets all quickly refresh ourselves with what happened in the episode Rise of the Old Masters:
Recap
Kanan has begun to focus on training Ezra but both seem to have difficulty overcoming their insecurities.
Kanan worries that he is not a good enough teacher for the impetuous Padawan and is given renewed hope when the crew intercept a transmission claiming that Jedi Master Luminara Unduli has survived the Clone Wars and has been imprison in The Spire on Stygeon Prime. The crew mount a rescue only to fall direction into a trap set by a Dark Jedi known as the Inquisitor. After learning Luminara’s true fate and escaping with little more than their lives Ezra and Kanan found new common ground and agree to resume training.
My Two Cents
Finally! The episode we all wished for, you know that one where Rebels finally fulfils its Star Warsian potential and leaves us all going wow! Yes, it finally happened. Not of do we get the Jedi training we have all been waiting for but an introduction to the dastardliest Dark Jedi we have seen in a long time. It is hard to express what made this episode so good, I suppose I have to begin by saying this was the first time I watched Rebels and though yes this is a heir to the Star Wars Clone Wars throne, in Rise of the Old Masters Rebel’s has given us a story that is darker and meatier than anything we have witnessed before. Characters are forced to face their fears, we see are faced with a much darker story line and the episode leaves you happily grim (much like Clone Wars used to). However, what truly stands out in this episode is how beautifully simple it is- no longer are we trying to cram in a ton of backstory nor do we face an overly complicated plot which ultimately ends with “and they beat the Empire and went home,” this story is all about character and most importantly communication and growth.
The introduction of The Inquisitor was a masterstroke, mostly because this character was actually pretty legitimately terrifying. Sure, for us adults we weren’t exactly quaking in our boots but it was nice to see that the Darkside is still pretty darn creepy. Plus, his lightsaber might be the most awesomely covetable lightsaber build I have ever seen in the history of the Star Wars Universe. It was double sided, the spinning mechanism, it was a breathtaking design. I look forward to seeing more of this character and his spectacular toys.
It was wonderful to see Kanan develop through most of the series so far Kanan has been a bit of a personality fog bank and in this episode we truly get crack open his defensives and see his vulnerability and fears.
Ezra is also starting to find his own voice and losing his “Aladdiness” (yes, this is now a word). Ezra is not only maturing as a Jedi but as a person and it is about time.
The best trivial bits of the included the recitation of “Do or do not, there is no try,” as well as the fact that I learned that lightsabers have a switch on the side to adjust beam length. Which is pretty cool.
The only real flaw with this episode I can think of is the fact that I wasn’t a fan of Kanan calling it a laser sword. It just feels weird. Still, I can forgive the phrasing because there was so much to enjoy in this episode. Honestly, after the last episode I was just crossing my fingers that Rebels was gearing up for something big and I am happy to see that my patience paid off- I guess I did learn a thing or two from Master Yoda.
