Relics of the Old Republic finished the quick two episode
story arc of Kanan and the crew going to find clone troopers who could provide intelligence
on new Rebel base locations. It provided good insight on Kanan and showcased
some great action sequences. The episodes were a good way to kick off the
season and bring in fans of Star Wars The Clone Wars who may have not watched
the Rebels.
This episode is basically a slow chase sequence for the
Rebels to get away from the Empire. Wolfe
had to report in and try to cover for his previous mistake of turning the Jedi
in. He tried, but failed because the probe droid caught a glimpse of the
Rebels. After a great dig by Rex at the Stormtroopers, the Empire comes after
clones and rebels. The fight between the Tie Fighter and the tanks was well
done, and the clone trooper Gregor made me chuckle. I like the crazy old clone,
and he added some great levity to the episode. Ezra again made a point that the
two groups work better as a team. Teamwork is good, and is a good message to
promote for a show for kids
Once the clones and the rebels enter the sandstorm Kanan and
Ezra must use the force to avoid the Imperial walkers. It was a well done sequence,
with Ezra having to trust in the force to shoot down the Imperial Walker. We
knew Ezra could shoot the canon by him getting some instructions earlier in the
episode from Rex. It was a good use of callback for the show. We saw him being
trained how to shoot, and then he was able to use that teaching and the force
to take down a walker.
The end sequence was well fantastic, and I wasn’t sure if the
clones were going to make it out alive. I really thought they may give
themselves up since the show is supposed to have a darker tone this year. Kanan
with the prodding of Ezra made the right call and went back to help the clones
and take out the other two walkers. It was interesting to see just how much
pride the clones still had in following a Jedi. I wonder if we will meet some
clones later in this season who don’t hold the same sentiment. It would make
for a good story arc for Rex and the other clones to have to go up against some
of their brothers.
The ending of the episode was extremely touching. The
reunion between Rex and Ahsoka was the best moment of the episode. The voice actors Dee Bradley Baker
and Ashley
Eckstein should be highly commended for their ability to add so much
emotion to this scene. The animation is great, but if the actors behind the
characters don’t buy into the weight of the situation it doesn’t have any
impact. You felt the emotion from each character jump off the screen. You felt
Ahsoka and Rex where generally happy and touched to be finally seeing each
other again. It was a fantastic way to end the second episode.
The only issue I had with the tonight was some of the dialogue
used. The “Great Shot Kid” line after Ezra took out a walker seemed forced. You
don’t have to put in former Star Wars lines to make the show feel like Star
Wars. I felt the show did this a bit too much in the early episodes last
season, and when they went away from this is when the season hit its stride. They
made these characters their own people, and not individuals who rehashed old
bits of jargon. It was only done a
couple of times tonight and just it took me out of the show. It probably didn’t
for others, and is probably because I have every bit of dialogue from the original
trilogy memorized. It’s a small nitpick in an otherwise good episode.
The first two episodes were a good start to what is going to
be a longer second season of Star Wars Rebels. They did enough to tie up the
loose ends from the Siege of Lothal and introduce us to one of the new
inquisitors. Ezra is progressing in the force with Kanan growing into his
teaching role. It will be interesting to see were the story goes and how the
Empire starts to deal with the new Rebel threat.
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